There’s No Place Like Dome

I’ve been a Twins fan for as long as I can remember.  I’ve been blessed to have been able to be in attendance for at least one game every season since 1991, with the exception of a couple summers ago when I was  working 70 hours a week for the entire summer.  I was at game seven of the 1991 World Series to watch the Twins beat the Braves with a walk-off single in the bottom of the 1oth inning.  I’ve seen Kirby Puckett hit homeruns, I’ve seen Torii Hunter rob homeruns. I’ve seen Jack Morris pitch ten nearly perfect innings to earn a complete game shutout, I’ve seen Johan Santana strike out double digits in a single outing. I saw Francisco Liriano make his first start in a Twins uniform, and I shook Torii Hunter’s hand in his last season in a Twins uniform.

All of these memories and so many more come from the Metrodome, so needless to say, I’m sad to see that it will no longer be the home of the Twins. With that being said, I was understandably excited to be heading to Minneapolis to be in attendance of the last scheduled regular season Twins game in the Metrodome.  Yeah, this was a big deal for me, especially considering the ramifications of the game.  The Twins, after being three games back in the AL Central with only four games to play, would clinch the title with a win and a Tigers loss.  Well the Twins held up their end of the deal, but the damn Tigers just wouldn’t roll over and die, so for the second season in a row, a one game playoff was needed to decide the winner of the AL Central.  But, I’m getting ahead of myself.  Let’s rewind a little to Sunday’s game against the Royals.

Jess, being the forward thinker she is, secured tickets to this game way back in April, so she was able to score amazing seats without paying a thousand bucks like I’m sure some people did.  We were on the third base line, seven rows above the Twins dugout.  Yeah, I could have sneezed on Michael Cuddyer were I so inclined.  That’s how close we were.  The game was electric.  51, 155 people were in attendance to watch the Twins beat down the Royals 13-4 on the legs of Jason Kubel’s two homeruns and a well-pitched game by Carl Pavano.  I could sit here and talk about the game in detail for an hour, but I suspect that none of the little things that made the game for me would translate into what can be considered interesting to anyone else.

After the game, the Dome was honored with a ceremony in which a season-long countdown of the top 100 moments in Metrodome history was concluded by showing the top ten.  Also, some of the greatest Twins to have ever played in the Dome were introduced during the ceremony, and it was all capped off with the naming of the All Metrodome team.  It was pretty emotional, especially thanks to the win the Twins had just notched, thereby prolonging their season at least one more game.  Eyewitness reports may state that I got a little choked up during the ceremony, and some may even say that I welled up with tears … twice.  However, I can neither confirm or deny those allegations.

Okay fine, I got teary-eyed. Okay fine, it was twice.  I can’t help it.  You can’t expect me to keep it together when they start talking about Kirby Puckett like that.  He was a big focal point in the top ten Metrodome moments countdown (including having two moments in the top five), and he was of course inducted into the All Metrodome team, which was followed by a long moment of silence to honor him, and then a standing ovation that seemed to last a good three minutes, and then the introduction of his son, Kirby Jr.  I mean, how am I supposed to keep it together with all of that stuff?! What am I, a robot?!?! If Hammen can cry in the middle of downtown Lawrence after KU wins the title, then I am allowed to choke back tears when Kirby Puckett Jr. is introduced as “the son of the greatest Twins player to have ever lived.”  Seriously, it was really something else.

Anyway, despite the fact that we technically weren’t in attendance for the last game in the Metrodome, I’m glad it ended up that way.  Had we been there for the last game, it would mean that the Twins would have lost, and not moved on to beat the Tigers last night in 12 nail-biting innings to advance to the playoffs.  Just more Metrodome magic if you ask me.

Now they need to make something of this postseason berth.  Seriously, I’m beginning to get scared that if the Twins can’t give Joe Mauer a World Series ring soon, he is going to leave for greener pastures.  Then we’ll start doing desperate things like calling and hanging up at night, driving by his house, adding him to Facebook four times a day despite his constant declining, and asking everyone if he misses us.  Then he’ll counter by telling us, Beyonce style, that if we liked it then we shoulda put a ring on it.  We don’t want that.  Let’s face it, he would just look strange in a unitard and high heels. 

Yeah, that’s just creepy.

One love,

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