The newest team in the summer-collegiate Northwoods League ties into the fishing culture of the area.
The name of the new summer-collegiate Northwoods League franchise in Brainerd is the Brainerd Lakes Area Lunkers. The teamʼs logo features a large fish emerging from behind the Lunkers nickname towards a baseball-baited fishing pole and line. The team colors are blue and orange.
The term lunker, which is commonly used to describe a game fish that is large for its kind, was submitted twice out of the more than 800 entries in Brainerdʼs name-the-team contest. The contest was held for two weeks following the announcement in late December that the franchise would no longer be known as the Blue Thunder.
The team is owned by Joel Sutherland, who also owns the St. Cloud River Bats in the same circuit. More information is at the team’s website.