Metrodome Magic

I realize the blog has been a bit sports-heavy as of late, but I just had to post something about the greatest 54 hours in recent Metrodome history.

Sunday was the final regular season game ever for the Twins in the dome. Not only was that historic, but it also marked the end of a three-week run of the Twins coming back from seven games down to tie for the lead in the division. Pretty awesome. I wasn't there, but I heard there was a nice tribute to stars of the Twins after the game as well.

Last night was the much-anticipated Vikings/Packers game with Favre facing his old team for the first time ever. Plus it was Monday Night Football, which is always exciting. I was lucky enough to be there and the DOME WAS SO LOUD. My dad and I figured that we've gone to the Vikes/Pack game at the dome for the last twenty years, and last night was by far the best one yet. We had tickets in the lower deck and we stood for the entire game. I'm not kidding. Everyone in the lower deck stood the whole time! There was so much energy and excitement! Favre managed to become the first quarterback in NFL history to get a win against all 32 teams in the NFL. Pretty amazing.

And today will be the Twins/Tigers play-in/playoff/tie-breaker game. There have only been nine of these kinds of games in baseball history (and the Twins have had one in back-to-back seasons now). I'm really hoping the Metrodome Magic will hold out for a few more hours to help our boys of summer pull off a big October win!

A topic on a radio show yesterday got me thinking about my own favorite Metrodome moment. Since it's just the Twins that are leaving the Metrodome, we'll stick with baseball. I was very-much-so NOT a baseball fan for the years following the strike (mostly because my dad talked so poorly of baseball because of the strike - though he follows the scores again now), but in recent years I have definitely picked up on my fan-ship, especially with the Twins. I enjoy going to the games and many of my friends are fans, so it is fun to follow the team with them. Most importantly, though, I don't think my Grandpa has EVER missed a Twins game, so it is the best reason for me to follow the team closely: I love talking baseball with my Grandpa.

Anyway, back to the Metrodome moment. My dad and sister were at Game 6 when Puckett hit that famous HR, and I distinctly remember watching that game out at Camp Lebanon. Such a great memory, and, even though I wasn't there in person, it is a great Metrodome moment. I think my favorite moments in person were the following:

• Sept 25th, 2008: The Twins complete a sweep of the Sox to take the lead in the division with only three games left. The dome went crazy and it definitely felt like playoff baseball. (The Twins then went on to self-destruct vs. KC and lose in a play-in/playoff/tie-breaker game vs. the Sox. Boo.)
• The day I played the Dodgeball game. I was SO excited to have a chance to win a truck, and that translated into me COMPLETELY over-throwing the truck as everyone in the Metrodome watched (my depth perception from the upper deck to right field was terribly flawed). I will say that my next two throws were much closer to winning, but the group of us couldn't stop laughing for the rest of the game. Such a good memory.

I realize that I don't have a TON of readers, but if you'd like to share your favorite (Twins) Metrodome memory, please do so!