After Tuesday's 114-88 Timberwolves loss to Oklahoma City in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals, I asked (as I often do) on social media for Minnesota fans to react to the game.

The prompt was geared at hopefully generating specific things that didn't go well, like the Wolves' poor shooting and inability to slow down the Thunder once they got rolling in the second half.

But one of the first responses was less about Tuesday night and more about the last several decades of Minnesota men's pro sports history.

"Why? Just why? Why do I do this to myself?"

Others shared that sentiment, though to be fair, there was also a mix of "it's just one game" optimism in the comments.

The Wolves can play better and will need to in Game 2 on Thursday, something I talked about on the "Daily Delivery" podcast.

The short answer to the "why do fans put themselves through this?" question is that the payoff is infinitely sweeter when a team that has struggled finally breaks through.

Wolves fans who watched a decade-plus of awful basketball and are now watching their team operate as a model franchise can attest to that.

But the long answer is more complicated, particularly for the longer-tenured and more rabid Minnesota men's pro sports fans who have had their dreams dashed so many times.

They are the ones who know these troublesome facts by heart:

  • No Minnesota team from the "Big Four" men's professional sports leagues (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL) has won a championship since the Twins won the World Series in 1991, and in fact, none of them have even played in the championship round since then, even though they have been on the cusp nine times. The Vikings have lost four NFC title games since 1991. The Wolves have lost two Western Conference finals and are playing in a third. The Wild and Twins have each lost one league/conference finals series.
  • The Twins set a North American record by losing 18 straight playoff games, a streak that was finally snapped in 2023.
  • The Wild have made the postseason eight times in the last 10 seasons but haven't advanced past the initial round in that span, the first time that has happened to any team in any of those four leagues.

The Lynx gave us a dynasty in the 2010s and have regained their place among the WNBA elite. There is reason to believe we are entering a golden age of Minnesota sports given the potential of all the big-time teams in this market.

But those scars are plentiful. Tuesday's loss by a Wolves team that entered the game 8-2 in the playoffs and 25-6 in their last 31 games combined in the regular season and postseason showed that it only takes one game to dredge up bad memories.

Will this year (and Thursday) be different? Can you and should you trust these Wolves?

Why do you even do this?

Because what else is there if not hope.