Minnesota's historic stretch of playoff futility continues with Wild's first-round exit
The year was 1991. The Minnesota North Stars had just reached the Stanley Cup Finals. the Minnesota Twins won the World Series, the Minnesota Timberwolves were in their infancy as a franchise, and the Minnesota Vikings were a few months away from hiring Dennis Green.
Life was good for a Minnesota sports fan, except that year marked the last time men's professional sports teams in the Twin Cities come close to winning a championship.
The Minnesota Wild were the last team to add to the Twin Cities' stretch of playoff futility as they lost to the Dallas Stars in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
With a 3-1 loss on Friday night, the Wild made the 50th straight playoff appearance by a Twin Cities team without reaching the championship round. According to Opta Stats on Twitter, no other metro area with NBA, MLB, NHL or NFL franchises has even reached 30 straight appearances without reaching the championship round.
Minnesota sports fans often get the reputation of being overdramatic, but it gets even worse considering that between the Twins, Wild, Vikings and Timberwolves, no team has even gotten close to having the opportunity to play for a championship.
The Vikings
The Vikings suffered four straight losses in the Wild Card round before finally breaking through to the NFC Championship Game in 1998. After Gary Anderson's kick sailed wide right, the Vikings reached the NFC Championship Game again in 2000 but were obliterated by the New York Giants in the infamous "41-doughnut" game.
Randy Moss mooned the Green Bay Packers in a Wild Card victory in 2004 but the Vikings were dumped by the Philadelphia Eagles in the divisional round the following week. The Eagles ruined another playoff run in the Wild Card round in 2008 before Brett Favre led Minnesota to the NFC Championship Game in 2009 and was dispatched in "Bountygate."
Joe Webb started a playoff beatdown at Lambeau Field in 2012 and Blair Walsh's 27-yard field goal attempt landed in the Mississippi River during a Wild Card loss to the Seattle Seahawks in 2015. The Vikings defeated the Saints in the 2017 Divisional Round but it took the "Minneapolis Miracle" to do so, clearing the way for the Eagles to put an end to another run with a 38-7 loss in the NFC Championship Game.
The Vikings were the last Minnesota team to advance past the opening round of the playoffs when they defeated the Saints in 2019 but were sent packing by the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round.
The Vikings have not won multiple playoff games in the same season since 1987.
The Timberwolves
Target Center was only one year old when Minnesota celebrated its last championship, but it has been the setting for just as much pain thanks to a franchise that may be cursed.
The Timberwolves didn't make their first playoff appearance until the 1996-97 season and began a string of an NBA-record seven straight losses in the first round of the playoffs. Minnesota finally broke through to win two playoff series in 2004 but lost in the Western Conference Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games.
Randy Wittman, David Kahn and passing on Steph Curry twice lowlighted a stretch of 13 straight seasons without making the playoffs before the Timberwolves lost in five games to the Houston Rockets in 2018. The Timberwolves have made the playoffs in each of the past two seasons but have been eliminated in the first round.
The Twins
The Twins were the last team to hang a championship banner in Minnesota but that has become a distant memory as they've become the poster child for playoff futility.
Minnesota missed the playoffs in 1992 and didn't return until the Twins won the American League Central in 2002. The Twins defeated the Oakland Athletics in five games to advance to the American League Championship Series but lost to the Los Angeles Angels in five games, including a three-homer performance from Adam Kennedy – who hit 80 regular season home runs over his 14-year career – in Game 5.
The Twins went on to win the American League Central six times over the next nine seasons but lost in four games in the ALDS to the New York Yankees in 2003 and 2004 before beginning an 18-game postseason losing streak. The streak is the longest in the history of men's major professional sports in North America.
The Wild
The Wild is relatively young compared to its counterparts in this market, but its history carries just as much pain.
An unexpected run in 2003 was ended by the gigantic pads of Jean-Sebastien Gigure in the Western Conference Finals and the Wild were bounced in the first round in 2007 and 2008 before missing the playoffs for four straight seasons.
The Wild returned to the playoffs in 2013 and made six straight playoff appearances but never got past the second round. Their closest to advancing to the Western Conference Finals came in 2015 when a puck that bounced off a stanchion landed on Patrick Kane's stick and helped the Chicago Blackhawks defeat the Wild in six games.
The Wild lost in the qualifying round at the NHL's bubble in 2020 and lost in the first round in each of the past three seasons. The Wild have also blown 2-1 series leads in each of the past two seasons.
Which team has the best chance to end the streak?
Sorting through the pain is one thing, but finding the antidote is another challenge for Minnesota sports fans.
The Vikings won 13 games last season but lost to the New York Giants in the wild card round of the playoffs. While Kevin O'Connell painted a bright future in his first season, Minnesota said goodbye to several veterans such as Adam Thielen and Eric Kendricks and may soon have to find a new quarterback if they don't agree to an extension with Kirk Cousins.
The Timberwolves have a promising young star in Anthony Edwards but handcuffed their ability to build around him after trading five first-round picks and five players including Walker Kessler to the Utah Jazz for Rudy Gobert.
The Wild also have a star in Kirill Kaprizov, but he's already 26 years old and Minnesota is still dealing with the salary cap mess created by buying out Zach Parise and Ryan Suter.
Then there's the Twins who need to overcome their own demons in order to break their own historic streak of futility.
Minnesota sports fans don't have it all that bad, as the Lynx have won four WNBA titles and recently welcomed No. 2 overall pick Diamond Miller to the team, but for a majority of the market, reaching the championship round is something that has only been achieved on their PlayStation.
