Twins fans: If Mauer stays, he’s doing us all a disservice

When was the last time that Minnesota sports fans had someone that they could rally around, that stood for everything great about this town?  Someone who not only was loved by everyone in the Twin Cities and was looked up to as a hero, but who was also recognized nationally as one of the best at what he does.  We could go back through the years and I’m sure some of the names that cross mine would cross yours as well; Randy Moss electrified Minnesota sports fans like no one before him, besides maybe Kirby Puckett who was the last Minnesota hero to bring us a title, Herb Brooks became somewhat of a legend with one unforgettable victory, for Jack Morris it took one extra inning, Kevin Garnett may have brought more passion to our Timberwolves then we will ever see again, even Adrian Peterson has made quite the impression in his short time as a Minnesota sports superstar.  

But there has always been something different about Joe Mauer, hasn’t there?  Maybe it’s the fact that he grew up just a short drive from Mickey’s Diner, or that he only struck out one time in his high school career.  Don’t quote me on this, but I heard that the first outdoor MLB game the guy attended was also the first one he played in.  There’s no one else in Minnesota sports history that quite lives up to our favorite maxim, “He’s one of us,” like Mauer does.  How could it have been written up any better?  Bats a mere .605 in high school, goes number one overall to the hometown team despite a strong push for a young pitcher who was supposed to be the next Nolan Ryan, proves all the doubters wrong by becoming the first AL catcher ever to win a batting title, then does it again, and likely a third time this year (which would make him the first AL player since Wade Boggs to win 3 batting titles in 4 years), all the while upholding his impeccable reputation as the class of the Twin Cities.  While he’ll have a couple of tough colleagues to beat out for this year’s honor of AL’s Most Valuable Player, there’s no question that he’s the most valuable player to put on a Minnesota uniform in a very long time, if not ever.  

So by now you must be wondering if the title of this post was just written to get homersota nation all riled up.  Well sure in a way, but there is plenty of truth behind it.  While on the surface it would seem as if the team, the organization, the entire state would be better off with Mauer spending as many years as possible of what already looks to be a hall of fame career at the stunning new Target Field, my thinking is in a completely different ballpark.  

Imagine the most likely scenario:  This offseason, after another disappointing 2nd place finish in a division that is beyond weak, our Twins do the same dance they’ve been doing for the last decade.  At best they make a “splash” for a “bona-fide verteran” to bolster our rotation, you know, a Rick Reed, or a Livan Hernandez, maybe even a Sidney Ponson.  At worst, they roll out almost the same product next spring that we got in 2009.  The spring training reports will talk about how we might have a chance to compete for a division crown in a terrible AL Central, but no one will be talking about the Twins come mid-October.  Sound familiar?  Of course it does.  And it sounds familiar to Mauer too.  That’s why Twins-related attention in the national media will be to follow whether or not Mauer lets the front office off the hook in Minnesota-nice fashion, and signs an extension with a team that has done nothing to prove it will be a World Series contender while he’s here.

And what will the fans be doing?  The same thing they’re doing now; hoping and praying that Mauer somehow doesn’t end up in New York or Boston.  Hoping he somehow turns down a significant increase in both dollars and wins, and most importantly, postseason wins.  Sure it’s going to hurt to see him go, but what message does it send if he stays?  

Something like this:

Bill Smith and friends, I know you’ve done almost nothing to give the Twins an actual chance of being anything more than an afterthought come October, but I’m going to let you continue to reap the benefits of having one of the most likable and talented players in all of baseball in your city.  Kudos on an extremely mediocre job.

To me, this spells out 10 more years of teams that are just overly hyped spinoffs of the ones we’ve been watching far too long, and we all know how often spinoffs actually catch on (Have you seen Joey?).  Like I said, no one really wants to see him go, but Twins management has to start playing in the big leagues when it comes to bringing in talent, and it’s quite possible that the only way they’re going to realize that is when the most marketable player to ever wear a Twins uniform walks out on his hometown team.

Confessions of a Die-Hard Green Bay Packers Fan

For a 22 year old, being a lifelong Green Bay Packers fan means also being a lifelong Brett Favre fan.  When Brett called it quits after coming up just shy of his third Super Bowl appearance, I was certainly disappointed, but not shocked.  He had, to that point, put together one of the most captivating careers of any professional athlete that I had the chance to witness.  He had been addicted to pain killers, been awarded MVP honors 3 times, lost his father and won a championship.  For a fan, it was more than you could ask for to see him truly embody the word unstoppable on a Monday night in Oakland, mere hours after losing his hero, Irv.

As I watched Brett struggle through the words that he knew none of us really wanted to hear, I felt like I, along with every other Die-Hard Green Bay Packers fan, was actually connected to him, as much as a fan could be to a superstar.  His voice was shaking, his eyes were watering, and he was clearly not prepared to say goodbye.  But he had to.  And he made us understand why he had to.  He would always be the hero who brought glory back to our beloved Packers.  His mistake at the end of the NFC Championship game just a few weeks before was already forgotten.  As disappointed as I was to see him go, all it took was his genuine outpour of emotion to make me immediately accept it.  Here was a superstar, larger than life in the small town of Green Bay, who couldn’t help but care about the fans and the city that made him who he was.

So now what?  What are Packers fans like me, and so many thousands of others, supposed to say or feel about what has happened over the year and a half since that day?  I’m sure we all had our own way of maneuvering through the confusing process, but for me it was extremely vexing.  On one hand, I had always been the most outspoken supporter of Favre.  I was Mr. “Brett Favre this, Brett Favre that,” better than Montana, better than Elway, better than Bradshaw.  I couldn’t say a bad word about him, and I won’t lie, when it became a viable possibility that he would end up a Viking, it crossed my mind plenty of times that I would be cheering for him and the purple in January.  How could I not?  This was Brett Favre, my hero, and he just wanted to play.  The Packers wouldn’t let him, right?

Fortunately, I came to my senses before it was too late.  Sure I watched him when he came out for his first pre-season game in purple, how could I not?  This is an unprecendented situation, and its magnitude is only heightended for Packers fans.  But I know that my thoughts of actually cheering him on as a Viking were mere confusion, if not delusion.  People posed the question to me: Are you a Brett Favre fan, or a Packers fan?  I would tell them it was unfair and irrelevant, but it turns out they were right.  And it turns out, I’m a Packers fan.  But I knew that all along.  I still get chills watching Aaron Rodgers make a scrambling touchdown pass to a diving Donald Driver in a preseason game at Lambeau Field.  Why?  Because he’s wearing Green and Gold.  Jerry Seinfeld was on to something when he said sports fans are doing nothing but cheering for laundry.  Favre’s treason exemplifies that take.

So I finally slipped.  I called it treason.  Now you know how I, and I truly believe a vast majority of Packers fans, feel.  We were wronged.  Not by Ted Thompson.  Not by Mike McCarthy.  By the person who so many of us sided with last summer.  Brett Favre meant so much to the fans of Green Bay, so much to me.  I’ve heard talk show hosts and media big wigs say over and over that we can’t hold it against him, it is after all just a business.  But who provides for that business?  Who buys the tickets?  Who buys the jerseys?  Who buys the shoes and the cars that these players endorse?  If it were not for fans, there would be no superstars. 

And what’s in it for us?  Money?  Prestige?  Fame?  Anything?  Well, there is one thing, and only one thing that we can gain from the fan experience, and that is memories.  For years and years I supported Brett Favre and the Packers, and the memories I hold (held) most dear as a sports fan were his.  Nothing was better than watching him play for his late father on Monday Night Football, and play like he could do no wrong.  His performance was flawless.  His emotion was raw.  It was the perfect sports memory for a high school senior staying up on a Monday night to be a part of what his favorite athlete was going through.  Perfect.  Do I want to give that up?  Am I just being stubborn in saying that I can’t enjoy that memory anymore?  Of course not.  He plays for the team that we cannot stand, that we bit our nails off hoping to watch him beat in overtime on a chilly Monday night when Antonio Freeman decided to do the impossible (another memory stolen).  He is one of them now.  Maybe someday the memories will mean something again, but for now, what Brett did has robbed me of everything I had gained from investing so much as a fan. 

I hope on October 5 we show him what a big mistake he’s made, and that just maybe Aaron Rodgers can make us all some new memories.