Reusse: Pro teams lapping Gophers in fan interest

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highwayman said:
I'll agree with the rest of what you said, but the Wolves are considered the laughingstock of ALL PRO SPORTS in North America. They are by near all pundits the worst franchise since the 1960 growth spurt. There is no "sudden look", except by Sid and all other VERY delusional Wolves fans.
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From SI.com - their NBA insider column:

This is worth remembering because no team in sports is currently more buzzworthy than the Timberwolves......in this exact moment all but a few fan bases would trade places with Minnesota's for the next 10 years

The article goes on to rave about the potential of Towns, Wiggins, La Vine, and Tibodeau as the coach.
 

Yeah the Wolves are most definitely on the national radar right now.
 

Said this in the basketball forum as well. But imagine how good Gopher basketball and football would be if they automatically got a kid that would usually go to Kentucky/Alabama simply because they sucked and needed help. With all of the high draft picks the Wolves and Vikings have had over the years it's amazing it took this long to be somewhat relevant.
 

corcoran1 said:
As far as the Tajma Zygi, I have no interest in ever entering that building. He did not make a generous contribution, its his bleeping team. He should have paid the whole bill.
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In what world is that realistic? Even Jerry World had a contribution from the city, and he has over 3 times as much net worth as Zygi. I guarantee if Zygi paid for the whole thing there would be no baseball configuration for early season Gopher games.
 

Ski U Master said:
In what world is that realistic? Even Jerry World had a contribution from the city, and he has over 3 times as much net worth as Zygi. I guarantee if Zygi paid for the whole thing there would be no baseball configuration for early season Gopher games.
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So what portion is the state paying directly for Gopher facilities?
 


short ornery norwegian said:
Looking at it honestly, it's hard to argue with anything Reusse said. The Vikings do own the state. The T-Wolves are suddenly being looked at by the national media as the up-and-coming team in the league with a great coach, and despite their inconsistency, the Wild is reporting sell-outs virtually every game.

on the other side, the Gopher FB team struggles to sell out a stadium that is half the size of the big boys in the big 10. Gopher men's Basketball had one of the worst years in program history - with attendance to match. and Gopher Men's hockey is becoming an afterthought in the sports scene thanks to the change in conferences.

Just because you don't like Reusse, that doesn't mean he's wrong.
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Did you go to a Wolves game this year? Place was more than half empty except for a few games. Another one and done playoffs for Wild...hard to watch at times. Twins are almost toast in the first month of the season.

I tentatively give him the Vikings...he's become the anti-Sid.
 


BleedGopher said:
per Pat:

The issue for the Gophers is their major men’s programs are becoming second-class citizens more than ever.

When have football, men’s basketball and men’s hockey been more overwhelmed for attention by their pro counterparts as right now? Consider:

FOOTBALL. The Vikings have unearthed a huge and constantly optimistic following that is about to be in full awe when the Taj Ma Zygi opens in August.

Minnesota’s sporting public has embraced coach Mike Zimmer as a straight-shooting genius; quarterback Teddy Bridgewater as the answer to its prayers, and owner Zygi Wilf as a generous contributor to a stadium that will make his $600 million purchase worth $2 billion more than that the day it opens.

Meantime, the Gophers have lost a popular coach and are playing in a stadium that is going to seem very minor league when the Vikings’ palace opens.

http://www.startribune.com/pro-teams-lapping-gophers-in-fan-interest/377703491/

Go Gophers!!
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I'd rather venture to think that Gopher sports have no where to go but up. The football team had one of the highest attendance in recent years despite a lackluster season due to injuries.

There is more pro sports venues here than the Vikings here in in the Twin Cities metro area with a core population of 3.28 million people with a fan base that stretches to western Wisconsin, Iowa, the Dakotas, parts of Canada, and parts of Wyoming, and Montana.

Including the Vikings, we have seven professional sports teams:

NFL: Vikings
MLB: Twins
NBA: T-Wolves
WNBA: Lynx
NHL: Wild
AAIPB: Saints
NASC: MN United FC

An eighth pro team, the MN Swarm Lacrosse Team was sold by the Wild in 2015 and has moved to Atlanta.

It has not stopped fans from going to see the Gophers when they were winning.
I think once the Gophers start winning again in football, hockey, and basketball that the crowd will return.

If what Reusse is saying is true, the GOphers would have long shuttered their non-revenue sports, and eventually the entire athletics. That won't happen. There will always be a loyal following of Gopher sports.
 






scher215 said:
Well that certainly doesn't help my point :)

In my defense, I was referring to the current facilities project
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I don't think any of the pro teams received state money for practice facilities either. Checked a couple articles on the new Vikings complex in Eagan and didn't see any remarks about state funding, same with Timberwolves renovation of their practice facility. Could be wrong.
 




Well it always has been the case that this is a Vikings town for decades now.

I don't expect it to continue as we lost Kill, but I thought last year there was a lot more in terms of interest in attendance.
 

More people read the opinion page than fat pats articles. Why not, most of them are more informed about matters than fat pat is.
 

The pro teams are more popular, but so what? It turns out that professional sports are quite popular. There is buzz for the Vikings stadium, but it won't be new forever. TCF is what it is, a good college stadium.

Sent from my XT1031 using Tapatalk
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Looking at it honestly, it's hard to argue with anything Reusse said. The Vikings do own the state. The T-Wolves are suddenly being looked at by the national media as the up-and-coming team in the league with a great coach, and despite their inconsistency, the Wild is reporting sell-outs virtually every game.

on the other side, the Gopher FB team struggles to sell out a stadium that is half the size of the big boys in the big 10. Gopher men's Basketball had one of the worst years in program history - with attendance to match. and Gopher Men's hockey is becoming an afterthought in the sports scene thanks to the change in conferences.

Just because you don't like Reusse, that doesn't mean he's wrong.
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And recruits can easily see (and if they can't they'll be told) that at UM, that they'll be on the fourth or fifth most followed program in the market. At Madison, Iowa City, Lincoln, et al, you'll be number one. Tough to recruit the top talent. Rather than slam the Minnesota kids who do come here, we should be grateful for their contributions.
 

RodentRampage said:
The pro teams are more popular, but so what? It turns out that professional sports are quite popular. There is buzz for the Vikings stadium, but it won't be new forever. TCF is what it is, a good college stadium.

Sent from my XT1031 using Tapatalk
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So what? Do you think top coaches and players are lining up to play in a market where they'll be on Page 4 of the Sports Section when they can be the Big Swinging Richard in almost every other market?
 

Hard hitting journalism.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

The best part about attacking Gopher FB, BB and hockey when comparing them to pro sports? He doesn't have to even mention the apples of his eye, the Twins, who are currently the most inept team in town, and yes, that includes Gopher BB.

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FanSinceTheFifties said:
So what? Do you think top coaches and players are lining up to play in a market where they'll be on Page 4 of the Sports Section when they can be the Big Swinging Richard in almost every other market?
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Be real, Gophers reports are typically on the front page.
 

Breakin' The Plane said:
The best part about attacking Gopher FB, BB and hockey when comparing them to pro sports? He doesn't have to even mention the apples of his eye, the Twins, who are currently the most inept team in town, and yes, that includes Gopher BB.

Sent from my LGLS740 using Tapatalk
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To be fair, baseball isn't considered a major revenue producing sport for the university but it is convenient that the state of the Twins is left out.
 

Breakin' The Plane said:
The best part about attacking Gopher FB, BB and hockey when comparing them to pro sports? He doesn't have to even mention the apples of his eye, the Twins, who are currently the most inept team in town, and yes, that includes Gopher BB.

Sent from my LGLS740 using Tapatalk
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Gophers7NatTitlesBadgers0 said:
To be fair, baseball isn't considered a major revenue producing sport for the university but it is convenient that the state of the Twins is left out.
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Listening to Ruesse on the radio yesterday, with Souch I believe, totally raking the entire Twins organization over the coals. Things like inept, embarrassing and stink.

Reusse is an equal opportunity ranter.
 

station19 said:
Listening to Ruesse on the radio yesterday, with Souch I believe, totally raking the entire Twins organization over the coals. Things like inept, embarrassing and stink.

Reusse is an equal opportunity ranter.
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If you follow Pat's Twitter Feed, you will see he is very harsh on the Twins too. Whatever gets folks talking.
 

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