I don't know who Joe Mauer is, but I guess I'm about to find out.

It's kinda hard not to be interested in Mr. Mauer, since apparently he's the greatest thing to happen to Twins baseball in recent memory. Tons of people adore this guy, and I do too, because he's quite cute. :) 
So, seven months in Minnesota and I feel like I know enough about this place (well, just the Twin Cities within busing distance...so I guess not too, too much) that I have plenty of things to blog about that fascinates, aggravates, elates, and/or (insert emotion here) me. 
First up: SPORTS!
It's so interesting how much of a sports-obsessed state Minnesota is. I gather that observation from the many, MANY Twins apparel I saw walking around today (home-opener for the 2010 Season) and the Vikings (football) apparel I saw a few months back. The MN Wild (Hockey) just celebrated their 500th consecutive sold-out game a few weeks ago (they lost, though), and I'm pretty sure Minnesota's only bastard child that they're embarrassed of is the Timberwolves. Heck, they even have high school sports on a local channel! 

I'd have to say I got pretty caught up during the height of football season. After all, the Vikings were thisclose to winning the NFC championship game, but there's no awesomer team to lose to than the Saints, I suppose. The next few months though, Minnesota and the rest of the nation will be busy with baseball season! I really couldn't care less about the game, but the energy that palpitates in this city nowadays is pretty contagious. Today, especially, was amazing. It was the Twins' first game at their brand new home, Target Field. I and a couple hundred other Target employees were so fortunate to get a Preview Day of the field a few weeks back, and even though I'm not a baseball enthusiast, I was pretty amazed by the details and the grandeur of the place. Photo op!!! 

They were replaying a game against the Cubs (?) over and over again. Don't know why. 

The old mascots of the Twins, Minni & Paul (get it, Twins? Minneapolis/St. Paul? No? That's OK)

Pretty sweet view from the top

Nice downtown views from the Budweiser Deck

Apparently, the Twins are a great team!

And what's a day at Target Field without Bullseye himself in Twins gear?

All-in-all, this baseball idiot was thoroughly impressed with the place, and the game today only made me more interested in possibly watching a home game. And with more than 70 home games coming up, chances are looking pretty good!