In 2010, the Minnesota Twins introduced Major League Baseball to Target Field. The new stadium replaced the dump that was the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome as the home for the franchise.
It’s been hard to get a ticket to a Twins game since, as the team ranked 12th in the major leagues in total attendance in 2012, according to ESPN.
The reception for the ballpark has been great, even when the product on the field hasn’t. ESPN Magazine called Target Field the best stadium in North America in their 2010 Ultimate Standings. The stadium dropped to 13th in 2012, but it still has its reputation as one of the best in baseball.
Still, with all of the accolades, some Twins fans have a problem with the crown jewel of downtown Minneapolis:
It’s too cold in April.
Twins fans are beginning to moan as the team has their first season opener at Target Field on Monday because The Weather Channel forecast is calling for a high of 36 degrees with winds approaching 15 miles per hour.
I think Twins fans are missing the point.
They’re Midwesterners.
Whether they are from Minnesota, North Dakota or Iowa, the cold weather shouldn’t affect them when they plan to see the pageantry that is Opening Day for the Minnesota Twins.
The Twins may have a rough season overall, but Monday’s game has a lot to offer.
Aaron Hicks will make his major league debut in center field. The first-round pick in the 2008 MLB Entry Draft has had a slow rise to the top, but he beat out Darin Mastroianni and Joe Benson to show Twins fans what the future could be like with fellow top prospects following his lead.
The Twins will also throw out one of their new starting pitchers in Vance Worley.
While Worley won’t blow anyone away or compete for any Cy Young awards in the near future, he was one of the key moves for the Twins as he came over from Philadelphia in the Ben Revere trade.
Like Hicks, he also represents the future of the ballclub as the team expects him to be a solid mid-rotation starter.
And if optimism doesn’t get everyone racing out to the frigid confines of Target Field, maybe the best pitcher in all of baseball will, as Justin Verlander will take the mound for the Detroit Tigers.
But Twins fans shouldn’t need on-field motivation to come out and see the 2013 season opener.
Other cold-weather cities such as New York, Chicago and Pittsburgh will host Opening Day, and it’s a good bet that none of them are reacting as if there’s a large, shirtless man in the back of the stadium professing his love for Joe Mauer. (That would be pure horror, in case you’re wondering.)
For years, Minnesotans braved frigid temperatures at Met Stadium in Bloomington to watch the Twins and the Minnesota Vikings. Many of them are still here to tell stories about it today, so it’s a good bet that those who do endure the elements on Monday will have a good time.
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