They'll be back...they always come back.

Shortly after the NBA All-Star break, Pat Reusse wrote a column lamenting about the lack of interest in the NBA amongst the fine residents of the Twin Cities. An article published a couple days later confirms his lament. I got to admit, I was a bit surprised:

TNT's coverage of the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday had a 0.8 rating in the
Twin Cities, placing this market last among the 56 metered markets in the United
States. That means 13,654 households in this area watched the game. By
comparison, last month's NHL All-Star contest on Versus had a 2.1 rating (35,841
households) in Minneapolis-St. Paul. That placed fifth out of the metered
markets.

Ouch. My fellow Minnesotans, this is not good. It's really hard to explain when the article goes on to say the Twin Cities also were ranked fifth when it came to TV ratings for both the MLB All-Star Game and the NFL Pro Bowl. The Pro Bowl?! Are you kidding me? Who the hell actually watches the Pro Bowl?

I'm not sure where we strayed. Obviously, the home team's current state has something to do with this. If your home team is losing, the casual fan is going to quit following them. If they're not following the T-Wolves, then they're likely not paying attention to the rest of the league.

Another point is the player dubbed as the "Big Ticket" is no longer with the team. Again, combine the losing record with the loss of some other main attraction, and the casual fan will find it hard to follow this team. I feel the only time this season you'll hear some NBA buzz in the Twin Cities will be April when the debate will rage about the ethics of intentionally tanking games to gain better draft position.

It's sad, too. I just got back from the game against Utah tonight. The crowd seemed to be decent (15,009) for a Tuesday night in February against the Jazz. Perhaps the tide is turning and Minnesotans are warming up to the NBA again. Then again, maybe the crowd was there because they received free vouchers to this game when they attend the game against the Celtics a few weeks ago. I know that's the reason I was there.

Regardless of how these fans got their tickets, they ended up seeing a pretty good game. The Wolves played extremely well balanced, with 4 players scoring 20+ points. Craig Smith had a sloppy but entertaining assist while leading a fast break. Kirk Snyder, the supposed scrub we received in exchange for Gerald Green, played a solid 23 minutes. I think I even saw that annoying Howl-o-meter redline for the first time this season. Finally the key ingredient to a successful evening: they won.

I believe the casual Timberwolve fan is just in an akward phase right now. Think of it like a bad heartbreak. It's like their lover for over a decade breaks up and leaves them for another partner. You are shattered. To help you forget, your friends set you up with a bunch of blind dates. You're pretty reluctant at first, but decide to give it a chance. After all, it's not as if they are bad people. You're just not sure if you're ready yet. One is kind of cute, another quite intelligent and saucy, and one you just know would be pretty fun for a one night stand. You begin to slowly forget just a little bit about the one who got away and become a tiny bit more interested in these new potential lovers with each passing day.

Just give it a chance, Timberwolves fans. You'll soon find someone that'll make you forget about that other guy.