Let’s just call it a Public Service Announcement.
I want you to cheer. As a matter of fact, if you’re a Minnesota sports fan I think one local team in particular is going to need you to cheer earlier, louder and harder then ever.
But, back to my public service announcement. If you do ever find yourself at a local sporting event don’t do “The Wave.”
Never.
Ever.
Just don’t.
As a matter of fact, if you should even see somebody attempting to start “The Wave” don’t try to stop them. After all, we are Minnesotan’s (we don’t typically take part in that sort of direct confrontation) and with the likelihood that alcohol is involved, it’s not a good idea. Just refuse to participate. “The Wave” is not cool, it’s not smart, and after 40-years, the wave has crashed. So, just throw plenty of “shade.”
“TheWave”, of course, occurs when spectators briefly stand, raise their arms and yell before returning to a seated position, resulting in a wave of rising and sitting spectators in a continuous rolling motion around the arena or stadium. For almost 40 years “The Wave” has been the bane of my existence, and for the most part I have suffered in silence.
No longer.
Look, I get it. Maybe it wasn’t your idea to go to the game in the first place and maybe the home team isn’t doing so hot, and maybe you feel bad for the idiot who, instead of actually paying attention to the action in front of him has spent the ENTIRE GAME trying to start the wave, but... this is where I need you to stay strong, and just say “no.”
With my change in schedule I’ve recently started watching and attending local sports events again, and as sports fans I think we can (and should ) do a better job.
Take the Minnesota Wild for instance. I’ve been at their last three home games, and at each one the early portion of the game felt more like a church service than a major sporting event. Unfortunately, this is nothing new. Consider that the Wild have compiled a record of 26-6-8 on the season, and with a win in tonight’s regular season home finale they’ll match last year’s club record of 27-wins at home, so they’re not complaining about the quiet crowds. At least not publicly, but, I still feel like as fans we can and should do better.
For example, if you saw or heard about the Wild’s game March 16 at Las Vegas you got a perfect example of how a home crowd 'should' be. As an expansion team, the Golden Knights have exceeded all expectations and will make the playoffs in their first year of existence. A big part of that success is due to their dominance on home ice.
The Knights have posted a record of 27-9-2 at home in their inaugural season, but they enjoyed no home ice advantage when the Wild came calling. A lethal combination of boisterous snowbirds and snow-weary Minnesotans invaded T-Mobile Arena, wearing Wild colors and bringing such energy the Wild made themselves right at home, beating the Knights by a final score of 4-2.
After the game the Wild players remarked about the effect of the crowd and what a difference it made. Heck, at one point the crowd in Vegas even started doing the ‘Skol’ chant... well done Minnesota Vikings!
Fast-forward to this past week, when the Wild got home crowd off their hands (and out of their seats) to post a home-ice win over the powerful Nashville Predators on Saturday night... only to have to travel to Nashville to play the Preds on their home rink three nights later.
Even watching the game on TV you could hear the difference in the crowds. Nashville fans didn’t wait to see how the locals performed to decide whether or not to make noise; They brought it, right from the drop of the puck. And on this night, when the Wild scored late to tie the game, then won it in OT, you certainly couldn’t blame the fans for a lack of energy or enthusiasm.
Where am I going with all of this?
Despite flirting with one of their best all-time regular season records, you can’t ignore the negativity surrounding the Wild. The media and fans alike have treated this season with general apathy, and a common refrain is that the regular season won’t matter if the boys can’t win at least one playoff round.
Sadly, it now appears the Wild will be without Ryan Suter for their potential playoff run. A frequent target of fan and media barbs for the relationship between the size of his contract and his on-ice production, Suter, limped off the ice Saturday night in Dallas and may have suffered a season-ending “lower body” injury. Like him or not, Suter is the heart of the Wild’s defensive effort, logging not only extensive minutes in six-on-six, but also on both of the Wild’s power-play and penalty-kill units.
With Jared Spurgeon already out with a knee injury, Suter’s loss would leave the Wild without their top defensive pair heading into the season’s most critical time, a time when confidence can (and often does) mean the difference between winning and losing.
So, my point is if you’re going to the game, bring it. Don’t just attend, participate. Unless of course we’re talking about “the wave”.
Are we clear?
Trust me, you’ll thank me later.
All I am saying, is give Greenway a chance.
On Twitter Saturday night, somebody referred to Wild rookie Jordan Greenway as “junk”, adding that he had no idea where he was supposed to be and was constantly turning the puck over.
It was his third game people. This fan was watching the game on television, which means you really don't have the ideal prospective for what is happening on the ice.
Don’t get me wrong.... no matter how much hockey this kid has played (D-1 college, international tournaments, The Olympics) there is going to be an adjustment when you’re playing in the NHL, especially when you’re essentially dropped into the playoff race.
Still, Greenway made no excuses when I spoke with him after Thursday night’s win over Dallas. “Going from the Olympics to the playoffs at BU to here and stepping right in, it’s been crazy, you know?," reflected Greenway. "But I signed-up for it, and it’s been really fun. It’s an honor, you know? Not a lot of guys have been given the opportunity that I’ve been given and I couldn’t be more thankful and I’m just looking to make the most of it, take full advantage of it and do whatever I can to help these guys win.”
The Wild ARE going to make the playoffs, and when those games start the ice is going to get a lot smaller and other teams are going to try to take advantage of the Wild physically. It’s then you’ll be happy to have Greenway in the corners and in front of the net doing the dirty work.
“Expect me to do everything I can to help these guys out. I’m just gonna continue to work every day, to learn from these guys and try to get better, and I think you’ll see things start to come together,” he promises.
Promising start for Twins Starters
It started with Jake Odorizzi throwing six-innings of shutout ball on Thursday, then Kyle Gibson followed up with six-innings of no-hit ball on Saturday night. Young Jose Berrios wrapped the weekend up by throwing a 3-hit, complete game shutout in Sunday's series finale. All told Twins starters have combined to start the season with a combined 21-innings of scoreless ball.
Berrios (who has the biggest upside of the three) was 9-1 at Target Field last season, but just 5-7 on the road. So, to see him in command at Camden Yard shows not only how much he grew-up during last year’s pennant race, but just how much potential he has at the tender age of 23.
Gibson, meanwhile, has won his last seven starts with the Twins, a streak that dates back to August of last season. With a tenuous grip on the last spot in the Twins starting rotation, Gibson throwing 6-innings of no-hit, shutout baseball in his first start is every bit as promising as it is pleasantly surprising.
It’s strange to say that a pitcher flirting with a no-hitter struggled at times, but Gibson clearly didn’t have his best control in Saturday night’s first start in Baltimore. His problems finding the strike zone pushed up Gibson's pitch count, and made the decision to remove him for the 7th inning a no-brainer for skipper Paul Molitor.
The bottom line? Strong starts by Odorizzi and Gibson (right now slotted as the Twins 4th and 5th starters once Ervin Santana returns in April) is encouraging, to say the least. Contributions from those two, coupled with the expected production of Santana, Lance Lynn and the anticipated growth of Jose Berrios, can’t help but make even the most jaded Twins fan optimistic about the season ahead.
Lynn gets the baseball for today’s inter-league series opener in Pittsburgh (no pressure!) and he’s not just making his first start for his new team, but doing knowing the other starters have yet to surrender a single.
Sure, the season has only just begun, but you have to love what we just saw this weekend in Baltimore.