The temperature has dropped into 50's and 60's, headlights dot the morning drive, kids are eagerly off to school, and shorts and tank tops are being put away, all signs that fall is arriving. Officially summer doesn't end until September 22nd, but it might as well end on Labor Day, especially in Minnesota where unlike other places, the temperature can fluctuate 40 degrees from one day to the next.
When you live in Minnesota, you must have things to look forward to other than the summer, because if that's all you like about Minnesota than you're miserable 3/4th's of the year. People say they like the change in seasons around here, a true 4 season state, the unfortunate part is that the breakdown is not even, about 2 months of spring, 3 months of summer, 2 months of fall, and 5 months of winter; it's the last one that makes it really tough to live in Minnesota year round. But I love this state and part of the reason why is I love, love, LOVE Minnesota sports. Plus when you border states like North & South Dakota, Iowa, and Wisconsin, you realize it could be worse.
Minnesota has a very unique sports scene, creating a following unlike anywhere else in the country. All of the professional teams are out of the Twin Cities, but none
of them are named Minneapolis or St. Paul. Out of the 13 U.S. metropolitan areas that have all 4 major professional sports (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL), only Minnesota has all 4 represented by the state's name instead of the city they play in. (New York's teams are represented city wise and they're NFL teams actually play in New Jersey). The state also has only 1 full Division 1 college sports institution...aptly named the University of Minnesota. And when you include the U, the state has 6 major teams: Vikings, Twins, Timberwolves, Wild, Gophers Football, and Gophers Basketball. (Hockey is more of a regional sport and despite an intense following in Minnesota, is not a major national sport.)
It is very powerful to have an immediate identity with the entire state. Having grown up outside of the Twin Cities, never once had a I thought the teams only belonged to the urbanites, they are as much Minneapolis as they are Milaca. The fandom extends out past the state too, every team has fans from all over the country, but Minnesota has a unique geographic position on the U.S. sports landscape. Unlike many teams that lie on the coasts and have only a few hours between other metros, the closest city with another professional sports team is 278 miles to the east in Green Bay, Wisconsin; which happens to have only 1 team, the Packers, and is by far the most hated team in Minnesota. From a directional standpoint, the closest cities with professional sports teams are as follows:
East: Green Bay - 278 miles (Packers)
Southeast: Chicago - 410 miles (Bulls, Blackhawks, Bears, Cubs, & White Sox)
South: Kansas City - 436 miles(Royals & Chiefs)
Southwest: Denver - 870 miles (Nuggets, Broncos, Avalanche, & Rockies)
West: Seattle - 1,624 miles(Seahawks & Mariners)
Northwest: Calgary - 1,192 miles (Flames)
North: None
Northeast: None
The closest drive is 4 hours and anything to the west is a day trip or an expensive plane ride. Minnesota thus captures northern Iowa, most of the Dakotas and even as far as eastern Montana.
Aside from geographical and nomenclature, the teams are based in Minneapolis-St. Paul, which represents the 16th largest metropolitan area, meaning a few cities with larger populations actually have less professional sports teams. Most people associate the teams from Minnesota in the mid to small market when compared with teams from the giant metros of New York, LA, Phoenix, Atlanta, Chicago and the like. This is reflected on the team's payrolls and ability or lack thereof to bring in top level talent, also being a northern state, aside from the Twins who play mostly in the summer, selling the cold winter weather AND mid-market to a basketball or football player that could opt for the many warm weather cities of the south or the big exposure metros of the Chicago and New York ilk can be a tough sell. These factors all create an underdog mantra in the state of Minnesota. That the teams compete on an uneven playing field and if they win, its all the more sweeter because of the conditions, fiscally, geographically, and weather wise, that exist. And in the sports world when faced with an indifference in which team to root for, it almost always goes to the underdog, which makes the state's teams compelling to root for.
Much like the cold winter weather, being a Minnesota sports fan can be harsh and bitter. At the current time, there is no other metro area that has all 4 professional sports that has gone longer without a championship than Minnesota (Mpls-St. Paul). You have to go back to 1991 to find the last one, when the Minnesota Twins defeated the Atlanta Braves in what many sportswriters (in and out of the state) call one of the best world series ever played. The next closest is Washington D.C. where the Redskins hold the city's last championship, winning the Super Bowl, ironically here in Minnesota at the Metrodome. The Twins are actually the only Minnesota named team to win a championship and they've won 2, the other in 1987. The only other championships come from the Minneapolis Lakers of the 40's and 50's, last one in 1954. But that team shipped off to LA and went on to real stardom when the NBA became more popular and expanded in the 60's & 70's.
If you're looking to the college landscape to fetter you're national title appetite, than you'll only be more disappointed.
Gophers Football last won the national championship in 1960 and Gophers Basketball in 1919. Actually and surprisingly most people don't know or remember that Gophers Football was one of the best teams in the country in the 30's and 40's. In fact, the Gophers are the last team to win 3 straight national championships (1934-36). Unfortunately since you had to be at least in your 80's by now to enjoy those, the Gophers are in desperate need of a return to Glory (a term not used often in conjunction with Gopher sports.
The football team hasn't even been to a New Year's Day Bowl (considered a top 5 bowl game) since 1962. Despite they're lack of dominance, the U was able to secure and build a brand new stadium, bringing college football back to where it belongs, on campus. Here's hoping that changes their fortunes. (losing to South Dakota doesn't help though).
Over on the hardwood, the Gophers Basketball team competes at the Barn (Williams Arena) an old historic place that in 1919 must have been wonderful. It still holds its charm and is a great place to watch a game.
The team had success in the late 90's and even had a run to the Final Four in 1997. But you won't find that team in the record books, they were vacated after a massive cheating scandal was discovered during those years. Fitting.
The Timberwolves have been around since 1989 and aside from the Kevin Garnett era have been largely pathetic. They are cellar dweller team that's never reached the
NBA Finals, let alone win a championship. To pour salt into the wound, Garnett won an NBA championship with the Celtics the very next year after he left Minnesota. The current team's outlook is bleak and they have been lost in the shuffle of Minnesota sports and don't have a very loyal following. The only way to get butts in the seats is by winning and they do a horrible job of that.
The Wild are the only team that is housed in St. Paul, at the beautiful Xcel Energy Center. The team has only been here since 2000, introduced as an expansion team. The old NHL team, the Minnesota North Stars moved in 1993 to Dallas of all places and much like the Lakers, retained their mascot name, only dropping the North moniker.
Being a young franchise, the Wild, have a ways to go to get to the level of title droughts the other teams in Minnesota currently have. However, after 10 seasons, there has yet to be a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals, the closest being in 2003 when they were swept in the Conference finals by the Anaheim Mighty Ducks.
The Twins as mentioned before, are the only team in the modern era to win a championship, and they did so twice within a span of 4 years. The team is my personal favorite. I have been a die hard Twins fan my whole life and know the team's history back and forth. But I'll get into that with another post, including my prediction for this fall's postseason.
From a fans standpoint, the Twins have brought championships and entertaining baseball to Minnesota for years and yet at one point we're almost eliminated from the MLB entirely. But since that time, 10 years ago, they have consistently been a competitive team that has won several Division Championships. And finally they were rewarded with a state of the art stadium, Target Field, that is an utterly amazing place to watch a ballgame. I highly recommend you do so. The Twins at this point arguably are the best chance to bring back another championship to the state.
The other team that at present state has a chance to bring glory back to Minnesota and the last on this list, for good reason, is the Minnesota Vikings, The team with the biggest following in Minnesota. The franchise has been to 4 Super Bowls and lost them all, the last of which came in 1977. The team has been fairly competitive throughout their history, gaining at least 4 trips to the playoffs in each decade since the 70's. Enough to keep the fan base satisfied, but extremely hungry for that 1 Super Bowl victory that seems to elude this team, year after year. The Vikings we're immortalized and in many ways summed up entirely in their 1998 season. They went 15-1 and utterly dominated the league that year with Cunningham and Moss lighting up opponents in record fashion. However, the NFC Championship game with Atlanta was closer than expected and with the Super Bowl in sight and a 7 point lead with less than 3 minutes to play, the Vikings sent out Gary Anderson to kick the
insurance points to get them into the Super Bowl (where they would be heavily favored). Anderson was a perfect 35 for 35 on field goals for the year, including the playoffs, and at 38 yards, it was as close to a sure thing as you could get. So when he missed the kick, even though the Vikings still had the lead, most fans knew that the fate had been sealed...there would be no Super Bowl victory...let alone even getting there. Despite that season and all others, there is an intense Vikings following and they have been competitive for many years and have provided glimmers of hope recently that there may be light at the end of the tunnel coming very soon.
Well there you have it. Yes, there is a lot of misery accompanied with Minnesota, the winter weather and title droughts have become 2nd nature. However, there is a lot of good that comes from the sports, it gives the state identity, unites a fan base across several regions and demographics, gives each other hope (if only to deflate it, but hope nonetheless). The teams may not bring us championships every year or decade for that matter, but they do provide entertainment and an avenue to channel our inner kid hopes and dreams that sustain our abilities to stay sane and be positive about the future. And when those title days come, and come they will eventually, just imagine how sweet they will be.
