My journey as a Twins fan part 1: A bite from the sports bug

Me, as a young sports fan.

I suppose you could say I've been a Twins fan all my life. I mean, I was around for both the 1987 and 1991 World Series titles. Of course, I was all of 1 year old in 1987. But my parents tell me I was part of the festivities.

They bundled me up in the stroller as we trucked down to Minneapolis to wait in line for all the World Series apparel. I wasn't a sports nut in '91 either. As a 5-year-old, I'm sure I was too busy enjoying Sesame Street and my dolls to care about watching sports.

Throughout the rest of the '90s however, our family went to the Metrodome for a few games here and there. It was easy to head down on a Friday night, get tickets in the outfield "cheap seats" and enjoy the game. Part of the reason for this, I now know, is because the Twins didn't field very competitive teams throughout much of the decade.

It was one of those slumps that just happens at some point within a franchise. Still, it was fun cheering for the favorites like Kent Hrbek, Marty Cordova, Chuck Knoblauch (yes, at the time) and of course, the legendary Kirby Puckett.

I remember being there for the pre-game festivities honoring Kirby after his playing career ended. When he and his then-wife Tonya came onto the field in a convertible, I remember being part of a lengthy standing ovation. I remember thinking that was the longest I had clapped for anything or anybody in my young life. Now, I know standing ovations have changed over the years. Today it seems they've become almost meaningless - we'll clap for just about anything.

But the ovation for Kirby was completely genuine.

Baseball: America's pastime. My pastime. 
The sports fandom bug really bit me at the start of the Twins 2001 season. I heard that they won their first three games, so I figured I'd watch a little and see how the team looked. Turns out, that was the start of an amazing decade for Minnesota Twins baseball, which would be bookended with a brand new ballpark.

They didn't win the AL Central Division right away, but they made great strides in 2001. Then manager Tom Kelly retired and the Ron Gardenhire era began.

Those first couple summers, I'd say I was a pretty dedicated Twins fan. If the Twins were playing, that meant I was in front of the set watching. It got so involved that my dad had to tell me to get out and enjoy the nice summer nights in Minnesota, since we all know the nice weather isn't around long. There's 162 games, and I didn't need to watch all of them, basically.

I must have relaxed a little, but I was still hooked. The Twins promotional tagline back then was "Get to Know 'Em." Boy, did I. I knew the players, jersey numbers, positions, even their batting stance routines, which I often imitated out in the yard as my brother and I played a little baseball.

Learning my team, then writing a letter
Just by watching so much baseball, I learned more about the game, too. I learned from watching, listening to the broadcasters dissect plays and explain obscure rules, and by asking my parents questions.

Following the 2001 season, the fate of the Twins was threatened with a little thing call contraction. I wasn't even sure what that meant. "The Twins will just go away? But how can they do that?" As a relatively new fan who was so dedicated, I was pretty upset.

I even wrote a letter to MLB commissioner Bud Selig. A strongly-worded letter, I'd say. The one thing I remember writing is explaining the "Get to Know 'Em" slogan and wrote that I "got to know 'em." Luckily, the Twins are still around. I'm sure it was my letter that kept contraction away.

A girl can dream, right?

My journey as a Twins fan part 2: Dougie and division titles

My journey as a Twins fan part 3: The Target Field era