Minnesota Gopher fans hold a special place in my heart. It is not because I would ever root for any of their teams, but because they remind me of the never-dying optimism that I hope all sports fans have.
The Gophers are coming off of a 9-22 basketball season and a 6-7 football season, in which they blew a 31-point lead against Texas Tech in the Insight Bowl. By season's end, football coach Glen Mason had been fired and basketball coach Dan Monson couldn't make it to the conference season.
Mason was one of the most successful coaches the Gophers have had since the late 60s. The best basketball seasons the Gophers have had in recent memory were wiped out by NCAA sanctions.
Yet, Gopher fans are optimistic.
They think that Tubby Smith will bring Minnesota back to prominence by bringing top recruits to the Twin Cities. Never mind the fact that Smith was drummed out of Kentucky because he could not bring in the caliber of players that Wildcat fans expected.
New Gopher football coach Tim Brewster has never held a position higher than tightends coach on any team. Minnesota fans think that he can make their team relevant in the Big Ten again and potentially move them above their border rival, the Badgers.
This shows one of the most wonderful phenomena that exists in the world of sports, the idea that many sports fans come into their seasons thinking ""this could be our year.""
Every spring, Cubs and Brewers fans enter the baseball season with hope, every fall Viking and Cardinal football fans think this could be the year they finally break through.
There is something magical about that feeling of fandom and thinking that if just a few things go right, this could be a great year.
I don't see the Gophers making the jump in the near future, but I thank their fans for reminding me how to keep faith in my teams no matter how long the odds are. When the grind of a losing team wears on me and makes me question being their fan I just remind myself ""Golden Gopher fans root for far worse and they don't give up so how can I?""
—Ben Breiner
