The first column I ever wrote for The Spectator was last fall, when I laid out my sorrowful feelings about a state where the sports teams tease the fans year after year with false hopes of actually accomplishing something. Flash forward to a few months later, and I’m still crying myself to sleep almost every night.
When the Vikings failed to make the playoffs, I said, “At least we got Kevin Garnett and the ‘Wolves.” When Garnett was shut down a few weeks before the season was over to rest his knees (they tried to lose to get a better pick in the draft), I thought, hey, the Twins are starting soon.
Oh, and the Wild, aren’t they like one of the higher-revenue teams in the NHL, a league which does not have a salary cap, yet the Wild refuse to spend some actual money to get some decent players? Minnesota is the hockey state; make the fans who sell out every game happy for once.
The Minnesota Timberwolves finished their season yet I don’t know the record off the top of my head, and that is a good thing. I mean, they’re predicted to pick sixth in the NBA draft in June. I think that explains their season. Kevin McHale said he is going to work really hard this off season to get the team back to the playoffs next year and so on. Excuse me, but isn’t that the goal every off season for any team who ultimately doesn’t win the championship? And even if you win, don’t you still try to add a few pieces to the weak spots of your lineup? I’ve ranted about this subject before and this better be McHale’s last shot.
Second to last in the American League in runs scored? Not the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, but the Minnesota Twins. Only Kansas City is worse, and that isn’t saying much at all.
The pitching is in dead-last place for ERA, and teams are hitting a league best .315 against us, which is great news for a team that was supposed to be defensively strong and knew it would be hurting for run support. Meanwhile, the hitting remains alarming. The Twins are in the bottom third of the league in hits, runs, doubles, homeruns, total bases, RBIs, slugging percentage and on base percentage. Is this nightmare over yet?
The Vikings continually surprise me week in and week out. The latest news – they fired a guy that basically headed the team’s draft last weekend. Fran Foley, the personnel director, was ousted, most likely not because of his draft picks, but because of misleading information on his rsum and apparently butting heads with new coach Brad Childress. Remember, the Daunte Culpepper trade basically got us a backup center in the second round when he was projected as maybe an early second-day pick. We traded two third-round picks for a late-second round to take a Div. II quarterback. It was a miracle that linebacker Chad Greenway actually fell to No. 17. Knowing the Vikings’ luck, that should probably not
have happened.
I won’t even go into the college sports for Minnesota, especially after half the Gopher women’s basketball team decided to either transfer or quit after this season.
Maybe I’m just making too many wishes on too many stars for something to turn around. I heard somewhere that Minnesota is the only sports market with basketball, baseball, football and hockey teams that hasn’t had a championship since 1991. If I’m wrong, please send me an e-mail, but that’s something interesting to think about. Maybe I’ll become a Brewers fan. I mean hey, I like Derrick Turnbow, a young infield, Corey Koskie (former Twin, great community guy) and who doesn’t love having Carlos Lee on your fantasy baseball team?
I know being a Packer fan is out of the question, and as long as Garnett wears a Timberwolves jersey and I can’t fully support the Bucks, although it’s a solid team that will be together for a few years.
I’m torn, maybe, but I know I’m frustrated.
I guess I’ll just go back to what my mother taught me – don’t expect things. I can say that now, but I still expect a Christmas present from Mom, so why can’t I assume something good from one of the Minnesota teams? That’s my age-old question.
Andy Weise is a junior broadcast journalism major and a sports editor for The Spectator.
