The moving truck arrived in Minnesota 25 years ago this week. I had visited Minnesota a few times previously. Now it was a place that I was calling home.
Home for how long? I wasn’t sure, especially since that kid from southeast Tennessee had never lived through a Minnesota winter and I don’t recall even owning a pair of snow boots or long underwear at the time. I still haven’t gotten around to purchasing a snowblower, but there’s still time to shake being a cheapskate, I suppose.
My first day at the Star Tribune was January 10, 2000. Lighter on the scale and without a hint of gray hair, the goal then was the same as it is now — make deadline, tell great stories.
That’s the best hope of any sportswriter fortunate enough to do the job, to be able to witness and chronicle a great story.
Something dramatic, unique, thrilling, goofy, historic, memorable. Anything but boring.
Seasons and bylines blur together over time, but every so often, a team stokes the fire with something wholly unexpected that sucks you completely into the moment.
The 2024 Vikings have done that, which is why this season shoots to the top of my most enjoyable experiences in a quarter century of covering Minnesota sports.
The final chapter has yet to be written, but a 14-2 record with a chance to secure the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs in Detroit on Sunday has reminded all of us that seasons like this don’t come along very often. (I feel envious when colleagues talk about covering the Twins championship teams.)
