Minnesota—We Put the ‘Ow’ in Home Crowd
Todd Swank's Diary for November 16, 2025
This week Mother Nature dropped a surprise northern lights show on us. I’m still not convinced I actually saw anything with my own eyes—outside it just looked like confused clouds trying to get their act together. But the second you point an iPhone at it, boom: instant technicolor magic. At this point I’m half-convinced the northern lights are just an Apple marketing feature to sell more phones.
Friday night we hit Music Bingo at the Shakopee VFW with friends from our Euchre crew. It’s just like regular bingo except the letters and numbers got replaced by every song you forgot you loved from the seventies through the nineties. We spent a couple hours singing our lungs out and competing for high-end luxury items like leftover T-shirts and random mugs. Honestly? Blast of a night.
Saturday night we rolled into Target Center to watch our beloved Timberwolves, who came in riding a four-game winning streak. Naturally, that meant we showed up with our hopes way too high—because nothing screams “Minnesota sports fan” like confidently assuming tonight will be the night everything goes right.
It was Prince Night at Target Center, which meant his giant symbol took over center court and they blasted clips of his music all game long. The funny part is Prince spent half his life fighting people who tried to commercialize his art… and now we’re basically one halftime show away from a “Purple Rain presented by Arby’s” sponsorship.
It was Luke’s turn to join me at the game. He’d actually been there the night before with his buddies and watched the Wolves roll to a big win, so I walked in thinking maybe his good luck would rub off on me. Spoiler: it did not.
Our season tickets are under my name, but every now and then Sheri gets these wild last-minute offers the team sends her because she’s bought seats in the past. They’re usually up in the rafters, but she doesn’t care—she just loves being there. And every so often, like tonight, the seats next to ours end up open and she gets to slide down and join us. Some nights the universe just gives you a wink and says, “Yeah, go ahead.”
The Nuggets rolled into town on their own six-game win streak, led by their not-to-be-named-but-definitely-hard-to-ignore superstar. Anytime Denver shows up, it feels like reopening an old playoff scar. These two teams have built a pretty spicy rivalry over the past few years, and you could feel it in the arena the second warmups ended. This wasn’t just another regular-season game — it was another chapter in the ongoing Wolves–Nuggets saga.
Things even got a little chippy when Julius Randle mixed it up with one of Denver’s big men. My favorite part of the whole scene, though, was Ant in the background with that little smirk on his face. I don’t know what he was thinking, but based on the size mismatch in front of him, I’m guessing it was something like, “Yeah… Julius can handle this one. I’m good right here.”
Anthony Edwards had one of those nights where nothing seemed to fall the way it normally does. He still put up 26 points, but it came on a tough 8-for-23 shooting night, including 0-for-8 from three. To his credit, he kept attacking, got to the line 12 times, and added six assists — but for a guy who usually lights up Denver, this one just wasn’t his usual level. Some nights the shots drop. Some nights the basketball gods put a lid on the rim. Tonight felt like the latter.
The Denver Nuggets left town still unbeaten on their current run, edging the Minnesota Timberwolves 123–112. Nikola Jokić put up a triple-double with 27 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists, while Denver also got 23 points apiece from Aaron Gordon, Jamal Murray and Tim Hardaway Jr.. The Wolves fought back to lead at halftime, but couldn’t keep it going into the final quarter and the Nuggets pulled away when it mattered. Watching your home team fall like that? Yeah… it sucks.
It was also Luke’s turn to join me for the Vikings game, giving him the full weekend trifecta of Minnesota pro sports. Some people call that lucky… others would call it a glutton for punishment. Around here, we just call it “quality time.”
Before the game started I ran into Ted Minette in the concourse — a guy I went to high school with and probably haven’t seen in person since dial-up internet was a thing. We had about three minutes to catch up, grabbed a quick picture, and then went our separate ways like two comets passing in the night. Odds are I won’t see him again until 2035, but hey… it was fun while it lasted.
The Vikings have been a tough team to watch this year, but we still walked into this one with a little hope in our pockets. After all, they pulled off a last-minute miracle against the Bears earlier this season, so maybe lightning would strike twice. And early on, it looked like Chicago’s quarterback was going to be running for his life all afternoon — exactly the kind of chaos we were hoping for.
In the end, Minnesota sports nailed the weekend double-gut-punch. The Wolves sputtered, the Vikings followed, and J.J. McCarthy isn’t exactly selling “QB of the Future” right now. They even teased us with a gorgeous go-ahead touchdown before collapsing and handing Chicago a walk-off field goal. Being a Minnesota fan isn’t for the weak… but at this point, pain just feels like part of the package.
