First Twins Games as a Minnesota Resident

I will always be a Brewers fan first and foremost, but I was excited to root for the Twins for the first time as a Minnesota resident this past weekend.  I went to the Saturday and Sunday games vs. the Mets with some friends visiting from out of town, and even though I've probably been to Target Field 20+ times in my life, these games held a little bit more special meaning for me.  I was a little bit more proud and felt more welcome at the park just from the sheer fact that I now live in Minnesota, and that might not seem like it should make a difference but it really does.  I love visiting new ballparks and I always will, but fandom is a special thing when it is your own team.  I still look back fondly at my 3 years in Cincinnati and how psyched I was to follow the Reds, how grateful I was to be a part of their history, and how quickly I got into following the team, and that lasted for many years after I graduated - until the Brewers and Reds both got good and I could no longer in good faith cheer for a Brewers rival.  Erik has been a Twins fan since the day he moved to Minneapolis for graduate school and he still is (granted he also worked for the team on two separate occasions so his situation was a little different), so I'm also excited to have one more commonality to share with my best friend.

The thing I enjoy most about the Twins and their fans is the sense of belonging from not just the Twin Cities, but all across the state of Minnesota and beyond.  They call Target Field "Twins Territory," and I'm not sure if they still do this post-COVID, but they used to do a bus tour all the way around the state in the winter and spring getting people hyped up for the season, sort of like a traveling fan fest.  They host themed fan nights for North Dakota, South Dakota, and Iowa residents/school alumni throughout the year and are always proud to highlight how far their "territory" stretches, which includes some western parts of Wisconsin.  The Brewers do have this to a certain degree as well as you could consider the Brewers Wisconsin's team, but I have not seen it to the devotion of Twins fans coming to watch games from all over the state.  Minnesota also has a functional government and does not push off "city problems" on the Twins like Wisconsin does with Milwaukee and the Brewers, but that's another story for another time.

I witnessed the Twins take two out of three from the lowly Mets, and the one game they lost was a dominating 8-inning, 14-strikeout performance by Pablo Lopez that the bullpen once again coughed up.  I'm now at a point where I have to debate which city I want to watch playoff baseball in - which is a good problem to have - but I have my brand-new Twins cap and Royce Lewis jersey ready just in case I end up choosing the Twins.

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 9/11/23

Brewers 79-63, +3.0, playoffs magic number 14; 4 v. Marlins, 3 v. Nationals, 4 @ Cardinals, 3 @ Marlins

Twins 75-68, +7.5, playoffs magic number 12; 3 v. Rays, 4 @ White Sox, 3 @ Reds, 3 v. Angels

2023 GAMES ATTENDED:

Erik - 3

Peter - 20