It happened again. The dream of my team winning it all was crushed when the normally dominant defense seemed like it didn’t show up to the game. This is what it’s like to be a Minnesota sports fan. It happens every year. Minnesota’s four pro teams consistently excel at one thing: breaking the hearts of the fans that invest so much time and passion into games.
The sting from a loss in the NFC Championship is slowly but surely fading. From disbelief and elation one Sunday night (the “Minneapolis Miracle”) to a punch to the gut the next (a humiliating loss to the Eagles)- this is what sports do to us. Minnesota sports especially. We’ll get over it, and we’ll let it happen again.
We’ll be back next year, as we always are. Donned in purple and gold as we hope once again to claim that shiny Lombardi trophy as the NFL season draws to a close.
The Minnesota Twins won a World Series in 1991. I was seven months old. None of the four pro teams have won anything since. We’re going on year 27 of the championship drought. Twenty-seven years.
I must acknowledge the dominance of the Minnesota Lynx, who have won four championships over the last eight years. I’m proud of what they’ve done in their league and proud to call them a Minnesota team. I just wish the rest of the sports world would acknowledge it more. But there will be something very different, and incredibly special, when a Minnesota team wins the World Series, an NBA title, the Stanley Cup or the Super Bowl. I can’t even predict how the state will react. There will be celebrations and so many tears.
There are so many good people in the state who deserve it. Take 99-year-old Vikings super fan Millie Wall, who has cheered on the team for as long as it has existed and she just wants to see them win it all. Minnesota fans are passionate, loyal, and invest so much hope. Always. We want a championship so badly we can taste it.
I hope I’m alive to see it.
For now, Wild and Timberwolves: you’re on the clock.
