Though Minnesota has had its bright spots in the sports world, for most of the last two or three decades it has been one disappointment after another. My generation of sports fans, who grew up in Minnesota, know all too well the feeling of disappointment and even expect it sometimes. Sadly, it isn’t even just in one sport either, it's in all of them.

The Minnesota Twins:

The glory days game in the late 80s to early 90s and, while they have still remained a relevant team at times, they have not made much of a championship push in recent years. Making the playoffs on and off, but never seemingly able to get by the divisional series. The bright spot really being the new stadium, which has brought many people back to love the gold old Twins. We should be excited for the future as well— last year we exceeded expectations and have a young, talented team with a lot of potentials. Knowing Minnesota, however, we will figure out how to screw it up. At least, we’ve won a championship in the last 100 years; I’m looking at you, Cubs fans.

The Minnesota Timberwolves:

This is a young franchise really, only being around for 26 years now. The glory days, if you will, would have been in the early 2000s when we had the excitement of the Kevin Garnett, Sam Cassel, and Latrell Sprewell. Our run to the Western Conference Finals in the 03-04 season is really the last good memory for Wolves fans. Ever since KG left it has been a downward spiral with many missed opportunities including selecting Ricky Rubio and Johnny Flynn (Who?) over Stephen Curry in the 2009 draft.

However lately, we have made some good moves, including trading for last year's Rookie of the Year, Andrew Wiggins, and drafting a potential Hall of Famer in Karl-Anthony Towns. Among the mix are Zach Lavine, a highly athletic and high potential guard, and Gorgui Dieng, a high potential big man. If we don’t mess this up, watch out for the Wolves in a few years.

The Minnesota Vikings:

Oh boy, where do I start with this franchise? They just have never seemed to be able to put it together, making runs into the playoffs in the past but always having a weak offense and strong defense, or vice versa, never having both at the same time. The last run involving stolen Green Bay Packers QB Brett Favre fell short as was really the last time they were competitive with the rest of the division until this year. Of course, where did that get us? Well, good old Blair Walsh pulled the most Minnesota sports thing ever and missed a 27-yard field goal to win the game and advance the Vikings further in the playoffs. However, like the Wolves and Twins, the Vikings do have young potential, and with a brand new stadium, things might be looking up!

The Minnesota Wild:

The Wild have been the second most consistent franchise in recent years, consistently getting to the playoffs and losing in the first or second round that is. As of this year it looks like it will be more of the same—barring a meltdown with 10 games left and missing the playoffs—or some historic run through the playoffs, both of which are possible. However, the first is more probable for we Minnesotans. With the firing of their coach in January of this year and recent acquisitions in the past few years, it appears they are trying at least, so things are looking up. Now, we just need to get past the Blackhawks in the Playoffs like we do in the regular season.

The Minnesota Lynx:

It might also be the most Minnesotan thing that our best sports team is the least popular one. The Lynx have taken home 3 WNBA Championships in the last five years and look to do the same this summer. They have built quite the powerhouse in the league, with talent that will be around for a while longer. Thanks for bringing some sort of winning to the great state of Minnesota!

The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers:

The Gophers bright spot has always been hockey, with both teams consistently being good. Of course, there is an off year sometimes. Football had been so bad that it had gotten to the point where we are excited that we made a bowl game. That requires a measly record of six-six. However, in the last few years, they have been a bit more competitive, even coming close to winning the Northern Division of the Big 10. Basketball has been going downhill, as well. The hiring of Tubby Smith was supposed to save us and that didn’t happen. The program has lacked any representation in the NCAA Tournament for a while now. The program was one of the worst in the Big 10 this year.

It is clear that the struggles will always be here in Minnesota, but so will the heart — we are always optimistic. With the young potential that we posses on a few of our teams, there could be a spike in competition soon; well, one can hope. It is still Minnesota sports and it seems as though we would be the team to set the record for most wins in a season and lose in the first round of the playoffs.