Revisiting City's Best: Minneapolis

A few months ago, FanHouse did a compilation of the top athletes in each of our nation's biggest cities. As part of that, we posted what we thought was a pretty solid list of Minneapolis' top five athletes.

Well, things have changed.

Adrian Peterson has exploded onto the NFL scene. Torii Hunter appears headed out of town as a free agent. Kevin Garnett got traded. Johan Santana may be next up on the trade block.

With all of that in mind, it's time to re-visit that top five, in an effort to make it more in-tune with the current sports climate in Minnesota. It's a rather shaky climate, by the way. It's not unlike Minnesota's weather.

In putting together this updated list, I am operating under the assumption that Johan Santana will be playing in a Twins' uniform in 2008. Frankly, I don't think that's anything remotely close to a safe bet, but at this point, the Twins are saying the right things publicly and talking about re-signing him. Santana may just decide to stay, though his public discontent with the organization during the 2007 season is not going to help them.

My assumption is that Hunter will sign elsewhere. The Twins did their level best to re-sign him over the summer, and it wasn't enough money or a long-enough contract offer.

5. Marian Gaborik (Unranked in summer of 2007) -- Hockey is still king in Minnesota, to a certain extent. The Wild have sold out every game they've ever played at the XCel Energy Center, and there's always a special buzz in the building when Gaborik gets the puck. He can be downright magical, sporting world-class speed, great hands, and an uncanny ability to make big plays. He's not the most marketable soul in the world, but he's the most popular player on the Wild roster. Yes, he's even more popular than enforcer Derek Boogaard, though he almost made this list.
4. Justin Morneau (unranked)-- He appeals to all types in Minnesota. He's a power-hitting first baseman with an underrated glove, and he's also a Canadian who doesn't hide his love for hockey. In fact, he enjoys hockey enough that he was spotted at a men's college game between Minnesota State (Mankato) and Minnesota-Duluth last year. With Hunter gone and Santana in flux, Morneau will only be more popular in 2008.

3. Joe Mauer (3rd)-- The Twins aired radio ads last year touting the state as "Mauersota". They've given away Mauer bobbleheads, Mauer wind-up dolls, and even Mauer sideburns (not authentic). Mauer is a Twin Cities native, having played his high-school baseball and football at Cretin-Derham Hall in St. Paul. When the Twins took him over Mark Prior in the amateur draft, people thought they were stupid. They don't think that anymore.

2. Johan Santana (4th) -- Speaking of radio ads, one of the Twins' more popular radio ads in 2007 featured the phrase "You the Mantana!", a takeoff of "You the man" (duh). Santana becomes the face of the franchise the second Hunter walks. The ladies love his smile, and the diehards love the way he goes after every hitter he faces. Then again, if you had that changeup, you'd go after every hitter you faced, too.

1. Adrian Peterson (5th) -- It's amazing, really. I mean, unless you're Michael David Smith, you've been impressed with Peterson from the get-go (sorry, MDS, but I had to, no matter how impressive your backpedal has been). He's over 1,000 yards in a half-season, and he did it while dealing with his idiot coach insisting he split carries with a lesser player. Peterson is a great talent, a humble young man, and a perfect guy for the Vikings to build their team around for the next decade. He's one of those guys that fans of opposing teams can't help but appreciate while they curse their defense for getting carved up. Right now, in an uneven, unsure sports world, he's the face of the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

Honorable mentions: Boogaard, Antoine Winfield, Al Jefferson (centerpiece player in the Garnett deal), Randy Foye, Kyle Okposo (University of Minnesota hockey player, New York Islanders draft pick)