Revisiting City's Best: Minneapolis

Bruce Ciskie — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 12:50:00 EST

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)

Revisiting City's Best: Minneapolis originally appeared on Back Porch FanHouse on Fri, 09 Nov 2007 12:50:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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City's Best: Minneapolis' Top Five Athletes

Jamie Mottram — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Minnesota

FanHouse is posting the top five current athletes for America's top 25 cities with the following criteria: 1) Who would a Twin Cities fan say is his/her favorite athlete? 2) Would the player's name (or face) be familiar to locals who don't follow sports?

Find your city's top five: ATL | BOS | CHA | CHI | CIN | CLE | DAL | DC | DEN | DET | HOU | IND | LA | MIA | MIL | MIN | NO | NY | SF | PHI | PHO | PIT | SD | SEA | STL

I had to work to get a Vikings player on this list, even though the Purple are clearly still No. 1 among the diehards here (despite gains made recently by the Twins). It should tell you something about the franchise's recent turn that A) It was a struggle and B) The player has yet to play a down yet. With that said, it's a pretty solid top five when you can't even find room for a defending league MVP or a hockey player in a puck-loving state.

5. Adrian Peterson -- Instantly became the Vikings' most recognizable player when the RB was drafted No. 7 overall. People here are so in love with his potential that it's ridiculous. But it's probably wise to let the fans salivate for now. He's a legitimate reason to be excited about the offense; that didn't exist last year.

4. Johan Santana -- This is where it gets tricky. The Twins are stacked with top-end players. Three of them made this list. Missing the cut is 2006 AL MVP Justin Morneau (though if you read the New York papers, you might think Derek Jeter won). As Chris Rock once apparently said at a New York comedy club, according to a reliable source, "Exactly. Who the (bleep) is Justin Morneau." He's just not big enough outside of Minnesota and Canada. Santana, a two-time Cy Young award winner, has nationwide credibility. Even if folks here take him for granted sometimes and pile on a little when he starts slow, they ultimately can't get enough Johan.
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3. Joe Mauer -- He is jokingly referred to as Baby Jesus in these parts. He grew up in St. Paul. The ladies seem to like him (including former Miss USA Chelsea Cooley at one point). He won a batting title. And even though Mauer didn't have the same impact Morneau had last year, he is better-known on a larger scale and loved by almost all here.

2. Kevin Garnett -- Quick! Put this list out before KG gets traded. The fans here seem to be split on the Big Ticket's future. Close to half could never imagine him leaving. Close to half want him traded for his own sake so he might win a championship someday. That's pretty good love for a player. (Oh, and there is a crazy five percent that think he's the problem. While he does have some inconsistencies and fourth-quarter disappearances on his resume, Garnett is about 250th on a list of the Wolves' downfalls).

1. Torii Hunter -- Another tough call. But Hunter is the best talker on the team and has raised his national profile significantly in recent years. Another barometer: I've been to a handful of Yankees/Twins games, both as a media member and a casual fan, both in the regular season and the playoffs, and the one guy Yankees fans always fear, admire, covet and know is Hunter. Twins fans might grimace sometimes at his bad at bats (which are fewer and further between this year), but overall he is still the face and voice of the most successful franchise this area has had over the past five years.

Honorable Mentions: Justin Morneau ... Marian Gaborik ... Matt Birk ... and in terms of just pure fan love: Derek Boogaard (Wild), Boof Bonser (Twins) and any University of Minnesota hockey player who either overachieves or doesn't turn pro when he has the chance.

Editor's Note: Michael Rand writes for the Star Tribune and blogs at Randball, where he actually interviewed the dude from C+C Music Factory. He also lives in Minnesota, which, for the purposes of this post, gives him "cred." We thank him for his contribution to FanHouse.

City's Best: Minneapolis' Top Five Athletes originally appeared on Back Porch FanHouse on Thu, 21 Jun 2007 14:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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