In the Page 2 feature that appeared in today's Star Tribune (and online), we tried to break down the 10 levels of being "One Of Us" that a Minnesota athlete can attain. We also asked at the beginning for alternate suggestions and feedback, which can be like asking someone for an honest opinion about a Christmas gift.
In any event, the list was an attempt at fun. A good number of people enjoyed it. You can have a look at it right here, if you'd like.
The most common piece of feedback we received -- from three different e-mailers -- is that Lindsay Whalen belonged among the examples somewhere on the list.
Agreed. The former Hutchinson, Gophers and now Lynx basketball standout is a modern day Molitor when it comes to returning home to conquer the land where she once starred in high school and college.
Lindsay, you are most certainly a high-level "One Of Us." Never let anyone tell you differently. If we had the list to do over again, we would almost certainly include Whalen's name as one of the examples.
However, per two of the three e-mailers who attempted some sort of shaming tactic for not having Whalen (or any other female athletes) on the list: Sorry, but we're not ashamed. We really like Whalen as an athlete and as a local personality. We've written numerous stories about her. But we don't start making those lists with the idea that we had better include category X or type Y into the mix. We only try to conjure up the best examples of which we can think. Sometimes that might lead to an oversight, as it did in this case when Whalen would have been a perfect example. But starting from any other point would -- we think -- tarnish the integrity of the information and the process.
