A Shining Gem

Minnesota sports fans continue to face a generally grim landscape.  The Twins have for the last three years proven themselves to be among the weakest teams in major league baseball.  The NFL Vikings have stumbled out of the gate in their first four games.  The collegiate Golden Gophers football team seems likely to remain one of Big Ten's premier bottom-feeders for at least another year, and there is little expectation that the basketball Gophers will accomplish much in their upcoming season.  The NBA Timberwolves appear to be a much improved team (last year they improved from pathetic to pedestrian, a minor triumph) and are generating some buzz, but this is Minnesota so don't hold your breath.  One bright spot has been the dominant Gopher's women's hockey team, which in its last season was undefeated—a singular achievement.

And the other gem of Minnesota sports is the Lynx, who last evening won their second WNBA championship in three years.  After their third outstanding season in succession, the Lynx won seven straight games in the postseason without a loss, itself a notable achievement in professional sports of all kinds, to nail down their second WNBA title.  Until three years ago, the Lynx had been a piece with the rest of the Minnesota sports scene, but no more. The word dynasty is being bandied about more and more, and that is possible.  Their five starters and top reserve are all excellent players, and there is no reason for 2014 to be any different from 2013—except, well, we better take this one season at a time because, after all, it is Minnesota sports.  In the meantime, it is fun to win big for a change.  Thank you, Lynx!

A Good Weekend in Minnesota

Maya Moore, Minnesota Lynx

Those of you who stop by Rom Phra Khun regularly know that I'm a former Minnesotan who remains a fan of Minnesota sports, which means I belong to an often-frustrated, seldom really happy tribe.  But, once-in-awhile, it is good.  This past weekend was one of those golden moments.  The Gopher's led off on Saturday with a dominant win over a lesser opponent, which was heartening given the way they have in recent years frequently lost to apparently lesser opponents.  Then, yesterday, Sunday, the Lynx won handily for their 11th win in a row, the Twins won a walk-off game against the Cleveland Indians; and (can it be true?) the Vikings snatched a victory out of the jaws of defeat in an overtime win over Jacksonville (usually the snatching goes the other way).  It all makes for a nice Monday morning.  And for the icing on the cake, my home town Luverne (MN) Cardinals won their second game of the young football season.

It is nice to see the sun peek out from behind the clouds now and again!

Definitions Matter

Taj McWilliams-Franklin

On last Thursday evening into early Friday morning, the Minnesota Golden Gophers football team won an "ugly" game against a less than stellar opponent.  Afterward, one of the Gophers was quoted (here) as saying, "An ugly win is better than a pretty loss." Friday evening, the Minnesota Lynx struggled early against a weaker opponent and had to pull out a victory in the second half. One of the Lynx's players, Taj McWilliams-Franklin, said (here) of the game, "Champions find ways to win in the face of challenges.'' She went on to say, "Michael Jordan had his moments when he didn't play well against lower teams, but he found ways in the end."

In sports, these sentiments are hardly remarkable.  Whatever the sport, its players play to win.  Good teams and good players have off days, but they still need to find a way to win.  It is better to win ugly than to loose pretty.  As a rule, it is better to play poorly but come out on top rather than playing well but still lose the game.

The question is whether or not this basic rule translates well into the rest of life and especially into the church.  A case can be made that it does, even for church folks.  "Winning ugly" suggests a scrappy, never-say-die attitude that works through adversity.  It also reflects a certain level of self-confidence and creativity when these qualities are especially necessary.

There is a difference, however, between winning ugly in sports and winning ugly in the church, and that difference is in the definition of "winning".  In the church, "winning" is often a matter of losing, coming out second rather than first, giving credit rather than getting it, remaining silent and in the background, and pursuing the example of Christ, the ultimate servant of all.  The thing is, this kind of "losing" has all of the marks that sports folks equate with "winning".  In the Kingdom, it is the losers who win and the winners who lose.  Amen.

The WNBA

Joan Niesen's posting, "There's an unfair bias against WNBA" is worth a read.  I've commented here before on the shabby treatment the Minnesota Lynx receive from the media (here).  At the moment, the Lynx are 9-0 and playing great basketball, but you would hardly know it from the sports news websites.  Niesen, writing about the Lynx, makes the larger point that women's professional basketball generally is treated as a second-class enterprise that is compared unfavorably and unfairly to the NBA.  She makes good points.  This prejudice is particularly galling, however, when it comes to Minnesota professional sports where, right now, fans are feeling "better" about the baseball Twins because they almost don't have the worst record in the American League—almost.

End of a Twenty Year Drought

Last night, the Minnesota Lynx won its first WNBA basketball title, beating the Atlanta Dream 73-67 to sweep the best of five championship series.  In each game, the Lynx went into the locker room at half-time losing the game.  It took fourth quarter surges in games 1 and 2 for the Lynx to win those games.  In game 3, the Lynx had to hold on in the face of a late surge by the Dream, which they did admirably.  It was a great game with all of the drama one would expect of a finals bout.

Now, here's the thing.  This is the first championship title won by a professional Minnesota sports team since the Minnesota Twins last won the World Series in 1991.  Moreover, the Lynx last night achieved something that the football Vikings, basketball Timberwolves, and hockey Wild (or the old North Stars) have yet to achieve, a championship season start to finish.  Well done, Lynx!

So, guys, who is next?  And how much longer do the long-suffering fans of Minnesota have to wait?

The True State of Women's Sports

Regular readers of Rom Phra Khun will have figured out by now that I am still a fan of Minnesota sports even though I haven't lived in Minnesota for nearly 50 years.  It is really, really hard to kick some habits!  In any event, being a Minnesota fan there's something I don't quite understand.  This weekend (Sept. 24-25) the Minnesota Gophers football team (men's football) was beaten by North Dakota State in convincing fashion—North Dakota State!  The Vikings (men's football) led the Detroit Lions 20 to zip at half-time and managed to lose in overtime 26-23.  The Minnesota Twins (men's baseball) managed to win their third game in their last 21 tries (that's embarrassing!).

Meanwhile the Minnesota Lynx (women's basketball) pounded Phoenix, 103-86, to advance to the WNBA championship. They never did that before. And 103 points in a game isn't all that usual in the WNBA.


Now, here's the thing I don't get (or, maybe I do).  The Minneapolis Star Tribune website buried the Lynx story at the bottom of its main sports page (here)—below the Gophers, the Vikings, and can you believe it even below the hapless, pathetic Twins.  You would think that the Lynx victory today would be emblazoned in 50 point headlines at the top of the page.  But, nope.  It's at the bottom.  Minnesota sports fans are starved for athletic success at the state level—and here's a pro basketball team going to the finals!  -- Oh, I forgot, it's just women's basketball.

Go Lynx!