MANKATO - Jo Johnson watches every Timberwolves game until the clock runs outs. Forget the score or typical bedtime of an 85-year-old — if the game is on, this grandma is watching.
After the Wolves managed to stay alive in the Western Conference finals Tuesday, she crawled into bed, the clock inching ever closer to midnight, and exclaimed “We won!” to her 87-year-old husband, Charlie, in midslumber. She could hardly wait for Thursday’s game.
“It isn’t over yet. But it’s been a really nice run for them,” Johnson said Wednesday at her home in Mankato.
Johnson doesn’t own any Wolves gear. She hasn’t been to Target Center in years, and no photos exist to show the times she went. She claims not to know a lick about the game, but wishes she knew more about the players — not their stats but their personal lives, who shaped them into the men they are today, how their children are doing. If they get along, if they’re having fun.
She has two granddaughters but counts the 17-man roster as her grandsons. And she plays favorites — Anthony Edwards, of course — but adores Mike Conley (”They do better when he’s playing”), and Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Jaden McDaniels (”I like those two skinny guys”). She loves them all. She thinks they’re cute, too.
“They seem to be nice guys,” she said. “You know, they have temper problems, but they do look like they could be your kid, you know, or grandson, I should say. Don’t you wish you could see their babies?”
Johnson has rooted for the Wolves since the team’s inaugural season in 1989-90, but this season is “much more exciting,” she said. She just hopes all this attention doesn’t go to Edwards’ head: “That’s the biggest concern.”
The Star Tribune asked readers to tell us about a Timberwolves fan in their life. Johnson’s daughters sent a message to granddaughter Annika Ferber with only one woman in mind: “Do we know anyone?”
