I'm not saying that the typical Minnesota sports fan's default setting is pessimism, but let's just say that it seems easy to feel nervous and anxious about how their local teams will fare.
Of course, that's not unfounded, given the level of heartbreak and general disappointment that playoff fans, especially Vikings, Timberwolves, Twins and Wild fans, have felt over the years.
Given the time and resources, could this feeling of anxiety that washes over so many (but not all) Minnesota fans every time the stakes rise be a self-fulfilling prophecy that somehow creates a certain environment at home? You'll want to know. In playoff games, star athletes perform poorly, leading to further disappointment for fans.
I know this: it is unwise to start such research now. Because, as Patrick Roos and I talked about on Monday's Daily Delivery podcast, this moment is imbued with a sense of elation and confidence that is unfamiliar to the local team and fans.
Timberwolves fans are the ones least accustomed to this feeling, but just a week ago they could have been forgiven for feeling a sense of doom.
Remember when the Suns were an unbeatable opponent, a looming postseason behemoth with a lower seed that easily dispatched the Timberwolves in all three regular season games? Yes, that was about 10 days ago.
After all, the series was dominated by the Timberwolves, marking the first time in history that a Minnesota team had won a best-of-seven series. The Timberwolves won their first playoff series in 20 years, and the 2003-04 season was the only year in franchise history to reach the postseason.
Wolves fans can dream of what's next, but Suns fans have to fear it.
And in less than a week, Vikings fans will be wondering if they'll get their quarterback of the future, or if they do, whether Minnesota will have to overpay by a huge amount in future assets. Don't forget that you didn't know that.
It was a land of 10,000 uncertainties.
Then Thursday's draft arrived, JJ McCarthy slipped off the board a bit, and the Vikings not only took him, but they also stuck with every other first-round pick (and probably the most in the draft). They later acquired Dallas Turner, an excellent defensive player, in another trade (above).
I've yet to speak to a Vikings fan who wasn't excited about how the night unfolded.
And even though all that seemed to distract from the Twins, they turned heads with back-to-back wins over .500 after a horrible 7-13 start.
It's enough to make Royce, perhaps the most pessimistic of Minnesota sports observers, optimistic.
Can you handle it?
