Packers fans defeat Minnesota Vikings fans at tug-of-war contest in Stillwater
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Green Bay Packer fans defeated Minnesota Vikings fans at the “Border Battle” tug-of-war contest on the historic Stillwater Lift Bridge on Sunday morning.
The cheeseheads won 3 out of 5 rounds.
Joely Swanson, who works at the North Hudson bar Guv's Place, competed in all five rounds. She describes herself a "die-hard Packer's fan" and came dressed in her team's regalia.
"This chain, my Jordan Love chain, was given to me by one of my regulars at Guv's Place. My cheese hat is my cheese hat from when I was a kid,” Swanson said.
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Business owners in Stillwater and Hudson, Wis., organized the friendly competition ahead of the NFL game between the Vikings and Packers at U.S. Bank Stadium.
The contest provided a way to drive support for area businesses and fundraise for first responders on either side of the St. Croix River, with 60 percent going to organizations located in the winner’s state.
An organizer estimates they raised about $4,000.
Vikings fan Daniel Relyea lives in Stillwater but grew up in Wisconsin.
“You know, Wisconsin, they don't have as many services and they need the money a little more,” Relyea joked. “I think that might be part of the reason why they had such a fire in the belly.”
Organizers hope to make the tug-of-war contest an annual tradition for the second game of the season between the two NFC North rivals.
