THE FRONT ROW: Feeling Minnesota

Savor these moments, Minnesotans. It really doesn’t get much better than this. Green Valley has more than a few Minnesota natives who spend part or all of their time here in our lovely neck of the woods, so many of our locals are a part of this remarkable chain of events.

Just one day after the Vikings beat up on Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers (with that Favre guy playing a prominent role), the Minnesota Twins win the wildest baseball game of 2009.

The series of circumstances that led to this two-day stretch is almost mathematically impossible. First, Brett Favre, Mr. Green Bay Packer, had to un-retire for the 205th time in his career and return to the gridiron wearing purple and gold. Next, the Detroit Tigers needed to suffer an almost historic collapse to give the Twins a shot at catching them.

Yet every domino that needed to fall did fall. Oct. 5 and 6 will be two days that live on forever in the hearts of every Minnesotan.

Andrew Kneeland (our hard-working intern and die-hard Minnesota fan) e-mailed me about an hour after the Twins’ ridiculous (and, really, if you watched all four hours and 37 minutes of this game, that’s the only appropriate word here) 6-5 win over the Tigers.

“Wow. I'm hoarse, nearly deaf, and still shaking. But I think I've recovered sufficiently to start working on a recap.”

It’d be one thing to experience a game like that all on its own. But for it to happen a day after the Brett Favre show had every Vikings’ fan thinking Super Bowl? Absurd.

The Twins are one of baseball’s most likable teams, with sure-fire MVP Joe Mauer leading a squad with a patchwork pitching staff and a gaping hole in the power categories (thanks to the devastating loss of slugger Justin Morneau) to an unlikely AL Central championship.

As for the Vikings, they’ve always been one decent quarterback shy of Super Bowl contention. With those beefy Williams boys stuffing an opponent’s rushing attack, Jared Allen embarrassing just about every left tackle he faces (4.5 sacks on Monday night) and Adrian Peterson becoming the closest thing to Bo Jackson since Bo Jackson, they seem almost impossible to beat. And if Favre continues to make plays that no other 39-year-old in NFL history has made, they have to be considered a serious contender.

Of course, reality is going to set in. I don’t mean to be the killjoy here, but the Twins will be serious underdogs against the mighty New York Yankees in the ALDS. As much as I’d love to see the Twins pull this off, the Yanks’ line-up is just obnoxiously stacked.

And in Week 4 of last season, Favre threw six touchdown passes against the Arizona Cardinals and had the New York Jets’ fans thinking those same Super Bowl thoughts. We all know how Favre closed out 2008 (home for the playoffs and preparing another retirement speech).

But before reality catches up with the Twin Cities, enjoy this moment. It has to rank among the most improbable, exciting and emotionally draining (in a good way) stretches any sports fan has experienced over the course of 48 hours.

nprevenas@gvnews.com | 547-9747