Roughly nine months ago — not the greatest way for a 27-year-old single male to start a column, but stick with me — a friend of mine and I bellied up to a local establishment and hashed out a top 10 list that took hours to create. The best part of it wasn’t the final product, however, but rather the back and forth between the two of us as we resurrected a ton of names from the Minnesota sports scene.
So, who are your 10 favorite Minnesota sports icons?
The question alone brings about concentrated looks, and the only limitations are as follows:
• Icons must’ve been associated with any Minnesota sport, and
• Icons must’ve participated in your lifetime.
So, for a guy like me born in 1981, the likes of Bronko Nagurski, Harmon Killebrew and Fran Tarkenton are off limits. What aren’t off limits, however, are the sports. I’m talking everything from the big four to pro wrestling to the Olympics to high school action.
Generations are different, tastes are different and memories are different, making it nearly impossible for your top 10 lists to mirror your friends’ lists. In fact, my list has even changed from that night in early April. Gone is Marian Gaborik and in is Adrian Peterson.
My list starts in 1987, as my oldest Minnesota sports memory is Gary Gaetti tossing across the diamond to Kent Hrbek to end the 1987 World Series. My top two are no-doubters, followed by eight more who I wouldn’t be ashamed to wear their jersey, hockey sweater or golf polo.
1. Kirby Puckett — A no-brainer. It would take a Michael Jordan type or amnesia to supplant this legend. And since his closest competition to date — Kevin Garnett — has left the Target Center, there are no competitors for my top spot. At 10 years old, my parents let me stay up to watch the 1991 World Series and I’ll never forget where I was when I heard the tragic news of his death. He played with an unmatched love for baseball and if my future wife allows it, his poster will sit above our fireplace.
2. Kevin Garnett — Intensity isn’t a strong enough word to explain KG. He brought it every night and carried an organization handcuffed by a terrible general manager. Since MJ’s retirement, it’s hard to name five better players in the NBA. He also solidified his No. 2 position even more with his famous four words after the NBA championship this year: “This is for ’Sota!”
3. Randy Moss — A few years back my old man gave me Daunte Culpepper and Moss bobblehead dolls for Christmas. “You grew up with those guys,” he said. Sort of. I turned 17 when Moss came into the NFL, but I didn’t need the “growing up with” factor to get excited every time a Vikings quarterback chucked it down field.
4. Torii Hunter — Played with a KG-like intensity and a Kirby-like love for the game. My favorite play in baseball is a diving catch in the outfield, and Hunter had his fair share. I also haven’t shed a tear since the last time I watched “Rudy,” but nearly folded last year at the Metrodome watching Hunter in his final game as a Twin.
5. Cris Carter — This guy could catch a hummingbird with his bare hands and was completely jobbed when he wasn’t a first-ballot Hall of Famer. CC denied my request for an autograph back in elementary school when I visited training camp, but it didn’t deter me from placing him in my top five.
6. John Randle — Loved this guy. No one had a better motor and no one could talk trash like old No. 93. His induction into the Vikings’ Ring of Honor this year was well-deserved.
7. Adrian Peterson — “All Day” is rising up this list faster than, well, Peterson himself. What he accomplished over his first two seasons is ridiculous, and even with the recent fumble troubles, he’s a lock for this top 10 for years to come.
8. Mike Modano — One of the greatest American-born hockey players to put on skates, Modano grabs major points in the “growing up with” department. He was also one of the best players in the NHL video games series, which date back to 1994.
9. Anthony Carter — When Cris Carter denied me an autograph, he ran by yelling, “ Get AC!” Well, I did get AC’s autograph and the gesture, along with his great talent, puts him in my top 10. He was also arguably the best player on the Vikings in Tecmo Super Bowl, which goes a long way.
10. Tom Lehman — Just replaced Bobby Jackson with Lehman (with Mauer also in the running). Whenever I look at a PGA leaderboard, I look for Tiger and Tom. ‘Nuff said.
Honorable mention
In no particular order:
• Bobby Jackson — Jan Ganglehoff is not helping me write this, so I’ll pretend she never existed and the Gophers’ Final Four run was never erased.
• Sam Jacobson — Another product of the Gophers’ Final Four run. It also helped he was a Minnesota boy who played his high school ball at Park of Cottage Grove.
• Lindsay Whalen — The first women’s college basketball game I watched on television from beginning to end was the Gophers’ Final Four matchup with Connecticut. Too bad the Minnesota Lynx don’t have her, because then I would be able to name at least one player on the roster.
• Kent Hrbek — The only thing holding him out of my top 10 is he was a little before my time. Kent Hrbek Outdoors is helping his cause, however.
• X-Pac — Also known as the 1-2-3 Kid, Syxx, Syxx-Pac and Sean Waltman, this former WWF, TNA and WCW wrestler lived near my parent’s home. I used to bag his groceries at the local Super Valu and I have his autograph. Honorable mention pro wrestlers from Minnesota — Brock Lesnar, Ric Flair, Mr. Perfect and the Road Warriors, also known as the Legion of Doom.
• Paul Molitor and Dave Winfield — Classy Minnesota athletes fortunate enough to eclipse the 3,000-hit mark in a Twins uniform.
• Jack Morris — You may have better odds winning the Powerball than watching a starting pitcher throw 10 innings in Game 7 of the World Series in this day and age.
• Joe Mauer — Not many can pass up a full-ride to quarterback the Florida State offense. Not many strike out only once in high school, either. Also had the opportunity to play against him in a high school football scrimmage. He’s the next one in my top 10 if he continues to do exactly what he’s doing.
• Johan Santana — Arguably the best pitcher in Twins history. Will never forget listening to his 17-strikeout performance two seasons on the radio.
• Khalid El-Amin — Led Minneapolis North to three straight state basketball titles (one I watched in person) before leading UCONN to a title in 1999.
• Randall Cunningham — My column named “Going Deep with Jim Johnson,” was forged with this image in mind: Cunningham taking a 7-step drop and throwing it as far as he can to Randy Moss. QB Eagles was a favorite as well on Tecmo Super Bowl.
• Doug West — An original Timberwolf, he pulls a lot of points from the “growing up with” factor.
• Marion Barber III and Laurence Maroney — The dynamic duo was fun to watch, even if the season always ended in the Sun Bowl or Music City Bowl.
• Members of the Gophers’ 2002 and 2003 national championship college hockey teams — When I was going to college on the border of North Dakota (Concordia College in Moorhead), these back-to-back championships gave Gopher fans heavy bragging rights over their Fighting Sioux neighbors.
• Briana Scurry — Saying “I went to the same high school as her” when you’re talking about an Olympic gold medalist and World Cup champion goes a long way.
Future members of the list? — Timberwolves power forward Al Jefferson, Twins first baseman Justin Morneau, Vikings defensive tackles Pat and Kevin Williams, Gophers basketball coach Tubby Smith, Gophers wide receiver Eric Decker and Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway.
L-BF’s Maish names Herb Brooks as No. 1
Littlefork-Big Falls head boys basketball coach Jeff Maish, a 1992 Falls graduate, also compiled a list of his top 10 Minnesota sports icons.
1. Herb Brooks — What he brought to USA hockey will be talked about forever. Who won the Olympic gold three Olympics ago in men’s hockey? No clue, but everyone knows who won gold in 1980.
2. Kirby Puckett
3. Brett Hull
4. Kevin Garnett
5. Randy Moss
6. Joe Mauer
7. Scott Studwell
8. Cris Carter
9. Tom Kelly
10. Jamie Langenbrunner — Former I. Falls resident before moving to Cloquet. I was at a hockey game in the Falls where Langenbrunner walked through four Falls players and scored the game winner in OT. Now he does it for the New Jersey Devils. I also attended Holler Elementary with the NHL star while here in the Falls.