Heartbreak is very common in this world, especially if you are a true Minnesota sports fan. Should I remind you what has happened in the past four years?
In 2001, the Vikings are crushed in the NFC championship game against the New York Giants.
In 2002, the Minnesota Twins make it to the American League Championship Series only to lose in five games to the Anaheim Angels.
In 2003, the surprising Minnesota Wild, in just their third season of existence, find themselves going all the way to the Western Conference Finals before bowing out to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks.
See a pattern?
In 2004, the Minnesota Timberwolves get the No. 1 seed in the western conference going into the playoffs, get to the conference finals and lose in six games to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Now here we are in 2005, continually teased by our professional sports teams who just can’t seem to bring home a championship trophy. The main difference now is that our teams seem to be taking steps backwards instead of forward. Not counting the Minnesota Wild, who were locked out last year along with the rest of the NHL.
The Minnesota Twins came into 2005 winning three consecutive division titles. They learned the hard way this year that you can’t hold off the competition forever as two division rivals, the Chicago White Sox and the Cleveland Indians, surpassed the Twins this year in the standings.
Yet we have the best pitcher in baseball in Johan Santana and a great pitching staff altogether. Too bad the Twins finished last in the American League in runs scored.
The Twins basically have one thing to do this offseason – get a power hitter (or two) or consider the offseason a failure. Mark my word – if they do not find help at the plate, it will be another long season in 2006.
The Minnesota Timber-wolves are set to begin their 2005-2006 season next week, but after last season, the expectations are very unclear. Once again, they will enter the season with the best player in the NBA with Kevin Garnett, but the supporting cast is all question marks.
Advice for the team: get Garnett a sidekick who can take over the game just as he can, and we could be back in the race. Who can we trade? Wally Szczerbiak. His tenure with the T-Wolves has gone long enough.
And now we’re onto the talk of the sports world, the Minnesota Vikings. I’m going to get right to where I think the problem starts and ends: Mike Tice. He is more concerned about trying to be friends with the players and have them like him as opposed to something serious like the team’s overall character.
What does it say to your players and organization when your coach is doing something wrong like that? Rest assured, under new owner Zygi Wilf there will be severe consequences for any incidents here on out.
Hey, at least Paul Edinger kicked a pretty good ball on Sunday.
Weise is a junior print journalism major and a columnist for The Spectator.
