The Minnesota Wild and the Worst Type of Fan Season
Dec 27, 2014; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Winnipeg Jets forward
Adam Lowry(17) scores a goal against Minnesota Wild goalie
John Curry(33) during the third period at Xcel Energy Center. The Jets won 4-3 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Marilyn Indahl-USA TODAY Sports
The Minnesota Wild are in the middle of the worst type of season for their fans right now.
More from Minnesota Wild
- Minnesota Wild: a pleasant early season surprise
- Minnesota Wild: Chuck Fletcher had to go
- Minnesota Wild: Changes are coming
- Wild lose Parise, game four, quite possibly the series
- Down 0-2, Wild aren’t worried yet
Allow me to explain. The worst type of season is not a terrible team having a terrible season. Look at the Timberwolves for the last several seasons. Sure, there has been hope for the team, between Al Jefferson, Kevin Love, Ricky Rubio and Andrew Wiggins at various times. Still, outside of the last couple Love-Rubio teams, none of them were expected to make the playoffs. They were unfinished rebuilding projects. Watching a bad team certainly gets old, but it is not particularly painful.
I also do not consider a great season with a terrible ending the worst kind. Yes, thinking about the 1998, 2000 and 2009 NFC Championship Games hurts, but there were so many great moments to look back on. I would much rather watch a very good team that ultimately falls short than a team that underachieves or is simply poor. Watching Randy Moss tear apart the Packers on Monday Night Football as a rookie and Brett Favre hitting Greg Lewis with two seconds left to beat the 49ers are memories I will always relish, even if the seasons did end in heartbreaking fashion.
No, the worst type of season is like the Wild have slogged through so far this winter. The team won a playoff series last season, and at the very least is expected to return to the postseason again this year. Instead, they are drifting further and further from the eighth and last Western Conference playoff spot.
More from Sporting Sota
- Minnesota Twins bullpen will be their downfall
- Top 5 Minnesota Twins Pitching Prospects
- Kyle Rudolph signing gives stability to Minnesota Vikings offense
- Jake Odorizzi’s emergence fueling Twins starting staff
- Former Minnesota Twins player David Ortiz shot
Unfortunately, this is far from the first time we have seen this around these parts. After nearly making the Super Bowl in 2000 and 2009, the 2001 and 2010 seasons were disasters for the Vikings. After losing in the Western Conference Finals to the Lakers, the Timberwolves missed the postseason in 2004-05 after infighting and Latrell Sprewell lamenting the inability to feed his kids on a multi-million dollar salary. The Twins had enjoyed a decade of (regular season) success before absolutely cratering in 2011. The franchise has still not recovered. The disappointment of a talented team falling short is the most perplexing and frustrating situation for a fan.
The only good news is there is still time to fix it. The NHL season is less than half over. The Wild are still within striking distance of the seven and eight seeds in the West, even though it really does not feel like it right now. The still have Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, two of the most competitive players in league. I think it might help for the team to show a little more desperation, but the danger there is that if they put too much emotional weight on early games that they lose, morale could drop even lower.
Let’s go Wild. Make it a season to remember, not to forget.