I was 21 years old and a new father during the summer of 1987. I was at UND and taking two summer classes - Engr Econ and Thermo. Each night I would listen to the Twins on the radio. I was either rocking Katie to sleep or doing my hwk (on engrs paper, of course!). As a young sports fan growing up in the 70s and 80s I had never had "my team" win any sort of championship. We all had years of Vikings heartbreak. So, for all of us in Minnesota, the summer of 1987 was magical and October brought us a celebration like no other. Our Twins, on the backs of Kirby and Herbie, and in a dome of 55,000+ waving homer hankies won the World Series. And then just to make sure it wasn't a fluke, they did it again with as much magic and as much flare in 1991. Today I sat above the first base dugout and watched my son start his first varsity game in right field of the Metrodome. As he ran out there to the "baggie" I was thinking about about Brunansky and Shane Mack and Michael Cuddyer. One of Ronnie's friends (mine too, for that matter) played center field and covered nearly as well as Torii Hunter. Hill City won the game 4-3 over rival Northland Remer. The three sophomore outfielders went 0-10 in their varsity debut, but they are three excellent athletes who will have memorable careers. For me though, their first game will be indelibly etched in my mind. There is a countdown banner in left field - 155 games left in the dome. It is a place that needs to be replaced by a better field for playing baseball, but I doubt the new stadium will ever replace it as a better place for playing memories.
1 comment:
I also remember playing there! We played LaPorte and I was in 9th grade (or was I in 10th??). It was awesome, and to this day, everytime I go to the metrodome, I still think of being on the field. Good for Ronnie to have both the Target Center, and the Metrodome as memories!
~Maggie
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