After a year of cardboard cutouts and piped-in noise, players and coaches welcome return of fans

There has been plenty of fan noise at professional games in Minnesota over the past eight months. It is piped in, often for purposes of television, where viewers also see cardboard cutouts of people, some famous, and anonymous pets.

The players tolerate it, but they've also been in arenas and stadiums in other states where fans are allowed, and they have noticed a big difference.

"We're used to playing in front of empty seats," said Wild defenseman Ryan Suter. "And then to have fans in Vegas, I'm not sure how many they had, but it was definitely different. It was a little nerve-racking just being like, 'Oh OK, there's fans here finally.'"

For players and coaches, the news Friday from Gov. Tim Walz, who announced fans will start returning to games after April 1, was welcome.

"Fans make it more fun," said Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio. "Safety first, but we miss the fans so much. We miss everything from cheering to whatever it is out there in the crowd. On the court that feels like we're not playing an NBA season with empty gyms, and hopefully we can see them soon."

Said Suter: "It gets old playing in front of no fans. And then when you know how good your fans are and how much they can help you, to be able to have some in a couple weeks is pretty exciting for us."

The Twins will be allowed to have 10,000 fans at their games, with the home opener April 8 against Seattle. Minnesota United is making plans for its home opener, which is April 24, for an as yet undetermined number of fans at Allianz Field. The Timberwolves and Wild can have 3,000 fans beginning with their first home games in April; for both teams, that's April 5.

"We're jacked about it," said Wild coach Dean Evason. "I think the entire league, the entire world for that matter, is jacked about it. We're excited to see our fans and I hope our fans are excited to see us."

Evason's team skated in front of fans in Vegas and Arizona on a recent road trip.

"It does create an atmosphere. No question. You look up and there's people standing and cheering and in between and certainly in Vegas there was a nice vibe," he said. "It does make a big difference, even with that little amount in a big stadium."

The Twins have been playing spring training games at ballparks in Florida that are about one-third of capacity after a 2020 season with only cutouts and piped in noise.

"Definitely the fans, they played a huge role for us," said veteran designated hitter Nelson Cruz. "The first few games of [last] season hit you pretty good, like 'Wow, there's no fans.' Once you play those big games, the playoffs, you need those fans behind you. The energy they bring every day is something you as a player missed.

"At the end of the day we play for the fans. We play for winning. And that's that."

Pitcher Michael Pineda was happy to hear about Friday's decision.

"It's good news," he said. "It's great news for me and I know for everybody because we love to see the fans in the stadium and they give me a lot of motivation so it sounds good."

Said Twins President Dave St. Peter: "I was fortunate enough to be able to attend our games in 2020 in a ballpark that had no fans, and as much as I loved watching our team play, I found the environment to be soulless, and I never really wanted to experience it again.

"Those of us that were fortunate enough to experience a spring training game this year with just over 2,000 fans, the building just as easily could have been sold out. We were all giddy to experience the sound of the crowd, the smell of hot dogs and popcorn and all of those things that we romanticize about baseball, it's very true and it's very real."

Minnesota United Coach Adrian Heath said, "I think our supporters, if they don't know, should know how important they are for us. We certainly missed them last year and I'm sure every football manager in the country is delighted that they're going to get back to some sort of normalcy. The sooner we can get Allianz Field full and hear Wonderwall again, that will be a nice day for us all."

The Wolves had the NBA's worst record in the first half of the season, but hope to spark fan interest with a new coach in Chris Finch. They have 12 home games in April and May.

"I'm excited to get to know these fans" Finch said. "They're very passionate. I know they're going to be anxious to get back in and watch a team hopefully they're proud of."

The Vikings played at an empty U.S. Bank Stadium during the 2020 season, and failed to make the playoffs. They were 23-9 at home in their first four seasons at U.S. Bank Stadium, developing a flashy set of in-game production staples and leveraging the building's acoustics to keep decibel levels consistently high. The team's victory in its lone playoff game in the building, created perhaps the most iconic moment in franchise history, as disbelief turned to eardrum-rattling euphoria when Stefon Diggs crossed the goal line for a game-winning 61-yard touchdown on Jan. 14, 2018.

Chief Operating Officer Andrew Miller talked to other teams throughout the summer of 2020 about what it would be like to play games in an empty stadium. But the eerie silence of the Vikings' season-opener against the Packers — in what ordinarily would have been one of the most raucous environments of the season — was still a shock.

"I'm not sure anything anybody could have said would have prepared us for what that really felt like," Miller said. "And it impacted the experience. It impacted the way the game went. I think it was necessary at the time, and we're really fortunate that we were able to complete the season and keep everybody safe and healthy. But as we looked back at 2020 and what our lessons were, it was so clear internally that the No. 1 thing in 2020 was, we did not have fans."

The Wild's season shut down last March, and it played in the NHL postseason in a bubble in Edmonton in August. The NHL season started in January, and now has a dozen teams with fans in attendance.

But the Xcel Energy Center has played host to games with only a few family members watching.

"It obviously was really tough in the beginning trying to get used to it," winger Jordan Greenway said. "I think the guys will be excited. Everyone will be excited. We've got great fans. It's great energy. It's a great atmosphere to play in. It'll definitely be good when it gets back to normal."

Staff writers Phil Miller, Chris Hine, Jerry Zgoda and Ben Goessling contributed to this story.