Rand: Wild a winning oasis in a local sports desert

The Wild hosted a pep rally Thursday over the lunch hour in downtown St. Paul's Rice Park, offering food and merchandise as one final push to get fans ready for the start of the playoffs later that night.

About 10 minutes before the event was going to start, a few sprinkles of rain fell from a gray sky. But by the time things were in full swing, there amazingly wasn't a cloud to be found.

Take that as a metaphor for the Wild's regular season, which turned from gloom to near-perfection. Or take it as a metaphor for the Wild's hold on the local sports scene, at least when it comes to the Twins, Wolves and Vikings. While those franchises are caught anywhere between clouds and a deluge, the Wild is the light at the end of the dark tunnel.

Fans have noticed.

Mike Cosgrove of St. Paul attended the pep rally and said that while he used to be a North Stars fan, he didn't get into the Wild until the acquisition of Zach Parise and the team's recent playoff berths. Rooting for a winner has its privileges.

"I think it definitely helps," Cosgrove said, when asked if the Wild's success relative to other teams' gives the franchise a boost in this market. "The Wolves are young and the Twins are the Twins. There really isn't anything else for the rest of the summer."

That discounts the Lynx and their run of dominance, which might not be fair. But the point stands: If you are rooting for one of the four major men's pro teams in town, and winning is your thing … you really have one option.

Paul Gabbert, a longtime local hockey fan and Wild season-ticket holder, agreed.

"There's a lot of energy and it's fun. These are good times," he said. "All the bandwagon people will get on right now and go with it, especially [during] playoff time."

There used to be room to spread out — and spread the love among more teams. The Wolves made the playoffs eight consecutive years. The Twins won six division titles in nine seasons. The Vikings have had their share of moments.

Now, it's the Wild in the playoffs … and before that, the most recent playoff appearance among those four teams was last year's Wild team … and before that, the most recent playoff appearance among them was the Wild team from two years ago.

No wonder everyone, new and old fans alike, was in such a good mood Thursday afternoon. Even after the official pep rally was over, 4-year-old fan Ethan Meister engaged Wild mascot Nordy in an impromptu dance-off as Prince's "Kiss" played.

It's safe to say the little fan won, as has been the case lately with all Wild fans.

michael rand