Jeff: Hello Twins Fans

Twins fans, can I have a quick word with you please? I'm Jeff, and I'm an outsider. I'm not a Minnesotan, which means I don't know what it's like to be "one of us", and it also means I'll never be able to run a pro basketball franchise into the ground and still have people say what a nice guy I am (that whistle you heard in the background was just the bitter train rolling through Jefftown). I'm not a Twins fan (Seattle Mariners fan since '89. OH if I only knew at 9 how such a simple decision could affect the rest of my life), but do find myself cheering for the Twinkies when it doesn't affect the M's (which really hasn't been a problem these last few years). As an outsider, I just wanted to say I'm starting to get worried about the mindset of Twins fans, at least if the article in the strib yesterday by Nick Coleman is any indication of how some of you are feeling right now.
COleman's basic message was that unless the Twins offer to pay for a new stadium, they can take their team and shove it where the walleye swim (or something like that). My favorite line was this one:
"Minnesotans are sensible people and they would approve a stadium plan that makes sense. They haven't seen one yet."
Um Nick, and any other Twins fans who share this sentiment? You're going to see the Twins leave town before you see a "deal that makes sense". Welcome to pro sports, friends, where fans get screwed. It's a matter of leverage, and in the case of Twins fans, they have none. New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner is footing the entire bill for a brand new stadium. Why? He has to. The man is making more money than God in the largest media market in the country, and he knows and Yankee fans know that he can't make more money in any other market. It's a wise decision to cough up massive amounts of money because he'll make that back 10-fold.
That is the exception, ladies and gentlemen, not the rule. Boston or Chicago (the Northside, that is) are the only other cities where owners could and should pay for the ballparks. Everyone else, including Minnesota, is going to have to pay out the nose to keep their team. If they don't like it, start cheering for the Yankees. As long as there's an open market of comparable size available (Viva Las Vegas, anyone?), the Twins are a threat to move if tax payers don't pay for a new stadium.
Now don't get me wrong here, I am NOT pro-owner. I think it's just as ridiculous as you do that billionaires making tons of money on sports franchises are taking tax payer dollars away from education, highways, and massive military spending (whoops, that's the federal government, sorry bout that) to spend on sports. I don't think it's right, but if you want to keep the Twins, that's how it's going to have to be. Ol' Tightwad Carl's buddy, Commissioner Bud, is on his side, not yours. He was fully ready to contract the Twins, so he won't have any problem letting his pal move the team to Vegas or Portland or Charlotte if it means him making more money. The owners won't stop him either, because it's in their best interests for them all to make the most money possible.
As a Mariners fan, I've been in this situation. In the mid-'90's, the team threatened to move if the city of Seattle didn't cough up a new stadium. The fans relented, we got one of the best ballparks in baseball, and Seattle is now a baseball town. Of course this doesn't guarantee you success. Three of the best players of the last two decades, Griffey, The Unit and A-Rod, all left town, and we currently have a $90 million-plus payroll and will probably finish last in the AL West- for the third year in a row. But at least we still have a team. Hey I agree that Minnesotans are sensible, and that they do know a good deal when the see one. But if you want to wait for that "good deal" to come along, while you're waiting the moving trucks will be taking your Twins off to some other town. I'm not saying it's right, but that's just how it is. Welcome to being a sports fan.