Feeling Minnesota

When Minnesotans woke on August 1, the nightmare had already begun. Kevin Garnett, the face of the Timberwolves organization for the past 12 seasons, had officially relocated to New England. So, by the time they grabbed the morning edition of the Star Tribune and read that former Minnesota Viking QB Daunte Culpepper was signing with the Oakland Raiders, many had already chalked the day in the loss column. Of course, hearing at lunch that frustrated Minnesota Twins pitcher Johan Santana told the media that "It doesn't make any sense for me to be here” after his team failed to make any last-ditch trades for the playoff push certainly didn't help matters.

Still, it wasn't till about 6PM central time that the day Minnesota sports fans already hated turned horrific. The I-35 bridge that collapsed during evening rush hour traffic was a mere eight blocks from the Metrodome, the Twins and Vikings home stadium, and even closer to the University of Minnesota campus. The Twins postponed Thursday's game against the Kansas City Royals out of respect for the seven dead and may do the same for the weekend series versus Cleveland for fear of a traffic disaster. "Things always get put into perspective," said KC manager Buddy Bell. "This game is important to all of us, but there is nothing as precious as life.” Twins/Royals and KG to Boston will matter again to the Twin Cities, just not tomorrow morning when it wakes to a real-life nightmare.