It is always a goal to attend at least a couple of Twins games every year. The energy is amazing!…read more Plenty of options for food and drink at every game!

KNOW YOUR ENEMY…read more Although I'm an ardent supporter of another AL Central team, I still gotta tip my cap to this northern ballclub. Originating as the Kansas City Blues (eventually becoming the Washington Senators), the Minnesota Twins were named after the adjacent cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul.  They play their home games at Target Field which opened in 2010. The Twins have historically been an 'OK' team holding an overall record of 5,162 wins and 5,239 losses which equates to a 49.6% winning percentage.  They've experienced a period of success (WS championships in 1987 & 1991) followed by a number of dark years, then a strong resurgence in the mid 2000's. For decades, the Twins played at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodrome, widely panned as one of the worst venues in baseball.  I have vivid recollections of former All-Star Torii Hunter robbing countless homers off of that stupid "baggie" outfield wall in the dome.  I'm GLAD they demo'd the Metrodome, good riddance! Notable players in Twins history include Rod Carew, Joe Mauer (stud), Johan Santana, Tony Oliva, Harmon Killebrew, and Kirby Puckett.  The best player on the active roster is center fielder Byron Buxton, a guy with incredible speed, top-tier defense and elite power. Fun fact: Twins legend Justin Morneau played half a season with the White Sox in 2016, hitting a mere 6 home runs (compared to the 221 he clubbed in his 11-year tenure with MIN).  Other notable Sox-Twins include beloved slugger Jim Thome, fiery closing pitcher Liam Hendricks, and infamous catcher AJ Pierzynski. Derek Shelton is the current team manager but he's no Ron Gardenhire, who led the Twins to 6 division titles between 2002-2014.  As of 8/4/26 the team is in third place in the American League Central, quietly sneaking up on the Cleveland Guardians for a wild card spot. * TL;DR * While it's true that the Minnesota Twins are divisional rivals of my White Sox, it's not a heated rivalry a la Yankees-Red Sox or Cubs-Cardinals. It doesn't feel long ago that 2019's 'Bomba Squad' set a new MLB record for team home runs with a whopping 307.  These days, the slugging numbers are down but hope springs eternal for a fanbase hoping to witness the Twins reclaim the pennant and return to the Fall Classic for the first time in over 35 years. The 'TC' logo is slick, the stadium is cool, and the Twins' name is directly tied to the city/cities they play in.  That's more than enough positives to earn 4* from this sports fan.

Poor communication and poor customer service. Owner called and yelled at me when I inquired about…read morepausing membership. He immediately cancelled the membership but charged me an additional month. We did NOT use their service during that month. Others have confirmed this business has done this to them. Owner displayed a threatening tone. I now wonder if my child was safe there.

Excel Martial Arts historically has had some of the best Instructors in the business that can keep…read morecolored belts energized and excited to train. However, once reaching Black Belt...the advanced training simply isn't available and isn't a focus of the school owner. Ever since COVID and Excel's downsizing remodel which reduced the training space by more than 50% and the flexibility of the training schedule (does not put into consideration students-athletes that compete in other school/club sports), the classes simply haven't been the same. Membership prices are all over the board and inconsistent across families. Overall ownership and day-to-day operations (or lack thereof) lead to a poorly run business that continues to fail on delivering against the basics such as communication and customer service that everyone should expect. There was a time years ago this could have been a 5-star, but unfortunately that is no longer the case. Sad.

Love watching a Saints game at CHS Field. There is an onsite museum that gives you a background on…read morethe history of baseball in MN which is something I enjoyed. Great food and drink options! Parking is easy in the lot close to the field, but does come at a cost.

Fun baseball watching close up. This is AAA ball! Some of these guys will be in the majors soon…read more This compact stadium gets you much closer to the action than the cross town Twins game will. I watched players interacting with the kids. Mascots and crazy contests between innings. It's minor league ball the way we want it to be. For daytime games most seats are in direct sunlight except behind the plate. All around great time!

When you look at all-time MLS tables, Minnesota United FC stands in the bottom third of the…read moreleague's 30 teams. That said, Minnesota is also a relatively-new MLS team. The team's first season was in 2017. I think the team has gradually improved since that time, finishing in the semifinals in both the 2020 MLS is Back Tournament and the 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs. Minnesota's 2020 team lost, 3-2, to the Seattle Sounders in the Western Conference Finals. Despite not making it to the final game, Minnesota's Kevin Molino ended up as the top goalscorer in the 2020 playoffs with 4 goals. Christian Ramirez is the team's all-time top goalscorer with 74 goals scored during his time with the team from 2014 to 2018. However, most of those goals were scored during Minnesota's time in the North American Soccer League (NASL), not MLS. If you count MLS-era goals only, Darwin Quintero owns the team record with 27 goals scored between 2018 and 2019. Robin Lod and Emmanuel Reynoso are the guys to keep your eyes on these days. And speaking of the MLS era, Adrian Heath, who came over from Orlando City SC, has been the team's coach every season so far. Good for the Loons for sticking by Heath for five seasons now. Since the stadium's opening in 2019 (Minnesota's third season), the team has played in Allianz Field in downtown St. Paul. Allianz Field was designed specifically for Minnesota United. Similar to my favorite MLS team, Atlanta United, Minnesota United spent some time in a college football stadium while its current stadium was being built. In Minnesota's case, the team spent its first two seasons calling TCF Bank Stadium, now known as Huntington Bank Stadium, home. Huntington Bank Stadium is the home field of the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers football team. Visit the following link to see a map of parking options around Allianz Stadium (card only, cash not accepted): https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/minnesota-united-fc-golden-valley?select=6aDUGw6MY9L_zGRJ7zNoQA. You can purchase single-game parking passes up to 3 hours before kickoff of any Minnesota United game via SeatGeek: https://seatgeek.com/minnesota-united-fc-tickets/parking.

This review is solely based off of picking up a prize pack that I won via Yelp. Ironically, it…read moreappears the sales team sits in Golden Valley when the matches are played in Saint Paul. Regardless, the parking lot is massive and shared with other businesses in the area. The entire building felt fresh and clean and I even experienced cleaners vacuuming the elevator as I arrived. While I am not 100% sure what all happens in this space, I am vouching that it really gave off great fan engagement solely based on the sweet MNUFC marketing across the walls. There is a front desk and if you ring the bell, an admin will greet you to get you what you seek.

Since the 2012-13 season, the Minnesota Wild have been almost a perennial playoff team. However,…read morethe Wild have routinely lost in the first or qualifying rounds. They've yet to get over the hump and make it to the Stanley Cup Finals. The closest the team got was in 2003. That year, they got swept by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (now the Anaheim Ducks), 4-0, in the Western Conference Finals. That said, all things considered, the Wild haven't done bad considering they're one of the NHL's youngest teams (founded in 2000). Only the Vegas Golden Knights (2017) and Seattle Kraken (2021) are newer. The Wild play at Xcel Energy Center, located in the Northwestern Precinct of Downtown St. Paul. The arena is referred to as "The X" and it opened in 2000. It was built specifically so St. Paul could get an NHL team. With a seating capacity of about 18,000, the X is in-line with most other NHL venues (15-20k seats). In team history, former Wild players Mikko Koivu and Marian Gaborik are probably the most well-known as both are ranked in the top two in terms of total points and goals scored. Koivu, who is from Finland, has also recorded the most games for the Wild at an even 1,000. Today, the Wild's best-known players are left-winger Zach Parise and defensemen Ryan Suter and Jared Spurgeon. Parise and Suter were both members of the silver-medal-winning US hockey team at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver (Suter's dad was on the famous 1980 team that beat the Soviet Union). Since joining the team in 2012, both Parise and Suter have been key cogs in the Wild's consistent run of playoff appearances. Currently, both are alternate captains. Spurgeon first signed with the Wild earlier, in 2010, and recently signed a $53 million extension that will see him in Minnesota through the 2026-27 season. He and fellow defenseman Jonas Brodin are presently locked up the longest, contract-wise. The four aforementioned players are among the team's highest-paid at this time.

If you have been reading my reviews for a while, you know that I lived in Rochester, MN for two…read moreyears. My first year as a Minnesotan was the Minnesota Wild's inaugural year. As a result, I have a soft spot for this team. I got cable TV when I first settled in my apartment. However, I wasn't getting a ton of NHL hockey games. I was a huge hockey fan back then. I put the FAN in FANatic. I ended up changing my cable plan to basic and got the NHL game package with DIRECTV, which wasn't AT&T back then, but is now. The guy over the phone was saying that I get NFL games with my base package, which was probably a decent selling point to most Americans. I remember saying to him, "I don't care about football. I need hockey games!" Anyway, I was pleased watching local Wild games on the lone, local FOX channel whenever they were available, and all the away games on DIRECTV. Anyone remember Mike Goldberg, one of the play-by-play Wild hockey announcers on FOX? He always pronounced the last syllable of every word. Some examples: "Hi, I'm Mike Goldber-guh." "Goal by Gabori-k!" "Dow-d is in the faceoff circle." I understood the pain of losing an NHL team and getting it back. I went through it with the Winnipeg Jets. Minnesota lost its Stars team, which ended up in Dallas. When Minnesota got the Wild as its new NHL team, you knew it was the right decision. Minnesotans are diehard hockey fans. They are passionate and breathe hockey. The fanbase is loyal and strong to this day. The team's tagline is fitting and meaningful: Our state. Our team. Our ice. I couldn't get a ticket to see a game at the Xcel Energy Center as a resident of the state. I ended up putting a deposit on season tickets and returned to Canada, forgetting about this deposit for eons... until now. I recently got a game pack and went to my first Wild game. Miracles happen! The Wild have struggled to make it into the playoffs. I hope that they will someday as they continue getting the right mix of players. This year's team has a good mix of experience and talent. I am pleased to support the Wild. Xcel Energy Center is a great place to take in a hockey game. There isn't a bad seat in the house. It's fun and exciting! The food is decent. I can't wait to return soon to take in another game. Go, Wild! (425)