It’s time to bid a sad farewell to our Minnesota Twins. What started out so promising this spring has disintegrated into, "Who will make the next mistake?" The more games the Twins play, the more flaws appear.
The Twins and the Minnesota Vikings have been our best hope recently for bringing a men’s championship home to Minnesota. It has been a half century of futility and mediocrity for our football Gophers and poor to somewhat better than average season after season for our Minnesota Timberwolves since their inception.
It’s getting kind of scary to be one of the folks who remember when our Gophers were feared on a football field. One of our last ties to a strong Gopher football is gone with the passing of coach Murray Warmath. Not many reminders of the Minneapolis Lakers remain either. Sid Hartman, Minneapolis sports columnist has his detractors, but he is one of the few remaining links to the glory days of Gopher football and Laker basketball.
In the more recent past the Minnesota Twins provided the last championship and that was 20 years ago. Let’s leave the Twins for now, put aside the puzzle of Joe Mauer, the concern over Justin Morneau, and look toward the upcoming football season. One positive thing about being a fan of any team and investing time and money in rooting for them, is there is very little you can do about a team’s success or failure. Kind of like the weather. You may not like it, but you bear no responsibility for it.
It’s fall and time for football. Although one can admire football teams such as St. John’s, the two teams that have the most attention paid to them are the Minnesota Golden Gophers and the Minnesota Vikings. Both teams have new coaches and are afforded a short honeymoon the first few games. Coach Kill didn’t need his first-game honeymoon as the Gophers began the season with an almost "come-from-behind" win over perennial power USC. Everyone is very happy with new Gopher coach Jerry Kill. Even Athletic Director Joel Maturi is getting praise for hiring him from the sportswriters. That’s unusual.
Based on the first game the Gophers look like they might be competitive this year. That’s a big step in the right direction. However, the game might not have indicated so much what a good coach Jerry Kill is, but what a bad coach Tim Brewster was. But perhaps more importantly, for Gopher football status in the state, is the feeling that the Gophers might be a team of the future.
The Minnesota Vikings have yet to play a meaningful game as I write this. But, coach Leslie Frazier has made a good first impression solidifying his standing with the team and Viking fans by kicking overweight, and sometimes unmotivated, Bryant McKinnie off the team.
One advantage Frazier and Kill have is that they’re replacing unpopular coaches. I do feel Brad Childress was by far a better coach than Tim Brewster. He prepared his teams well and was respected by his players. One problem was he sold his soul to put Brett Favre at quarterback. He knew what he was doing, but did it anyway to order to win it all and almost succeeded. They failed because of his other flaw. The coaching staff seemed to panic at crunch time and either make the wrong call or commit a stupid mistake such as 12 men on the field at a crucial juncture.
With two new coaches and a new year there is reason to believe the teams will bring some fun to Minnesota football.
