Super Bowl volunteers and football fans Jeanne and Bill Brino. Photo: Joel Schnell
Twenty-one years ago, Jeanne and Bill Brino moved from New Jersey to Woodbury with their 2-year-old daughter. “We really felt welcomed here,” Jeanne says. Next month, the couple will help roll out the welcome mat at Super Bowl 52, set for February 4 at U.S. Bank Stadium, as Super Bowl Crew 52 volunteers.
Ten thousand volunteers were selected from 30,000 applicants to work three shifts of about four hours during Super Bowl week, greeting visitors at airports and hotels and assisting with directions at transportation hubs and skyways. “It’s exciting to live in a city hosting the Super Bowl, and I wanted to take part and not be on the sidelines, so to speak,” says Bill, a big pro football fan whose favorite team—being from New Jersey—is the New York Giants.
The Super Bowl is expected to attract more than a million visitors to the Twin Cities. Crew 52 volunteers will be the face of Minnesota; selected members are friendly people who are passionate about football and about Minnesota. “I enjoy being a part of something big that will help people,” Jeanne says. “I really like football (I’m a Vikings fan) and I really like Minnesota. So it’s a great combination.”
The couple’s passion extends to Woodbury as well, where they welcomed a second daughter in 1998. Bill says, “It’s a clean, safe city with a family-oriented environment, plus everything you need, food, shopping, entertainment, health care, all very accessible.”
Super Bowl 52
February 4
U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis
