A Letter to the Minnesota Twins Next Owner

Dear Future Minnesota Twins Owner,

It's with great pleasure we welcome you to the Twin Cities. We couldn't be more excited for new ownership around these parts. We’re not sure if you heard, but our last ownership group alienated us, right after the team ended the longest playoff losing streak in North American professional sports history. The expression “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out” would be what we call “Minnesota Nice” if uttered toward a member of the Pohlad family. While being passive-aggressive is in our nature, you should know we’re anything but that when it comes to our professional sports teams.

We desperately hope that you are here to invest in the franchise. One thing about our fan base is that, when our teams show out, we show up. No questions asked. While we don't have the glamor of cities like New York or Los Angeles or the rich sports history of cities like Boston or Chicago, we come out in droves when we know our teams care. Consult your wealthy friends who own teams in the NBA or NFL. It's famously unenjoyable to play a road playoff game here. Unfortunately, when it comes to the Twins, that feeling has been missing for the past two seasons. We hope you're here to change that. If you need more convincing, let me take you through an anecdotal tour of the town.

Minnesota Timberwolves
Have the Timberwolves been one of the worst NBA franchises in the league since their inception? Sure have. Regardless, do we pack Target Center for the playoffs and create one of the most raucous environments in the league? Sure do.

For years, the Timberwolves weren't just the laughingstock of the NBA. but really of all professional sports. When Kevin Garnett was traded away in 2006-2007, it took an entire decade for them to make it back to the playoffs. Eight coaches later and with one of the best up-and-coming teams in the NBA, we finished in the top 10 in total attendance in the most recent season. Moreover, Game 4 against the Los Angeles Lakers drew over seven million viewers—the second-largest Round 1, game 4 audience ESPN has ever seen. That's all while being the self-proclaimed “State of Hockey” and competing with the Minnesota Wild.

Minnesota Wild
Speaking of attendance figures, guess which fan base led the NHL in capacity percentage for the most recent season. Yep, it was us, at 102.7%—and the number has jumped to 106.9% during the playoffs. We don't even need to be guaranteed a seat in the arena to show up for our teams.

While the Wild have been a little easier to root for throughout their tenure, we continue to pack the Xcel Energy Center despite six first-round exits in the previous nine seasons.

Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings have long been the most popular team in town. Once they earned the moniker “Purple People Eaters”, fans have continuously packed first Met Stadium, then the Metrodome, and now U.S. Bank Stadium. Arguably more than any other local franchise, the Vikings have given us heartbreak after heartbreak, going 0-4 in Super Bowl appearances and suffering multiple tragic playoff exits. Despite this, we fill the tailgate lots hours before kickoff, and more than 74,000 of us filter into “The Bank” proclaiming “this is our season”. However, that's not unique to game days. Recently, thousands of fans attended the Vikings Draft Party in anticipation of the announcement of the team’s most recent first-round pick—even though the team was picking 24th.

Minnesota Lynx
Unlike the professional teams above, the Lynx have triumphed more than they've tumbled. The three-time WNBA champions have given fans plenty of reason to support the team over the last decade and, as always, we’ve shown out. The crowds for the team's latest, not-quite-title-winning charge to the Finals were large and rowdy.

That brings us back to the Minnesota Twins and the conclusion of this letter. Dating back 25 years, when the team was almost contracted, fans have supported this club. Even when times were tough for the majority of the 2010s, we typically finished in the middle third of MLB teams in average attendance. However, when things were good, we were great. There's no better sight than 40,000-plus Minnesotans waving their Homer Hankies ahead of a playoff matchup. If you give us a reason to support this team, we will make it well worth your investment. Be smarter than your predecessors have been.

Sincerely,
A disgruntled but passionate Twins fan