Twin power

The Oakland Athletics completed a sweep of the Minnesota Twins the other day. I usually don't follow the American League very closely (goddamn Dodgers breaking my heart again), but I was just in Minneapolis and had the pleasure of catching Game 2 of the playoffs.

I noticed that Twins fans were super into the game but in a family-friendly way. They wear rally caps in the fourth inning, stand up when even one runner is on base, and never boo or heckle the other team. The first two might be explained by playoff fever and the accompanying playoff prices, but no cursing? Wow. That would never happen at Chavez Ravine.

A few Twins fans told me they couldn't really hate the A's since they are the West Coast doppelgangers of their own team: small market, low payroll, overachieving players, crafty management, etc. That's serious hospitality.

Is it Midwest values? Or maybe it's something mixed into the atmosphere of the Metrodome? To keep the dome up, they have to pump in air. As a result, when visitors leave the building, they are pushed out by an air current. A lot of hats are lost and comb-overs are revealed in the process. Note Eric's HK-pride cap pushed down low while he and other baseball fans left the Dome for the final time of the 2006 season.