> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://the-generalist.ghost.io/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Looking back at the first Wild home opener - URL: https://the-generalist.ghost.io/looking-back-at-the-first-wild-home-opener/ - Published: 2026-10-02T12:00:10.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-02T12:00:20.000Z - Description: A look back at what I wrote after covering the first Wild home opener in 2000. Plus a bad reproduction of a photo that I swear was taken this century, trust me. - Author: Patrick Donnelly - Tags: flashback, nostalgia, hockey, bad interview questions The Wild face Boston in their 2026-27 home opener on Saturday. Of course, that got me thinking about one of my favorite columns from my days at Channel 4000\. I had started writing Minnesota-focused sports columns for them in 1999\. Their parent company hired me in June 2000 to serve as an editor on the national sports team – in other words, I led coverage of national sports for their network of TV station news sites. But I still wrote about the local teams as much as possible. And my hiring coincided with the return of the NHL to the Twin Cities. On October 11, 2000, the brand-new Minnesota Wild played their first regular-season game at the brand-new Xcel Energy Center. I was there, and this is what I cranked out that night: ## Old Friends Renew Acquaintances **Wild Provides Refresher Course in Goosebumps 101** ST. PAUL, Minnesota – The last time an NHL game was played in Minnesota, the Mighty Ducks were a movie. The Winnipeg Jets had not yet morphed into the Phoenix Coyotes; nor had the Quebec Nordiques become the Colorado Avalanche. Atlanta and Nashville? Maybe they were big stops on the NASCAR circuit, but they certainly didn't know a five-hole from a five-iron. And of course, the only Stars in Texas were on the Dallas Cowboys' helmets. ![Donnelly column sig -- yeah, it's a repro of a repro, deal with it. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d5/5f/d55f7f93-1c82-4c17-bb6a-1e45e9fda0a0/content/images/2026/10/IMG_2991-1.JPG) This is what we call a column sig in the biz. Of course it was in color. You just have to live with the repro of the repro. Dig the 2000-era "digital" typeface and edgy no-caps style. Yes, a lot has changed in the seven seasons since "our" North Stars were kidnapped by that slick Canuck of an owner, that guy whose name I can now scarcely remember. *NORM GREEN SUCKS!* Oh yes, thank you. Anyway, on a warm October night, 18,827 Minnesotans gathered in downtown St. Paul to welcome back an old friend – the National Hockey League. I'm not ashamed to admit that I was a *huge* North Stars fan when I was a kid. I watched every minute of every spine-tingling playoff game in those memorable runs at the Cup. I cheered with them. I bled with them. I hated the Blackhawks with them. I could recite the entire roster of the 1981 Stanley Cup finalists – in numerical order. You doubt me? No. 2 Curt Giles, No. 3 Fred Barrett, No. 4 Craig Hartsburg, No. 5 Brad Maxwell ... need I go on? But I'll concede that when the North Stars left for Dallas in 1993, I lost touch with the NHL. I couldn't identify with a team, and therefore I couldn't cheer for any team. And with the goosebump factor removed, there just wasn't the incentive to follow the comings and goings of the most unstable of the four major professional sports in any more than a cursory fashion. *Gretzky? yeah, great. Uh-huh. Jagr, Kariya, Bure – I har you. Now where's the clicker?* When the league awarded an expansion franchise to an ownership group from Minnesota and the Wild were born, the needle on my interest meter barely budged. By then, I had filled my winter nights with other interests, and I wondered if we even needed the NHL in Minnesota. Maybe this market *can't* support four professional teams and a Big Ten university that splinter and divide the area's discretionary income like dandelion spores in the wind. And on a personal level, would my interest in the game return? Would there be the familiar tingle down the spine for a battle with the Atlanta Thrashers? Would I even recognize my old friend after all these years? But I guess there's only one way to find out. Game on, lace 'em up, drop the puck and all that good stuff. The process began Wednesday. On the way to the home opener, a 3-3 tie with the Philadelphia Flyers, I felt like I was driving to the airport to pick up an ex-girlfriend. I was nervous, apprehensive and a bit giddy at the prospect of walking back into an NHL arena. I practiced my hockey questions in case I found myself with a lot of one-on-one time with a member of the Wild. *Tell me,* [*Sylvain*](https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/b/blouisy01.html?ref=the-generalist.ghost.io)*, did you always want to be a hockey player when you were growing up?* [*Ľubomir*](https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/s/sekerlu01.html?ref=the-generalist.ghost.io)*, if you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?* Hmm ... it might take a little while to get the hang of this again. I mean, like I said, a lot has changed in seven years., and not just the location or number of franchises. For one thing, we've given a lot of jobs to ex-Commies ... err ... citizens of the former Soviet-led countries in Eastern Europe. That makes the average NHL roster read more like an eye chart than a scorecard these days. Also, I noticed a few more changes, such as four officials on the ice (two referees, two linesmen), a four-on-four overtime period, and a point awarded for an overtime loss. That's all part of the new world order in the NHL these days. But when you boil it down, it's really not all that different. The crowd's first roar of the night came at 6:44 p.m. when the Wild hit the ice for their pregame skate. The crowd's first boo of the night came at 6:45 p.m. when the Flyers hit the ice for their pregame skate. Right on cue – the fans didn't miss a beat in seven years. Indeed, it could be said that the fans were the focal point of the night, or at least the pregame ceremonies that featured former North Stars, Minnesota hockey legends and a St. Paul mayor, but no Minnesota governor (the appearance fee must have been too small). A number of banners were unfurled in the rafters of the Xcel Energy Center, including one introduced by Minnesota hockey pioneer John Mayasich. I could be mistaken, but I think those were the beginnings of goosebumps on the back of my neck when Mayasich told a hushed audience, "Welcome to the state of Minnesota, the State of Hockey." NHL commissioner Gary Bettman drew a smattering of boos for his perceived role in Green's hijacking of the North Stars. But he won over the fans instantly when he said, "It's obvious we never should have left. Minnesota, welcome back to the NHL!" As one roar subsided, another would rise with the excitement continuing to bubble beneath the surface. Wild chairman Bob Naegele told the crowd, "The fans will always be No. 1." And then he proved his point by announcing the Wild would retire jersey No. 1 in honor of the Wild fans. The wave of cheers hit a crescendo as a "Wild Fans No. 1" sweater reached its permanent home in the rafters high above the Xcel ice. Then the game began, almost as an afterthought at first – a sideshow to the festivities of introducing the Wild to their new legion of adoring fans. The teams were acting the same way I was at first – apprehensive, taking a cautions approach, feeling each other out, neither wanting to make a mistake, slip and fall hard and get burned. But then Minnesota's Curtis Leschyshyn stapled Philadelphia's Justin Williams to the end boards, the crowd erupted and the jitters were gone. Shortly thereafter, Peter White put the Flyers on the board with a rebound goal. And just 16 seconds later, Andy Sutton of the Wild and Gino Odjick of the Flyers duked it out in the First Home Fight in Franchise History. Each player gave as good as he got, and the crowd roared its approval. Late in the first period, the Wild tied the score – fittingly, on a goal by former Gopher and Richfield star Darby Hendrickson. Winger Maxim Suchinsky fed him a perfect pass across the crease and all Hendrickson had to do was put his stick down in the right spot to make Wild history. And finally, the fans roared their loudest. It was as if a seven-year bubble of pent-up frustration, agony and anticipation burst as the net bulged behind Flyers goalie Brian Boucher. If Daunte Culpepper had connected with Randy Moss for a TD or Terrell Brandon fed Kevin Garnett a picture-perfect alley-oop, the crowd could not have been louder. Horns blared. Grown men hugged. Strangers high-fived. Demons were exorcised. Goosebumps returned. Welcome back, old friend. What took you so long? --- So there you have it, my first-ever Minnesota Wild column. It's filled with references that anyone in the year 2000 would have understood. The Minnesota governor in question, for example, was Jesse Ventura, who faced criticism for trying to monetize his office. (How quaint, compared to what has taken place the last 18 months.) I probably wouldn't go with the "ex-Commie" line today but I don't regret it either. And I find it funny that I used Vikings and Timberwolves references but the Twins were an afterthought, having just completed their eighth straight sub-.500 season. Speaking of the Twins, I was going to include No. 1 in the countdown of Coolest Stuff I Saw at Target Field This Summer here, but we're already over 1500 words and I think it deserves its own post, being the coolest thing and all. So look for that later on Friday or maybe Saturday. And if you like what you're seeing here, please share it with your friends, your enemies, your frenemies – anyone who you think would enjoy it! Thanks! ## Sign up for The Generalist Tales from the press box and beyond ... Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.