My Biggest Fan

          The holidays are always a time for me to stop and acknowledge how lucky I am and with 2010 coming to an end, I can't help but look back on the last 12 months a little out of breathe.  Every day has been one step closer to my dream, an aspiration that was passed along from my dad.  Meet Jim.

           Everything I know and love about baseball I learned from my dad.  A farm boy who grew up playing in the fields of southern Minnesota, my dad spent his adolescence hitting home runs and winning batting championships for the Waterville Buccaneers.  When I was a child he tried his hand at coaching, spending countless hours teaching me how to play the game in the shade of our backyard.  He showed me how to catch the ball, field a grounder, follow through on my swing, the same skills his father had taught to him years before on their family farm. 

            Baseball became our sport.  The youngest of four daughters, I was his last chance at having someone to share his passion with.  My older sisters had already turned him down and in a way I became the son he never had.  He truly loved everything about America’s pastime and he made sure that I loved it, too.  As I grew up, my Barbie dolls were slowly moved off their shelves in favor of Homer Hankies and autographed baseballs, my storybooks replaced by a baseball card collection.  Even through my teenage angst when my dad just seemed to be an embarrassment in my life, baseball was the one thing that kept us connected.

         This last year has been a crazy one for me -- internships at WCCO and KFAN and a sportswriting position at the Minnesota Daily have thrown me into crazy situations, opportunities that I dreamt about when I first considered pursuing a job in sports.  Through it all, though, one thing has been constant: my dad cheering me along from the sidelines.   His support has given me the confidence to pursue what can only be described as my dream job and if it were all taken away tomorrow, I would be satisfied simply because I know he is proud of me.  

          Jim and I will be busy in the next couple of weeks.  I'm taking him down to Madison for the Big Ten opener at the Kohl Center, followed by as many Gopher basketball games at Williams Arena before he and my mom jet off for Mexico for the winter.  Then in March we're heading down to Fort Myers for our first Twins' spring training, a fitting celebration of my 25th birthday.  I'm just waiting for news that Jim Thome has been resigned so I can start working on Jim's 72nd birthday present -- an autographed baseball from a player he admires.  A small request in exchange for all I've been given over the years.

             

           

Bleeding maroon and gold isn't easy.

            For anyone who woke up in Minneapolis this morning, you can relate to the ‘ho-hum’ I initially felt.  It was gross.  Glum, foggy, misty day.  Heading to the Twins game tonight, it was exactly the weather I had not wanted to wake up to.  But—and I can only thank karma or a higher power for this—the sun has come out and it’s actually insanely beautiful out.  Which is why this will be a short-short blog.  I’ve got a baseball game to enjoy.

            So… anyone who knows me knows I love the Gophers.  In fact, last night I threw on some sweats to run some errands only to have the cashier at Holiday question my fashion choices.  “You’re awfully brave to wear Minnesota stuff after their embarrassing loss on Saturday.”

            Yes, it was embarrassing.  So embarrassing that I should have retired my maroon and gold for a while.  But—it’s been an embarrassing last couple of years. Forget losing to South Dakota and USC—those are just the most recent examples of the Gophers’—and Brewster’s—failures.  The program has been slumping since Glen Mason and the 2005 Gophers lost to Wisconsin on a blocked punt in the Metrodome.  Granted, we weren’t an exceptional program even then.  But we were decent.  We had just beat Michigan at the Big House and were ranked in the top 25—something a Gopher fan would remember five years later because it’s not a regular status for the mediocre Minnesota team.

            My point is, Minnesota is my team. Yes, losing sucks.  Being at the bottom of the Big Ten sucks.  But I went to Minnesota for a reason.  And I’d like to consider myself a true Gopher fan.  Am I kinda ‘over’ it?  You bet.  But does that mean I’m going to stop going to games and cheering on the team, even though it’s pretty likely that we are going to lose?  No.  Not a chance.  The Cubs—who are having a very sub-par season—have the highest tickets prices in the MLB because their fans go to games no matter what—a lesson Minnesota fans could take to heart.

            Minnesota is my team.  Even after I graduate and move away, maroon and gold will be two colors that regularly appear in my wardrobe.  Because at some point—and I pray this is true—the Gophers will get it together and I’ll be able to truthfully say I supported them the entire way.  We all have a choice when it comes to cheering on a team.  You don’t like the way Brewster does it?  Buy some red and cheer for the Badgers.  You wouldn’t be the first fair-weather fan to jump ship when things got rough.

Paul DeBettignies (@MNHeadhunter)--the only Gopher fan who loves the team more than me.

Introducing the besties to TCF Stadium.  You know they are true friends when they buy maroon and gold to support your team.  Love you, ladies.  :)

Iowa... The Land of Mullets and Hawkeye Football

        On Thursday night, I did something I’ve never done before.   I cut a mullet.  No, not on myself.  It was my friend Ryan.  He had decided that he wanted a mullet in honor of our road trip to Iowa City and somehow I became the one holding the clippers. 

         I did… okay.  There was one minor slip-up on his sideburn but other than that, it turned out looking pretty good.  I mean, as good as a mullet can look.  It’s funny because he didn’t even stand out in Iowa.  No one—except the Minnesota fans—even commented on his hair.  I guess that’s just how it is in Iowa—mullets and Hawkeye football.

         There was a moment during the drive down Friday night when I thought, maybe the Gophers could pull this off.  Brewster hadn’t produced a big win yet and Iowa had just lost to Northwestern and Ohio State.  There was a chance.  Granted, it was a very slim chance but if Adam Weber could pull it together we may be able to do something offensively.  Ha.

         Obviously, by now you know we got shut out.  In fact, the only good thing we did the entire game was block a field goal.  It was still cool to get inside of Kinnick Stadium, the third Big Ten stadium I’ve been to.  Somehow my best friend and I ended up with sweet seats—just five rows up from the 20-yard line—right in the midst of all of the Gopher fans.  And even though the game itself was awful, we still had a great time.

         It looks like next year I’ll be able to hit up Purdue, Michigan State, and Illinois—three more stadiums to cross of the my list.  That just leaves Ohio State, Northwestern, Penn State, and Indiana—meaning I will have visited all of the Big Ten stadiums by the end of the 2012 season.  Yikes. 

        I added in a few photos from the trips… Halfsies—two Gopher fans and two Iowa fans—up with the sun for some Saturday football… Lil Nigel II and his warning sign…  Mr. Ryan Kelly and the infamous mullet.  Some of us also made the local news... KCRG Iowa Football Video  Yes, that is me talking a mean game to some Iowa fans.  My mom must be so proud.

Glen Mason left... and so did winning?!

           In the spring of 2007—shortly after being hired at the University of Minnesota—Tim Brewster made an appearance at the end of a Greek speaker we were forced to sit through each semester.  He was energetic, optimistic, and let’s be frank—he wasn’t Glen Mason.  Three thumbs up for the Brew Crew. 

            Well, we are in the midst of our third season under Mr. Brewster and I’m starting to wonder—what has he accomplished?  Where is that Rose Bowl I was promised as a naïve sophomore? 

            During the 2007 season, we went 1-11 winning against Miami of Ohio after three overtimes in the Metrodome.  A win by definition but really?  Nothing to write home to Mom about.  Of the eleven losses during that season, six of them were by a touchdown or less—two of the games by only a point.  Bowling Green, Florida Atlantic, Purdue, Ohio State, Indiana, Northwestern, North Dakota State (yikes!), Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin.  Ughhh.

            Last year, things started to look up after the Gophers went 4-0 against Northern Illinois, Bowling Green, Montana State, and Florida Atlantic.  Unfortunately, the non-conference games ended and our season started to swirl down the toilet bowl.  I mean, we did secure wins against Indiana, Illinois, and Purdue—three teams we embarrassed ourselves against the year before.  But then we lost to Ohio State again.  And Northwestern again.  Michigan.  Wisconsin.  And finally, an excruciating 0-55 loss to Iowa at the Metrodome—the one thing any and every Iowa fan brings up when you talk Big Ten football.  We did make a bowl though.  Our 7-5 record was enough to send us to Tempe to get manhandled by the Kansas Jayhawks. 

            So before we even look at this season, who has Coach Brewster beaten?  Miami of Ohio, Northern Illinois, Bowling Green, Montana State, Florida Atlantic, Indiana, Illinois, and Purdue—five of those, teams we lost to in 2007.  That’s a record of 8-25 in two seasons.

            With four games left in this season, things could end badly for the Gophers.  So far, we’ve beaten Syracuse, Air Force, Northwestern, and Purdue—we’ve lost to California, Wisconsin, Penn State, and Ohio State, leaving us 4-4.  This Saturday, we have Michigan State at home, followed by Illinois and South Dakota State, our season ending on the road at Iowa.

            So again, I ask—what has Tim Brewster accomplished?  Three years in and we have yet to upset any team.  Don’t get me wrong, I want him to do well.  But I’m starting to feel like he’s a used car salesman, selling me on anything that will keep me on board.  My favorite excuse that I’ve heard is that he was brought in to recruit—okay, that’s great.  But why are we wasting time recruiting if our football team can’t win any big games?  To clutter campus with more maroon clad boys on mopeds?  I just don’t get it.

As long as it isn't the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl...

            The Gophers are two games away from being bowl eligible.  I was pretty optimistic at the beginning of the season that we would make one of the seven spots offered to the Big Ten.  Maybe it was the high I got from watching the Gophers play in our new stadium.  Maybe it was the potential we all saw in Adam Weber and super hero Eric Decker.  Maybe it was pure school spirit.  Whatever it was, it started to dwindle today when I started thinking about bowl season and where the Gophers stood.  Two games doesn’t seem like a lot, I get that.  But the rest of our schedule doesn’t leave much room for mistakes.

Our next two games—both on the road at Penn State and Ohio State—are going to define our season.  With both teams 5-1 at the midway point, I’m not going to hold my breath or pray for a miracle.  I get it, I should be more optimistic but it’s Penn State and Ohio State!  We have only played Penn State ten times—the last an overtime win for the Nittany Lions in 2006.  And we did beat the Buckeyes in 2000.  But they are consistently pretty damn good at football and seem to be considered two of the top teams in the Big Ten.  Penn State did surf smoothly through their first half of the season with wins against Akron, Temple, and Eastern Illinois--and even Coach Joe has addressed the fact that this is their first chance to really define themselves as a football team.  So maybe there is hope?! 

  Thankfully, there’s a chance we could pick up a win against Michigan State on Halloween—the Spartans are also 2-1 in the Big Ten, probably still reeling from Central Michigan’s major upset on Sept. 12^th.  It really could be anyone’s game.  So hypothetically speaking, if the Gophers can pull off a win against Michigan State, we’d have a record of 5-4 with three games left to play.  Illinois, South Dakota State and the dreaded Iowa. 

Who hates Iowa?  This girl.  Especially after the blow-out at the Dome last year (I promise that is the only time I will mention that).  One thing I’m confident about is the Gophers chances against Illinois.  (I’m not even going to address SDSU because if we don’t beat them, I think TCF Bank Stadium will be torn apart.)  And let’s be honest—if the Gophers score against the Hawkeyes in Iowa City, we will all be happy.  Therefore, I’m thinking—okay, I’m predicting—the Gophers end the season either 7-5 or 6-6, depending on what happens when Michigan State comes to town.

Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to see the Gophers take as many wins as they can.  I’m just being practical.  After going just 1-11 in 2007, I’ve become very frugal with my optimism when it comes to Minnesota football.  So on Saturday—when the Gophs take on #14 Penn State—think of me watching the game with my hands half covering my eyes.  And if the guys decide to surprise us all, I will have no problem eating my words.   

First Gopher Game at the TCF Bank Stadium

Minnesota vs. Air Force

September 12th, 2009

20-13 W