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Minnesota Timberwolves are lone Minnesota team to make the Fandom 250

By Jake Andersen

LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 06: Tom Thibodeau of the Minnesota Timberwolves laughs on the sidelines during the first half against the LA Clippers at Staples Center on December 6, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 06: Tom Thibodeau of the Minnesota Timberwolves laughs on the sidelines during the first half against the LA Clippers at Staples Center on December 6, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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The Minnesota Timberwolves were the lone Minnesota team to make the Fandom 250, a ranking of the top 250 fandoms around the world.

The Fandom 250 was recently released by FanSided and Minnesota’s lone representation was the Minnesota Timberwolves. Specifically, they checked in at no. 133 in the ranking of the top 250 fandoms around the world. This was good enough for eighth-best among the 12 NBA teams that made the cut.

In reality, it’s quite mind-boggling as to what separated the Timberwolves fandom enough to justify them being in the Fandom 250, let alone rank them fairly high. Growing up, the Minnesota Twins and Vikings always seemed to be fan favorites with the Minnesota Wild entering into the favorite mix once they came into the NHL in 2000.

Of course, Timberwolves fans have had to endure through quite the drought, including 13 years of missing the playoffs. Nevertheless, the Wolves largely paid for that considering the level of empty seats there’s been at Target Center during that time. Thankfully, Minnesota made a huge move to bring Jimmy Butler to town this season, so there’s been a bit of an awakening as of late. Although, admittedly, it’s come with a great degree of frustration considering the up and down start to this season. To put in perspective though, it could be worse… just look at the Oklahoma City Thunder right now.

Getting back to the Fandom 250, I’m still not sure if the Wolves fanbase deserves such a high ranking. Undoubtedly, there are some die-hard Wolves fans deserving of credit for sticking with the team over the years. That being said, a loyal fanbase sticks with the club through the darkest of times and overall, that’s not something I’ve seen from the fanbase throughout the Wolves’ 13-year playoff drought.

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In my mind, the Twins, Wild, and Vikings fanbases would have made more sense to include in the Fandom 250. Simply, I’ve seen a more loyal following for these teams during the darkest of times, although there’s been a considerable drop in Twins attendance until they broke through last season.

While I understand quantity isn’t everything when it comes to fandoms, it has to enter into the equation somewhat in major sports. Taking into account how packed Target Center got back in the Kevin Garnett days and how empty it’s been ever since, that’s a sign that the level of commitment from Wolves fans has been lacking.

To the loyal Wolves fans out there, this is no knock on you. In fact, I commend you for sticking with this team over the years. Nevertheless, I wish there were more Timberwolves fans like you because based on the eye test, there aren’t.

Next: 5 lineup adjustments the Twins should make in 2018!

Even so, the Timberwolves are your no. 133 fandom and lone Minnesota representation for this year’s Fandom 250. Be sure to take a look at the full listing of the fandom rankings at https://fansided.com/fandom250/.

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