The group started when Nancy Solberg was planning her 50th birthday. While with her friends Jill Hady and Pat Booker, they asked Solberg what she wanted to do.

“I said, ‘I want to get out of town,” Solberg said. “They said, ‘How about going to Chicago to the Bears game?’ That started it. We did a road trip. While we were there, we decided Booker was having a special birthday the next year so then we went to New Orleans.”

Hady said eight people went on the original trip to Chicago. Over the past 20 years, the lineup has changed and grown, with 13 people currently in the group. There are five who have gone every year, and the most who have gone in a single year is 12. Many either currently live in New Ulm or have ties to the area.

As for why they’re called the Hags, Solberg said it was Booker’s idea.

The first iteration of the Hags made their way to Chicago in 2003, as the birthday wish of Nancy Solberg. The eight members consisted of Marlene Blowers, Lisa Vosika, Traci Green, Nancy Solberg, Jill Hady, and Pat Booker (L-R back) and Lynette Wellmann with Amy Carda (L-R front)

“The second year we were sitting in New Orleans in the middle of the afternoon,” Solberg said. “We decided we needed hag names because Booker had already said she was Helga. So we all came up with a name for ourselves, and it had to be an old lady’s name.”

With that, Helga (Pat Booker), Sophie (Nancy Solberg), and Lena (Jill Hady) were born. Each member who has joined since also has their own hag name.

The group’s most recent stop was in Atlanta, where the Vikings won 31-28 against the Falcons. Booker said while the main reason they go is for the games, they have also been able to expand their horizons while in new cities.

“We go out and visit different things and see different stuff,” she said. “People have different interests. I found some things that I never thought I would go to, just because other people like that. It’s a healthy, intriguing thing to do.”

All three agreed they couldn’t settle on a favorite place they’d been. They’ve enjoyed all the stadiums, met plenty of fans, and delighted in everything each city has had to offer. They also agreed New England had been one of their less enjoyable experiences.

The 12 Hags who attended Atlanta in 2023, Traci Green, Linda Dietz, Jill Hady, Lisa Vosika, Amy Carda, Pat Kritzeck, Joyce Wong, Nancy Solberg, Shelley Fabian, Pat Booker, Stella Vosika, and Brenda Vanderveur (L-R), set a record for most Hags going to a single game. With the group at 13 now, they’re looking to break this record in 2024 at Jacksonville.

“It should be about the love of the game,” Booker said. “I love interacting with other fans, different teams. Some team fans don’t enjoy that type of thing. They make it very clear what they think about the Vikings.”

Even though there were some bad apples, the group maintained there have been lovely fans everywhere they have gone. Solberg said a prime example of this was when they were in New England.

“People from up above came down and told me that I couldn’t be standing up,” she said “And all those New England fans from across the aisle came over and said, ‘We’re gonna stand with you’ and ‘She can stand if she wants.'”

As the group has spent more and more time together, both on their annual trip and smaller get-togethers throughout the years, their bond has only gotten stronger and stronger.

This has helped them get through rough patches like 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic forced them to cancel their annual trip. The group also suffered a devastating loss as Booker’s son Keith, who had been one of the group’s biggest fans, died at the age of 45. The whole group went to his funeral.

Solberg said the group has enriched all of the member’s lives in a major way.

“I don’t know what I would do without this bunch,” she said. “They are amazing. I couldn’t ask for better support or friends. It doesn’t make a difference how far apart we are or how hard it is to get us all together. When one of us needs something, the others are there.”

“Weddings, funerals, births, you name it,” Hady said. “People have done benefits so we’ve contributed to those. We’re friends, we’re tight, we’re there for each other.”

The group has already picked out Jacksonville as their next stop. They said when the schedule comes out, they’ll start the preparation and reservation process all over again. As for the future of Vikings football, the Hags agreed the Vikes need to secure a good quarterback first and foremost.

Booker, Solberg, and Hady want the 49ers to beat the Chiefs in the Super Bowl. They believe the Chiefs have won enough.