Who’s Most Likely to Break the Men’s Minnesota Sports Championship Curse?

129 seasons. 34 years and counting. That’s how long our men’s teams have been under the Minnesota Sports championship curse. That’s pretty much the definition of misery as a sports fan. In fact, according to ESPN’s misery rating index (I didn’t know that was a real thing until I started doing research for this blog) we are a woeful fan base with an 89 misery rating. FUN!

So, which of our four teams is going to break through? I did a little thought exercise with some friends where if you had to power rank our four teams based on who’s most likely to win a championship in the next 2-4 years (probably will never happen FML) how would you rank them? The results…

1. Minnesota Wild

The Wild have a been a consistent playoff team over the last 15 years but have only advanced to the second round three times in that span. However, they have the best core they’ve had in franchise history and showed last year they are taking steps towards a deep playoff run. On top of that, it feels like a Quinn Hughes extension is close, they have a long-term goalie of the future that looks like a stud, and they have the likes of Kaprizov, Boldy, Eriksson-Ek, Faber, Yurov, all locked for the next few years. The wild have a real championship window over the next 3 years. The rest of the western conference didn’t seem to get much better this offseason either. Add a possible Billy G trade for Larkin or another top 6 center and the Wild will be in business.

2. Minnesota Timberwolves

A lot of fans likely would have put the Wolves at one in my opinion, and there is certainly an argument. They have a young core centered around Ant Man, who is a bonafide superstar who’s worth the price of admission every time he steps foot on the court. But looking at the landscape in the west it’s hard to confidently say the wolves are better than the Spurs and OKC right now or could be in the next few years. OKC is starting to run up against the salary curtain, but they still have their key guys. The Spurs are coming off a trip to the finals and have the youngest core in the NBA. I still think the Wolves have a shot too win the west and then the finals, but the road there is as tough as it gets.

3. Minnesota Vikings

I think the Vikings will make the playoffs this year. I don’t care if that’s drinking the purple Kool aid. But I can’t say quite yet they are a real contender. And when you look beyond this year there is a lot of uncertainty, including at the most important position, QB. If Kyler plays well, I think he should be extended. But you also have to take another shot at a young franchise QB in the draft IMO to be ready after Kyler’s contract. By that time, this roster will have aged and the new QB’s window likely doesn’t align with this roster’s timeline. The Vikings should be a fun team to watch this year, but they need to string a few good drafts together to have a legit contending roster.

4. Minnesota Twins

The Twins have been better than I expected this year, but the reality is the main reason they’re even in the playoff race this year is because the American League is historically bad. The optimistic view is the Twins seem to have found a few cornerstone pieces in their deep prospect pool with the like of Jenkins, Culpepper, and Keaschall as well as some talented starting pitchers, who if they stay healthy, look like good big-league starters. But even with that said, it’s probably 2028 at the earliest before we consider the Twins a serious playoff team let alone a title contender. It’s going to take these young guys plus investment in other areas of the roster financially from this ownership group. I’m not holding my breath.

With the baseball season nearing an end for the Twins we look to be headed for 130 straight seasons without a championship. We’ll see what the other teams have in store for us this fall. Until then. JUST WIN MN!