Wild Fans Should Relish Win

Nobody would describe Minnesota sports fans as spoiled. Well, except maybe the WNBA enthusiasts out there. Three championship appearances in three seasons for the Minnesota Lynx was a nice spectacle, and come to think of it, those plucky Lynx re-introduced us to what sports look like when played at a high caliber.

But of the Big Four – Vikings, Twins, Wolves, Wild – it's been a dry spell for two solid decades. Since the Twins' 1991 triumph: no championship appearances, only five playoff series wins (and a smattering of Vikings playoff victories) and about a dozen buzzwords that have grown into our lexicon.

Fans grimace at the mention of "98." They groan at "41-zip." They rue about "Bounty Gate" playing a part in Brett Favre getting battered in the infamous Saints game.

There are all the what-ifs as well. What if Denard Walker and Brian Russell don't push Nathan Poole out of bounds in Week 17 of 2003? What if Sam Cassell's back had held up during the Wolves’ 2004 playoff run? What if Mauer's double had been called fair in the 2009 ALDS?

And don't forget the opposing players who helped bury the local squads. Make sure you whisper – don't speak aloud – the names Ruben Sierra, Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Alex Rodriguez, Morten Andersen and Kareem Rush. Those are devil terms in some circles.

Minnesota fans have loathingly learned to expect the worst. That's why most Wild backers prepared themselves Wednesday night to be exposed to the most emotionally draining, taxing and crippling loss imaginable. And it looked like it was headed that direction when the Wild came back from four separate deficits, only to enter a sudden-death overtime period with a rusty goalie who'd struggled earlier in the series, been pulled from his post 11 days prior and had barely faced a shot in 8-plus minutes of regulation time.

But then Nino Niederreiter scored.

And after an agonizing minute waiting for the confirming replay, fans could celebrate.

In a game that could have been defined by Darcy Kuemper's concussion or a series that could have been remembered for the Wild's pulled-goalie gaffes or the egregious non-calls in Game 5, "El Nino" emerged to take those buzz words off the board.

Five minutes, two seconds into overtime, the Wild had duplicated their effort from 11 years prior when Andrew Brunette's sudden-death winner shocked then-goalie Patrick Roy and sent him into retirement. Wednesday, Niederreiter's wrister ended Roy's first year at his new gig.

Any fan base forced to wait 11 years between playoff advancements couldn't have asked for a more poetic way to end the drought.

It seems difficult to grasp that there could be a maximum of three playoff series remaining for this Wild team. Much like the Twins' 163rd game in 2009 or the Vikings' Week 17 play-in against Green Bay in 2012, Wednesday night's Game 7 felt like the pinnacle. What could possibly top it?

Minnesota's teams – loveable losers more often than not – haven't set the bar all that high for its fans, leaving room for exceptional moments like Wednesday in Denver that may seem run-of-the-mill to annual contenders. Rarely are playoff appearances of any kind taken for granted around here.

While San Jose Sharks fans may scoff (10 straight playoff qualifications, no Stanley Cup Finals appearances), this first-round series, this Western Conference Quarterfinal, meant something.

It represented the first real payoff of Craig Leipold's nine-digit investment two summers ago.

It gave the Xcel Energy Center crowd three thrilling home playoff victories after the franchise had only amassed five in its first 13 years.

It reminded every hardened and battle-scarred fan why it's worth sticking by a team through the lean years. Eventually, there's going to be a payoff.

Wild fans got theirs after a two-week, seven-game, four-overtime slugfest of a series against the franchise's biggest postseason rival.

So don't forget how you feel today, Wild fans. Even if the Chicago series goes sour, there is still plenty to hang onto.