July 2014 - All-Star FanFest

As part of the All-Star week activities, Keith and I went to All-Star FanFest on Saturday, July 12th. Keith had actually gone the day before with his brother and dad but he wanted to go again with me.  I can't quite remember how I got tickets but I know I didn't pay for them.  I must have gotten them through work.

We were walking through the Convention Center common areas that morning and I slowed down because I saw someone at the coffee area. Keith kept walking and then noticed I was several steps back and I told him to come here. He came back over and I pointed at the guy known as Bert Blyleven finishing up his coffee purchase.  We all three hit up perfectly as he started to walk the same way as us and he said, "Good morning."  We told him we were here to see him (truly, I was there to see him) as I pointed to my Blyleven jersey and he liked that.  We all walked the same way for a little bit and I told him we'd see him later.  

It was almost time to get in line to see Bert as he was going to be there for 20 minutes or so to meet and talk to.  We got in line and he showed up a little bit early and when he got on the stage, he noticed both Keith and I in the line, pointed at us and said, "Hey, you made it." and smiled.  

We also went and watched Bert speak in a pretend locker room setting, him answering questions from the host and fielding questions from the audience. He talked about one of his favorite all-time baseball experiences which was the homecoming at the dome in 1987 from Detroit.  He said he gets goosebumps just telling the story.  I feel lucky enough to have been there that night.  

Keith and I walked around the area stopping at many different things along the way and taking pictures.  I thought Keith might be bored as he was just there the day before and he said he hadn't seen a lot of the same things the day before so it was somewhat new to him.  We stayed just over a couple of hours and we were out of there by noon.  I really enjoy these experiences with Keith and I like being the sports auntie.  

 

June 2014 - Twins Game

I bought tickets earlier in the month for Keith and I to go to a Twins game for his birthday.  We went on June 30th against the Royals, the team that would lose in game 7 of the World Series later that season.

Joe Mauer is one of Keith's favorite players and when I asked him before I got the tickets where he would like to sit at the game.  He said anywhere with a good view of Joe Mauer.  Ok, so that's where we sat then.

We watched batting practice for the Royals and just before the Twins came out, Keith got autographs from three players.  

 

 

Keith may like Mauer but I'll take Trevor Plouffe.  Yes please. 

  

#bestauntieever

   

The Twins lost 6-1 but I know he had one of the best baseball experiences ever. Me too.  

Metrodome Memories

On January 18, 2014, demolition started on the Metrodome with the deflation of the roof in preparation of tearing the down the entire stadium and building a new one on the same grounds. And while I wanted to do this earlier than now, I want to take time for a post about the Metrodome and all my memories there.

The memories I have of the Metrodome are from the Minnesota Twins, Minnesota Vikings and Minnesota Gophers. My earliest memory and the first time I was ever in the Dome was in what I believe to be 1986. My parents took my sister and myself along with my two cousins, Dan and Chris to a Twins game. I remember specific interactions from that day but the game itself, I don't remember. I know my parents brought us to another game as well but that was the last of family games together.

The Minnesota Twins years


In October 1987, I was 10 years old but the night of the October 12th was such a special evening and I remember how important it was. The Twins had just beat the Detroit Tigers in Detroit and they would be headed to the World Series. The Twins flew home that night and found out they would have a stop at the dome to be welcomed home by the fans. What they or anybody didn't know is that 60,000 fans would show up to greet them. We were at my Grandpa and Gramma's house on this night and I don't know how everything transpired, but all I know is that we took two cars down to the dome, my uncle John driving my cousins Dan and Chris and my sister and me in his station wagon while my parents and my cousin's parents were in the other car. Once there, I remember how packed it was and how loud it was. Everyone was cheering and yelling and clapping and it wouldn't stop. It was going on forever while the Twins walked around the perimeter of the field waving and thanking us fans. It was incredible. Please read the article below to get the full effect of this special night.


http://www.minnpost.com/politics-policy/2010/04/celebrate-good-times-welcome-home-rally-was-unforgettable-moment-87-twins-te


I went to a Twins game in what I think was 1989 (maybe 1988) for Day Camp. Day Camp was a summer program that kids could take part of any of the activities offered and my sister and I did quite a bit. The reason this memory is significant is because I was allowed to run on the field after the game. We toured the field and I got to run up to the warning track and smash into the "Baggie" in right field. I felt so cool being on that field.

My dad took my friend Heather and I to what I believe was TwinsFest back in 1992 but it was summertime. I really wanted to see Chuck Knoblauch. This was before the internet so you couldn't find out who would be there and so the closest thing I would be to Chuck was his cardboard cutout. I liked Knoblauch so much that I wrote him a letter when I was in 9th grade after seeing a picture of him in my high school text book having something to do with sports medicine. I did end up saying hi to Brian Harper, seeing Kirby Puckett and getting some autographs. I'm so thankful that my dad took me.


My next favorite memory at the dome was May 15, 2001. It really wasn't a favorite memory at the time but turns out to be a big deal later in life. I had come home from work to my ex-something Eric and my apartment and there was a dude laying on my bed. That dude was Michael Sack, my ex-something's coworker. They were going to the Twins game against the Yankees and Michael asked if I wanted to come with. The three of us went to the game and it was the start of M and I's friendship, thanks to the Twins and Eric.


Fast forward to August 2004 and I was going through a really hard time and so Michael and I, as friends, went to a game. I was really down and he cheered me up tremendously. I remember how much his friendship was starting to mean to me.

A couple of months later, hanging out with Michael was turning into a regular thing so it was natural that we were going to another Twins game, a playoff game on October 8, 2004 against the Yankees. While the Twins lost 8-4 in Game three, my relationship with Michael changed that night forever. I have very fond memories of us at the game that night.


On March 12, 2006, Michael and I attended the public memorial for Kirby Puckett who died on March 6, 2006. As a kid growing up liking Twins baseball, it was almost a given that your favorite player was Kirby Puckett

My final major Twins memories at the dome both happened in 2009, both a couple of days apart from each other. The first was what was supposed to be the last regular season game played in the dome on October 4. I went to the game with my mom and the Twins beat the Royals, 13-4. With that win, the Twins tied for first place in the AL Central and needed a one game tie-breaker. You can read about my blog post about the game with my mom HERE.

I also went to the tie-breaker game with Michael on October 6, 2004 and that game was boring and the most exciting at the same time. It was also super long as it went 12 innings. I remember the dome being so loud, as loud as I ever heard it since the Welcome Home Rally of 1987 and definitely rivaled the noise of a Vikings game. You can read my blog post about it HERE.

Overall, based on my best estimate and ticket stubs to prove my attendance, I attended 35 or so Twins baseball games in the dome.

Minnesota Golden Gophers


I only had one experience at the dome of Gophers football. It was against the Wisconsin Badgers and the fan base was at least split 50/50. The Gophers lost but I loved the new experience. It was my first time sitting in the upper level end zone and I enjoyed those seats. I looked back at my ticket stub this morning and saw that the date was the date my dad passed away, October 15, except seven years earlier.

The Minnesota Vikings Years

My first experience seeing a Vikings game is a very memorable one for any Viking fan old enough...my very first Vikings game was the NFC Championship game against the Atlanta Falcons in January 1999. What a game to be your first for many reasons. Unfortunately, we all know how it turned out. My dad asked me on that Friday if I wanted to go to the game. I said YES and he brought me home two tickets to the game. I went with my then-boyfriend Chris. Michael was also at that game with his girlfriend at the time.

I have WAY too many individual memories of games and records broken that I can't list them all here so here's a quick synopsis of standout Viking memories at the dome:

• Everything Adrian Peterson, particularly his 296 yards on 11/4/07, most of which came in the 2nd half of the game.
• Jared Allen reaching 22 sacks and getting 3.5 sacks that last game of the 2011 season. Michael Strahan still owns the record of 22.5 sacks. Remember that last sack? A certain Brett Favre seemed to assist Strahan with that last sack so maybe Jared Allen really is the all-time leader. :)
• Leaving the dome with a win after every game during the 2009 season, Brett Favre era.
• Sitting in the Miller Lite Party Deck suite for a game after winning my way in there by playing bean bags in Mankato.
• Not being able to go to the game the morning the dome roof collapsed due to snow on December 12, 2010
• It took me up until the 2013 season to accomplish this but I've finally seen all 32 NFL teams play against the Vikings in the dome!

Here's the craziest fact I have about the Vikings and the dome...I've NEVER paid for a Vikings game. I've either had people give me tickets, I've won them or I've been the lucky recipient for the other seat for Michael's season tickets. To my best estimate and based on ticket stubs, I've seen 91 Vikings games at the dome.

I've never said that I hated the dome. Yes, the corridors were narrow and it was hard to get around at times and left a lot to be desired in the latter years but it was completely functional and it was OUR dome.

It was a lot of work to do this post but I'm glad I took the time to write this all out. If you're a sports fan, I hope you enjoyed this.

Posted with Blogsy

7th Annual Cherrie Jones Tailgate Party

It was the latest it could possibly be to have this party, Week 17, the very last game of the year.  The 7th Annual Cherrie Jones Tailgate Party was held on Sunday, December 29th.  The weather the day before was in the 40's and on the of the party, not so much.

We woke up to around zero degrees and it would continue to get colder throughout the morning.  It was the wind chill that was really bad.  Good thing I had long underwear on under my jeans and wind pants, a long-sleeved shirt, a sweatshirt and my jacket, two scarves, two pairs of gloves and two hats because I needed it all.  If we weren't all true Minnesotans already, we sure were after Sunday. Too bad the feet heaters in my boots didn't work very well.  That's what you get when you ruin your feet ice skating as a kid when it was too cold or you stayed out too long.  

I kind of laugh at the temperature now thinking about what we just experienced in the last several days

We got out to the lot right at 8 am and fortunately we had a couple of tents that we put together and tied sides on them to block the wind out as best as we could.  The tent attempted to leave the ground numerous times but our group is smart enough and parked a truck next to the tent and tied them down to it.

With the weather as cold as it was and the fact that this was the last game we'd be tailgating for at the Metrodome and it was a hard ticket to get, we just wasn't sure how many people would actually show up for our party.  Turns out, a lot considering the circumstances.  To my best guess, we had about 50 people come out. We did our best to stay warm with our tents, multiple sunflower heaters, layers and drinks.

Cherrie's siblings - minus one

Double the hat, double the scarf

Our Lions crew representin'

Our last tailgate and our last Cherrie Jones Tailgate Party at the Metrodome, ever.

It would obviously be our last game in the Metrodome ever as well.  It was a little hard for me to realize that since it was also the end of the season so it didn't seem odd or sad at first because I knew I wouldn't be coming back again this year.  Maybe it will sink in next season when we're not there.

We typically play great against Detroit at the dome and this day was no exception.  The Vikings won, 14-13 with Cordarrelle Patterson scoring both touchdowns, one rushing (50 yards) and one receiving. 

Last SKOL Line

All the security in yellow coming out around the field

Last game moment- Vikings win

After the game, there was a 10 minute intermission before Matt Birk, Robert Smith, Adrian Peterson and Bud Grant addressed the crowd and their final farewells to the dome and the fans in the dome.  

I'll be writing about my personal experiences at and with the dome later this month.

Goodbye, Metrodome!