Hello Just Win Minnesota community!
Some of you may be visiting our website for the first time and wondering, what is this? Another Minnesota apparel company? Well, kind of…. But my hope is that this becomes more than just another apparel company,
First, a little background about me and how Just Win Minnesota got here. I was born and raised in Minnesota and grew up a huge Minnesota sports fan. I remember being in love with those 2000’s Twins teams that included Torii Hunter, Johan Santana, Justin Morneau, and Joe Mauer among others and being so excited to go watch them at the Metrodome (I can still smell the concourse and miss dome dogs like everyone else). I watched the Vikings every Sunday, and remember where I was when Randy Moss mooned the Packer fans at Lambeau Field. I was right there with everyone during the Wild’s mostly anti-climactic playoff runs during the Parise and Suter years. I even kept a pulse on the Timberwolves during their mostly pathetic seasons.
Today, I live in the suburbs with my wife, 10-month old son, and three rescue dogs. We love all of our Minnesota sports teams and are proud Gopher Football season ticket holders. We try to make it to as many other Minnesota sports game as we can each year as it is one of our favorite things to do. If we're not, chances are we're watching the game at home on the couch.
Like every other Minnesota fan, I have emotionally invested myself into our teams in hoping that one of them would make a long playoff run and finally break our championship drought. Sadly, I am 31 years old and none of our core-four men’s teams have won a championship in my lifetime. Not only that, none of them have even made it to the championship round in my lifetime. I keep thinking, how is that even possible as a market that has all four of the major men's professional teams? If you look around the country, it seems like almost every market has had at least one team make a championship round since 1991. The Orlando Magic have been to the NBA Finals a few times. The Las Vegas Golden Knights have been to the Stanley Cup Final twice in their eight years of existence (and won once). Heck, even Buffalo had the Sabres make the Stanley Cup Final in 1999. It feels almost mathematically impossible for Minnesota to have not had one team make a championship round since the Twins won in 1991. And we’ve certainly had teams more than capable of getting to and winning a championship (looking at you 2009 Vikings).
(Side note- way to go Lynx and Frost for hanging some banners not making us total laughing stocks. The women athletes are clearly not the problem in this market.)
Look at how much fun this city becomes when we have a team that makes us dream. The Timberwolves the last few years have made us believe that a championship parade could become a reality. The Vikings have put together some promising seasons the past few years and feel like they're close to getting into the Super Bowl mix. Although the Wild have had some disappointing first round exits, there's nothing like Saint Paul during the playoffs. And the Twins... well, all I'll say is look at how much fun 2023 was. I can only imagine what this state would become if one of those teams finally broke through and won a championship, and that's the inspiration behind Just Win Minnesota.
I had this idea in my head to make t-shirts that were funny and tried to poke fun at our misery while also expressing how we feel as fans. I have very little design experience, but said what the hell and tried my hand at making some shirt designs and before I knew it, I had a catalog of shirts, a website made, and was ready to launch.
My goal for Just Win Minnesota is to be the brand that Minnesota sports fans can relate to, and expresses what Minnesota fans are thinking and feeling. But I also want Just Win Minnesota to be a rally cry for fans to tell our favorite teams that enough is enough. Minnesota fans deserve to see a championship, and deserve to experience a parade through downtown Minneapolis (or Saint Paul!). This fan base has been through so much, whether it’s wide-left (twice), the throw across the body, the 18 straight playoff losses, or the numerous heartbreaking OT losses. We’re sick of constantly coming up short when it matters.
So next time you see someone wearing a “Just Win” t-shirt, know that they feel the same way you do. They have all of the same scars and baggage that you do. They have told themselves after another playoff letdown that they “knew not to get their hopes up.” And they’re sending a message to our favorite teams- enough is enough, Just Win.
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