With the Minnesota Twins’ 3-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays marking the franchise’s first postseason victory since 2004, FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul sent sports anchor Jim Rich to Target Field to capture the atmosphere.
And boy, did the decision pay off.
As Rich reported from the concourse of the stadium, his live hit was taken over by a throng of exiting Twins fans who were still fueled by the franchise’s first playoff win in 19 years. Make no mistake, however, Rich’s hit wasn’t interrupted so much as it was enriched by a first hand look at the euphoria that had overcome the Twin Cities.
“They won, they won, they freaking won,” one emotional fan could be seen telling Rich. “The curse is over, 18 years. It’s done. We won. We’re done. We won. One game — 2004. Oh my god, I don’t know what to do. We won! We won! We won! We won!”
As Rich proceeded to run down the highlights of the game, fans continued to spot him and celebrate, even thanking the longtime area sportscaster. At one point, a group of roughly seven or eight fans joined Rich, jumping and high fiving, with one especially excited fan shouting “We’re here! We’re here! We’re here!”
In a sports world often inundated with the business side of the industry, including but not limited to conference realignment, sports betting policies, and even Taylor Swift, Rich’s postgame hit provided a nice reminder of the excitement that simply being a fan after a big win can provide. The good news for Twins fans? They won’t have to wait long to see their team back in action as Minnesota will host the Blue Jays in Game 2 of the Wild Card series at 4:30 ET on Wednesday.
And if the Twins win and advance to the American League Division Series, one can only imagine what that atmosphere will look like.
