This past weekend was one to remember for Minnesota sports.
To summarize: The Wolves won Friday in Golden State and followed that up with a win Sunday over Sacramento. The Wild made a blockbuster trade for superstar Quinn Hughes on Friday, and followed that up with wins over Ottawa and Boston. And then the Vikings finished off the weekend with a road win over the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football. Sunday was the first time the Wild, Wolves, and Vikings all won on the same day since 2003.
It was just six weeks ago that everything felt different in the Minnesota sports world. The Timberwolves were stumbling out of the gate, the Wild were in free fall, and the Vikings could barely complete a forward pass.
Now everything feels different. The Timberwolves have won 7 of their past 8 and sit at 17-9. The Wolves are one win away from having won 2/3 of their games into the season. And yet it still feels like there's some meat left on the bone with the Wolves. Some fans aren't satisfied and some have called for Chris Finch to be fired (which I think is crazy). But when you look at the big picture, this is a team that has a cushy record and is firmly in the Western Conference playoff picture. If they get it together and reach their potential, this will once again be a dangerous team come playoff time.
The Wild have completely turned their season around. Since a 4-1 loss to the Penguins on October 30th, the Wild won sixteen of the next twenty one games. They added one of the best defenseman in the NHL and now boast the best D-core in the league. It's still going to be a tall task getting by Dallas and Colorado, but for once the Wild aren't the same old Wild.
And the Vikings look like a different team over their past two games. Yes, the Commanders aren't that good and the Cowboys aren't much better. But J.J. McCarthy looks much more confident at QB, the O-line is blocking again, and that has translated into back-to-back wins. Kevin O'Connell finally adapted the offense and made it more simple, and positive results have followed. If the Vikings can keep this up for their last three games and maybe knock off a Detroit or Green Bay, fans have a reason to be optimistic going into the offseason.
It feels like once or twice a year we have one of those legendary Minnesota sports weekends where everything goes wrong, everyone loses, and Minnesota fans feel hopeless for the future of their favorite teams. Heck, we had one of those types of weekends not that long ago. Minnesota fans likewise have every reason to soak up and enjoy the weekend we just had, because they're rare, and also because every Minnesota fan knows that when things are going as well as they are, disaster tends to be right around the corner.
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