Amy Lu's View

Once upon a time, I was a sportsball fan–of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

No one was more surprised by this than me. I never had any interest in sports–playing or watching them–and was actively turned off my football. (Yes, I was a cheerleader in junior or high school, but without getting into too much of a digression, that wasn’t because of my love of sports). 

The seeds of my surprising fandom were planted when we got free tickets to a Timberwolves game courtesy of the law firm Chad worked for at the time. Although I wasn’t a fan, I’d go to a game for free. 

That game showed me that there was a certain excitement to a live game that I could get into. I learned there was a lot of entertainment happening beyond the actual game. Even if I wasn’t really paying attention to the game, I was a bit dazzled by Crunch (the Wolves mascot), and the music, and the video clips, etc., etc. 

Chad and I ended up going to a few more games because we thought it would be a cool thing to do with our Little Brother. Before long, I was officially interested in the Timberwolves. 

This was just a little over 20 years ago, the season (I think) before the Timberwolves got into the playoffs. Once the Timberwolves were good, I was hooked. I was actually a little obsessed with the playoffs. I even watched a game with friends at the Riverview Theater.

I don’t remember details about that game, but I remember the experience felt very communal. Every game I attended had a dimension of community to it, and even just following the games from a distance and being a fan made me part of a community. 

Chad was into the Timberwolves, too, but my main Timberwolves co-fan was my friend, Wanda. Already wise in the ways of sports, Wanda was more than happy to join and mentor me on my sports fan journey. We stayed fans for a couple of seasons after the Wolves hit their peak. We attended several games–sometimes in really good seats (thanks to Wanda’s job contacts) and sometimes in the really cheap seats. Wherever we sat, we always had a grand time–talking, drinking, cheering, laughing (and shopping. We bought so many shirts and other Wolves merchandise we could get a deal on). 

Eventually, my love of the Wolves faded. Being a fan takes a lot of time, and I got busy with other things–theater, running, being in bands. 

I never intended to be a sports fan, and I haven’t been one since. 

But now, twenty years later…the Wolves are in the playoffs again (conference semi-finals) and I’m feeling nostalgic. I can’t help but reminisce about my sports fans days of yore. I don’t think I’ll ever get into the Wolves as much as I did back in the day, but I certainly think it would be awesome if they won the championship. Although I didn’t know who Naz Reid was until yesterday, I feel justified in being a fair weather fan and jumping on the current Wolves Bandwagon. I’m even listening to the first playoff game as I write this. 

A lot of things have changed in 20 years…but I still get excited about thinking about the Wolves in the playoffs. And Wanda and I are still very good friends. 

And…I still have a Timberwolves shirt from back in the day to wear!