Minnesota plays its football right in the city — Huntington Bank Stadium sits on the Minneapolis campus with the skyline in view — and a Gopher game day has a crisp, northern efficiency to it: sweaters early in the season, genuine cold by November, and a fan base that treats both as fashion opportunities.
The Mascot
Goldy Gopher is a chipper rodent with one famous trick — spinning his oversized head — and a name rooted in Minnesota's 'Gopher State' nickname from an 1858 political cartoon. 'Ski-U-Mah,' the chant you'll hear all day, was invented by two rugby-era students in the 1880s: 'Ski' borrowed from a Sioux victory cry, 'U-Mah' for the University of Minnesota. It rhymes with 'rah' and has confused visitors for 140 years.
The Saturday
The best Minneapolis game days involve hardware: the Gophers contest three of the oldest rivalry trophies in the sport — Paul Bunyan's Axe against Wisconsin, Floyd of Rosedale (a bronze pig) against Iowa, and the Little Brown Jug against Michigan, which dates to 1903 and a water jug Michigan literally left behind. When the Axe changes hands, the winning team sprints the length of the field carrying it and pretends to chop down the goalposts.
What to Wear
Our vintage Minneapolis line is hand-drawn gopher art in maroon and gold on garment-dyed tees and caps — plus the layers make sense here: it's the rare college town where the hoodie is a September purchase. Start with all Minneapolis gear.