In sports, and maybe life in general, people are always looking to the future. The next big and best thing...person...job. I'd say that's a factor in some problems that many people face these days, but I'm only looking to dive into it as much as it applies to athletics. When it comes to the field or the court it's a constant pursuit. The next quarterback, point guard, pitcher, etc. Teams are always looking for the next guy.
At one point in Minnesota pro sports it was Tarvaris Jackson, then it was Christian Ponder and more recently Teddy Bridgewater & ever so briefly even Sam Bradford. And those are just the quarterbacks over the last 12 years or so. There was Jonny Flynn & Ricky Rubio, Derrick Williams, Wes Johnson. So many other names that could be rattled off between the Wolves, Wild, Twins and Vikings. Hope has sprung forth with all those names and then evaporated just as quickly.
But today, I think today may mark the start of the elusive future that every fan of those franchises has been craving since 1991 and even further back if the Twins are excluded from fandom.
The headline item is that Teddy Bridgewater has made it far enough back in his recovery to be apart of the teams immediate future. Case Keenum is and should remain the starter until he is detrimental to the rest of the team. That doesn't mean one drive or even a rocky four quarters but something closer to the perform of NDSU's quarterback over the last three games and he should be pulled at a point in which Teddy can get action. Such as the second half of a game that is already foregone, to a win or a loss for the Vikings. Because I just don't see how it's prudent for TB to go from no game action in 24 games to starting. That's what the coaches are paid to rule on and how Zimmer's team handle the future of their quarterbacks starts today.
BUT that's not all.
There's also an important litmus test scheduled for this eve on the Southwest coast. The Timberwolves has had success against the Warriors in recent seasons even without Butler, Teague, Gibson and Crawford but the current team hasn't yet faced a foe with as much firepower as the champion Warriors have in their mix. Win or lose, the outcome doesn't statistically matter more then any of the other 81 games this season.
I think for the future of this season and of seasons to come, tonight could be the most important showdown. The Timberwolves want to get where Golden State has been living for the last few years. But to get to that level takes means forcing your way into the ever crowded upper echelon of the Western Conference. So it starts tonight. If the Wolves want to be taken seriously then they need to win tonight. They need to come out from the opening tip and control as much of the action as possible. Butler has to do to the Warriors what Draymond often does for the Dubs and even better because he's a better player.
So maybe you think I'm blowing it out of proportion. The activation of a long injured quarterback who may or may not have anything to contribute this year and an early season NBA game. But I think that depending on how both those things shake out, today could be a flag in the ground type day for the future of Minnesota professional sports. We won't know the answer for months or years but I'm of the opinion that the future starts today, that the future is today.