Being a Minnesota Fan is Cool Again
Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports
Minnesota sports teams were the laughingstock of their respective leagues for years, and there was nothing cool about cheering the Vikings, Timberwolves, or Twins. Vikings fans have had to survive the days of Joe Webb starting that playoff game in Green Bay. Long-time Timberwolves fans still shudder at the thought of Alexey Shved and Derrick Williams leading the charge. The Twins have had the glory days of Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau getting thrown into the New York Yankees woodchipper every postseason, followed by years of irrelevance.
Those days are in the past, though, and it appears that being a Minnesota sports fan is suddenly cool. And we can all thank Vikings standout Justin Jefferson for leading the way. Jefferson, who introduced the world to the Griddy when he was with the LSU Tigers, didn’t wait long to get his Griddy going in the NFL. It took him only until Week 3 to hit the dance after his first touchdown, one of seven in his rookie year.
The Griddy isn’t just a Minnesota phenomenon. The NFL is doing the Griddy. Hockey players are doing the Griddy. 16-year-old soccer phenoms are doing the Griddy. You can do the Griddy after no-scoping some noobs in Fortnite. There is a Griddy breakfast cereal — The taste you can hit! The sensation all comes back to No. 18 in purple. While the Griddy is his calling card, Jefferson’s appeal extends well past his signature dance. His knack for making ridiculous catches, the ability to single-handedly carry countless fantasy football owners in a match, and his charismatic character off the field, have all made him very lovable.
Anthony Edwards came to Minnesota a few months after Jefferson in the 2020 NBA draft, and he quickly became a fan favorite across the league. Edwards has become one of the best players in the NBA, and his confidence is oozing. Edwards is also one of the funnier interviews in the NBA, which is another reason why his popularity has skyrocketed. Edwards has talked about how he could become a 300 bowler and swim faster than Michael Phelps. Whenever a camera is in front of him, he’s going to speak his mind.
He’s an elite teammate who’s not only beloved, but is unafraid to hold his teammates in check. Especially Karl-Anthony Towns, who he continued to remind to stay out of foul trouble in a very Edwards-like way. “Again, let me just say, tonight he (KAT) wasn’t in foul trouble,” Edwards said during the 2024 playoff series against the Phoenix Suns. “Like the first three games, the mother****** just kept fouling. And tonight, I told him — what’d I tell you last game?… I told him yesterday, ‘We’re not gonna win Game 4 if you keep fouling.’”
Edwards’s swagger could get some fans across the NBA to start hating him, especially if the Timberwolves win a title, but for now, it’s suddenly cool to be a Timberwolves fan. Then across from the Target Center is Target Field, where the Twins play, and they have a superstar on their hands, Royce Lewis.
Lewis has only played three games this season after suffering a leg injury on Opening Day, but he’s made all three of them count, hitting a home run in each of them. Just 73 games into his career, he already has 20 home runs, which equates to a 44-homer full-season pace. This includes belting five grand slams.
For years, whenever the Twins have faced off against the Yankees, the Twins seem to go into a shell, but Lewis isn’t afraid of anyone at any time. In the biggest moments, the Twins want Lewis up to the plate because Lewis has delivered when a clutch hit is needed. He might not be the household name that Jefferson and Edwards are, but he quickly could become a popular player to cheer for across the league if he can stay healthy.
Teams like the Yankees, Dodgers, Cowboys, Warriors, Lakers, and others have always been the most popular to cheer for, but we are entering a new era in which the Vikings, Timberwolves, and Twins have dynamic players capable of putting Minnesota on the map.
For years, Target Center has been filled with jerseys of LeBron James, Steph Curry, and Kevin Durant when they are in town, but the tide is suddenly changing. Now, when the Timberwolves play in Crypto.com Arena and the Chase Center, you’re seeing plenty of Edwards jerseys (and a guy in a wolf mascot head) filling the lower bowl. When Justin Jefferson scores a touchdown at Ford Field, far away from U.S. Bank Stadium, you see plenty of fans joining him in the stands with the Griddy. With Jefferson now locked up for another four years, the party isn’t ending anytime soon. It wasn’t that way for many years, but it’s suddenly cool. Enjoy the ride Minnesota sports fans, it seems the glory days are finally here.
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