Baseball America, there is nothing more fascinating when rival professional crowds join forces to support our nation’s cause.

This Sports Daddy was in New Orleans for the Vikings football game just one month after 9-11. During the 2nd Quarter of that event those of us in the stands learned that the bombing of Afghanistan had begun.  I will never forget the shivers Read more…

I joined Minnesota Momentum about 2 years ago (it seems) and have not much to advocate for a new Vikings Stadium since.  Maybe I am just worn out from all the rhetoric? You know we in Minnesota just launched three of the best sports venues in the last decade, and each one was a battle.

After losing the North Stars to Dallas, Minnesota politicians finally hunkered down and re-built downtown St. Paul with the construction of Xcel Energy Center for the NHL Hockey Wild franchise.  St. Paul is now a rocking big city for Wild games, and it seems all the nay sayers are now proud of the results. I think ESPN even named the X as the best venue to watch professional hockey.

The Gophers football program completed their inaugural season at TCF Bank stadium with great reviews, and a poor football product, and the Minnesota Twins just played their first games at Target Field.  I don’t even have to tell you how great a response the Twins are getting from public & pundits for their brand spanking new baseball cathedral. Just type in Target Field on Google and see for yourself, or scroll down and see some pictures on this blog.

So why haven’t the Vikings “got theirs” yet? A few years ago, I had a chance to ask Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty  that question when came to my place of employment. I set the question up when I told him that my favorite “T-Paw” moment was being at the Twins game when he signed the bill for a new stadiun at homeplate in the Metrodome as part of a pre-game ceremony.

“Yes, I liked that too!” was his candid  response. Then I had my chance to ask him directly,

“So, now all we have to do is get the purple their stadium, right?”

“Yes, that would be a good thing, I don’t know how that happened, with the Gophers, they just sort of went out and did their own thing”  he said honestly, “What we should have done was…”

His response was rudely interrupted by one of the “suits” at our company who obviously felt some pleasure in stepping in on my conversation with the Governor.

Now, I feel it is time for the Vikings to really push hard to get their stadium, during this years Legislative session, and apparently the team and state agree. Minnesota momentum just sent me an e-mail this morning:

Tens of thousands of Vikings fans have said they want a stadium solution to keep their team in Minnesota. Are you one of them? If you support a new Vikings stadium, it’s time for you to Join the Momentum at http://www.minnesotamomentum.com.

Minnesota Momentum is the grassroots coalition of fans, business and community leaders – just like you – dedicated to finding a stadium solution with the Minnesota Vikings. We keep fans and supporters informed about the stadium drive, including opportunities for you to help with the effort.

With just 20 games left in the Metrodome, the time has come to resolve the stadium issue once and for all. Here’s why:

• The design and functionality of the Metrodome is based on another era and is now obsolete as an NFL stadium.
• The Vikings stadium project will create 13,000 jobs – including 7,500 jobs for construction and trades workers and 3,400 permanent jobs when the stadium is complete.
• There’s practically a sale on new stadiums right now with construction costs and interest rates at 20-year lows.
• The Metrodome was built for $33 million in public funds – with the state contributing $0. Since 1982, the Metrodome has generated $319 million in tax revenue; $304 million has gone back to the state.
• A new stadium preserves our ability to keep the Vikings in Minnesota for the long-term.

Are you ready to join us yet?

Okay one more thing: Minnesota Momentum is also trying to have a little fun. Supporters who invite others to join the effort (http://www.minnesotamomentum.com/spread-the-word/) and contact their elected officials (http://ga1.org/campaign/electedofficials) to tell them why they want a new stadium are eligible to win authentic Vikings gear, including autographed footballs and jerseys, as well as invitations to exclusive team events.

Achieving a new stadium depends on Vikings fans and supporters. Please Join the Momentum today!

The baseball jones is rampant, the fever is at high pitch, and like the dawn of my early addiction to this sport, it is spawned from visits to an outdoor Major League stadium in Minnesota. I have attended two games at the Twins fans’ baseball lair called Target Field this week, and I have to admit that I am craving even more.

Words were hard to write after the opening day game with the Red Sox. All I could really do is post pictures and let them speak for themselves.  But as my Vikings Tailgate buddy Brandon wrote on my Facebook,

“Pictures don’t let people feel the breeze hit their face, or the sun shine on it. Pictures don’t let people see the sun glisten off the skyline or hear the crack of the bat. Pictures don’t let people experience everything that is OUTDOOR baseball…the way it, the greatest game ever invented, was meant to be played!!”

I had to agree,  and added to the string on April 12,

“Don’t forget, the taste of polish hot dog, followed by the cold swallow of an ice cold Summit ale, or the smell of ballpark as you hear one of several impromptu bands jammin as you exit the light rail. ”

There is so much more to write about the First Night game vs. Kansas City that I attended last night, but Twins fans should also take note the product on the field is pretty damn good too.

A few months ago, I was in Fort Meyers for the first exhibition of the season with the Red Sox at Hammond Field. The Public Address announcer started rattling off the starting line up, Dennard Span, Orlando Hudson, Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Jim Thome, Michael Cuddyer, Delmon Young, JJ Hardy and Nick Punto. I turned to the guy sitting next to me and said,

“That line up has a nice ring to it.”

He agreed, and then reminded me that we still had Jason Kubel sitting on the bench. Ah, Mr. Kubel, the dude that hit that first homer at Target Field on Monday afternoon. A fellow So Dak kid playing in Minnesota, and making some history.

I have to admit I am still awe of our new digs, and very stoked to be a fan of this franchise.

Met Stadium 1980's

Tomorrow is a day that I have been waiting for since 1981.

That was the last time I saw a Major League baseball game played in Minnesota under the open sky at Metropolitan Stadium. I cannot believe this day is approaching, outdoor baseball in the State of Hockey is coming!

I have seen hundreds of games inside the bubble of the HHH Metodome, including games 2, 6 and 7 of the 1987 World Series, and Game 2 in 1991. There have been so many great moments inside the Humpty Hump, but nothing will compare to the cold, chilly, sunny skies of Target Field.

I am jealous of my 5 year old boy, who will get to see an entire lifetime of great baseball in this brand new venue. I feel I have been robbed of this privilege for most of my adult life. While other teams have built new cathedrals for their teams, Twins fans were stuck with a hefty bag and revolving doors that blew hats off their heads.

I always defended the dome, saying that I would go anywhere to see “good baseball” and the best baseball at any level is from the Twins. I was and remain a loyalist to a fault. Now on the eve of one of the greatest days in Twins history, I feel like my 5 year old on Christmas Eve.

I purposely avoided contact with Target Field during it’s construction. I wanted to wait for the first time a “REAL” game was played at that venue before walking into the stadium. Like a present wrapped under the tree, I have seen the new venue from afar. I even sneaked a peak at it from the skyway on my way to a Timberwolves game a few weeks back, but I quickly looked away, for fear of ruining the moment for tomorrow.

It want this to be a complete surprise, a whole new feeling, a rush, a high, a moment I will never forget. It will be like the first time I ever walked into Met Stadium, with my father back in 1976. I have spent my entire sports watching life trying to re-capture that first experience; the smell of hot dogs, the buzz of the crowd, the sun burning brightly above…

Tomorrow, the Twins play the Red Sox, and I will be there with my camera and wallet. This will be the greatest present a diehard baseball fan could ever get. Twins fans now can feel legitimate and Big Leagues again.

I am stoked, and feel privileged that I will be able to take my own son to outdoor baseball for many years to come!

From Sullybaseball Blog in 2008:
“I know it sounds crazy, defending the single most maligned stadium in the game, but I say there is a place for it and a real group of reasons to keep it as the home of the Twins.

Indulge me! (READ MORE)