What do you miss most about Gopher games at the Metrodome?



Anyone ever attend a Timberwolves game at the Dome in their inaugural season? They set the NBA record for single season attendance at 1,072,572 fans. I remember sitting in the upper deck of the third base line and watching Bill Musselman coach a rag tag bunch of players during that 89-90 season.
A bunch. Always in the upper deck. The tickets weree like $2 ithink. I know they were cheaper than knothole Twins games tickets, which were the only ones we could afford then.
 

Non Gophers, but to me the best moment, even better than the World Series win was the 1987 homecoming. I couldn’t even look up the video without tearing up.🥲



Team thought a few thousand were there and it was wall to wall.
 

Here's a goodie from the 'Dome Days...


Oh the memories...
 


Anyone ever attend a Timberwolves game at the Dome in their inaugural season? They set the NBA record for single season attendance at 1,072,572 fans. I remember sitting in the upper deck of the third base line and watching Bill Musselman coach a rag tag bunch of players during that 89-90 season.
I was at the first year Timberwolves win, when the wolves beat the Charles Barkley led 76ers at the dome. I believe it was the night that Randy Breuer went off for 42 points. Sir Charles was incensed. It was great.
 

My favorite memory of the Dome was the 98 yard touchdown by Darrell Thompson. I was 15 rows up in the end zone and watched as the Gopher O-line parted the Blue Sea (game against Michigan) and Thompson just blew by everyone.

The refs blew the game. Rickey Foggie jumped over the end zone to score. The ball got slapped out of his hand and the refs called it a fumble. Michigan ball. A tragic loss.
 

What about the guy with the cannon? He would shoot it off after every gopher score - wonder why he didn’t bring it over to the bank?

Also miss the low hassle factor - i was working downtown then and would park at the office and walk over
 





Metrodome? Wasn't that a dating app for Iowans???
 

What about the guy with the cannon? He would shoot it off after every gopher score - wonder why he didn’t bring it over to the bank?

Also miss the low hassle factor - i was working downtown then and would park at the office and walk over
Rod Wallace. Owned the Thunderbird Motel by MOA. Had a Mercedes SUV with CAN MAN plates parked in the East parking lot by the Dome. He was a massive donor, would have been a key NIL cog. There was a thread here I think about why the Cannon deal after scores petered out at the new stadium.
 

Anyone ever attend a Timberwolves game at the Dome in their inaugural season? They set the NBA record for single season attendance at 1,072,572 fans. I remember sitting in the upper deck of the third base line and watching Bill Musselman coach a rag tag bunch of players during that 89-90 season.
A few. I also went to the All star practice session on Saturday morning of All Star weekend in 1994. Shot 25 3 pointers on the floor afterwards in a mock 3 point contest. O for 25. Waited in line to have a semi-crippled Bobby Hurley sign a Sacramento Kings jersey that I bought there, thinking it'd be worth a fortune someday.
 





Not Gopher football related - but Bob Casey: "NO SMOKING AT THE METRODOME"

speaking of that, another Metrodome memory - the 1986 concert with Tom Petty, Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead. the Dome people were doing their "No smoking" announcements, and the Deadheads would go "hey man, what did that dude just say?" and light up another joint. by the end of the show, the air in the upper level of the Dome was blue.

great concert despite the crappy sound system. the show got started late, the crowd was getting antsy, and then Tom Petty came on stage and opened with..."The Waiting." don't know if that was planned on the set list or he pulled an audible, but it was the perfect opening song for a show that started late.
 

Not Gopher football related - but Bob Casey: "NO SMOKING AT THE METRODOME"

speaking of that, another Metrodome memory - the 1986 concert with Tom Petty, Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead. the Dome people were doing their "No smoking" announcements, and the Deadheads would go "hey man, what did that dude just say?" and light up another joint. by the end of the show, the air in the upper level of the Dome was blue.

great concert despite the crappy sound system. the show got started late, the crowd was getting antsy, and then Tom Petty came on stage and opened with..."The Waiting." don't know if that was planned on the set list or he pulled an audible, but it was the perfect opening song for a show that started late.
Bob Casey having a conniption at the Twins - Yankees game where the drunken outfield fans were throwing hot dogs, batteries and trash at Knoblauch was one of the funniest things I've ever seen.
 

-Liked that regardless of weather, I would be comfortable. As much as I like the weather elements, sometimes it's nice to be comfortable. I remember 2001 last game vs Wisconsin, both teams not going to a bowl game, Saturday after Thanksgiving, and it was cold & rainy outside. That would have been a miserable game with 30,000 fans had there not been a roof over the field.
-Getting in & out of the stadium, compared to TCF......and usually could easily sneak in a few beverages.
-They had some good Nachos up by Section 100.
-Jim Mitchell singing the National Anthem
-Some entertaining games.

Non-Gopher Related:
-Mid to late 90s, would go to Twins games, bring my schoolwork, sit in the LF upper deck, had a whole section to myself, & would study during the games; usually the first 5 innings & watch the rest. Place was quieter than Wilson Library.
 

Rod Wallace. Owned the Thunderbird Motel by MOA. Had a Mercedes SUV with CAN MAN plates parked in the East parking lot by the Dome. He was a massive donor, would have been a key NIL cog. There was a thread here I think about why the Cannon deal after scores petered out at the new stadium.
I seem to remember the Cannon during the first couple of seasons at TCF but my memory is fading by the day...
 

If recall, the Metrodome was one of the first stadiums in the Big Ten where you could actually buy a beer (not have to sneak it in) - does seem to control the amount of booze people drink more than anything else. (Sneaking in a flask of hard liquor - no one sneaks in wine or beer - causes a lot of "overserving.") And, having sat in many stadiums around the B1G, it was nice to have your own designated seating "spot" with a cupholder. In a packed house, bench seating can lead to a very uncomfortable game experience, win or lose.
 

I seem to remember the Cannon during the first couple of seasons at TCF but my memory is fading by the day...
Cannon Man definitely made it to TCF Bank Stadium. Can't say how long he lasted there, but there was at least one premature cannon blast that led to some discussion about whether the tradition should continue.
 


The troughs were a real time saver!
 


Non-gopher related, but certainly a very emotional, memorable event. In the mid-1980's the AIDS quilts came to the Metrodome. The entire field was covered in quilts and the general public was allowed to walk out among all these beautifully hand-crafted items. All the while, PA announcers stood near home plate in this very somber setting, taking turns to softly read off names of people who had died of AIDS. The one that hit home for me was a man (in his mid-60's) announcing a list names and ended with “and my son ……” He barely got his son’s name out. I doubt there was a dry eye on the field at that point.
 





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