Who's your daddy? Identifying the daddies of Minnesota sports teams
Father's Day 2023 has come and gone and if you're reading this, you're probably recovering from a long Sunday chatting, eating and drinking with family. That's nice, but have a daddy in sports isn't a good thing.
In fact, when your favorite team runs into "Daddy," it's not a warm embrace. It's a hurdle that prevents your team from achieving their goals, asserting their dominance and creating misery among the entire fan base.
In the spirit of Father's Day, we at Bring Me The Sports asked the question: "Who's your Daddy?" to each of the local sports teams and the answers speak for themselves.
The Twins: New York Yankees
No Minnesota team has been dominated by another team more than the Twins have been by the Yankees. While there have been several antagonists during the Twins' 18-game postseason losing streak, the Yankees have been the Twins' disciplinarian father, ready to dole out punishment at every turn.
It started in 2004 when the Twins pulled off an upset in Game 1 of the American League Divisional Series. Torii Hunter gave the Twins a 6-5 lead with a 12th-inning homer in Game 2 but Joe Nathan blew the save in his third inning of relief
The Twins haven't won a playoff game since and 13 of their 18 straight losses have come at the hands of the Yankees. The dominance has bled into the regular season where Minnesota has a 39-98 record against the Yankees dating back to 2001.
The Twins won the season series this year by winning four of the seven games, but nobody wants to press their luck against the Yankees in October.
The Timberwolves: NBA officials
Remember when you would mouth off to your dad and you'd be punished? That's kind of how NBA officials have treated the Timberwolves.
With an up-and-coming superstar in Anthony Edwards and the "greatest shooting big man of all-time" in Karl-Anthony Towns, the Wolves have the makings of an exciting team. But like their namesake's counterparts in the Canidae family, they can be stopped in their tracks with a whistle.
The Wolves led the league last season in technical fouls and flagrant fouls but that doesn't tell the whole story. There were other moments where poor officiating got into the team's head such as the late-season meltdowns that saw Jaden McDaniels break his hand by punching a wall and Rudy Gobert throwing a punch at Kyle Anderson.
Towns is the biggest example of all, racking up 45 personal fouls in his last 11 playoff games.
While some try to reason with the officials by screaming "Refs You Suck!" with every call, the officials don't seem to care and are willing to dish out some tough love in the paint.
The Wild: Lord Stanley
Sometimes no matter what you do, there's no pleasing your father. Although the Wild have reinvented themselves several times to gain approval, they can't find a way to please Lord Stanley, with the Wild failing to get past the first round in six straight playoff appearances.
This relationship has seen several people assume the role of "Daddy." When the Wild won the Central Division title in 2016-17, it was Jake Allen who led the Blues to victory. When the Wild battled back from a 3-1 deficit, it was the Vegas Golden Knights that issued a 6-2 beating in Game 7.
The Wild tried another high-octane approach in 2022 and blew a 2-1 series lead to the St. Louis Blues and after switching to a "grit-first" approach, Pete DeBoer out-coached Dean Evason to eliminate the Wild in the playoffs.
There's a chance the Wild could take another form next season in an effort to gain Lord Stanley's approval. But until they get out of the first round, Lord Stanley and his many forms will always be their daddy.
The Vikings: The NFC Championship Game
Like the Wild, the Vikings "daddy" isn't so much a person as it is an event. Sure, Aaron Rodgers, Jared Goff and other quarterbacks have displayed consistent dominance over the Vikings but it's nothing like the penultimate game before the Super Bowl.
Since last reaching the Super Bowl in 1976, the Vikings have an 0-5 record in the NFC Championship Game. While they've been on the doorstep several times, there's always something that puts them in their place.
In 1987, it was Darren Nelson's drop in the end zone. In 1998, it was Gary Anderson's missed field goal. In 2000, it was a 41-0 demolition. In 2009, it was Bountygate and approximately 28 second-half fumbles. And in 2017, it was a 38-7 beatdown in Philadelphia.
With the Vikings embarking on a "competitive rebuild" it's not clear when they'll see the NFC Championship Game again. But we do know that once they get there, daddy will be waiting.
Gophers football: The Iowa Hawkeyes
P.J. Fleck has seen a lot of success since arriving to Minnesota in 2017 but while he's been able to conquer the Wisconsin Badgers, he hasn't been able to conquer his own father figure – Kirk Ferentz.
Fleck is 0-6 against Ferentz and the Iowa Hawkeyes during his tenure but each loss has come with a little insult to injury.
In 2019, the Gophers held their highest AP ranking in 57 years when Iowa earned a 23-19 win in Iowa City. The following year, Ferentz took offense with Fleck calling a timeout with 19 seconds to go and vowed to "leave the timeouts [in Minneapolis]" in a 35-7 blowout.
Even when Mohamed Ibrahim ran for 263 yards against the Hawkeyes in last year's meeting, Fleck couldn't find enough offense to beat Ferentz, throwing the ball just 15 times in a 13-10 loss at Huntington Bank Stadium.
Fleck already conquered one "daddy" by stealing Paul Bunyan's Axe from the Badgers, but until he can regain The Floyd of Rosedale, he might as well be sending a card to Iowa City.
