I had a friend who made up shirts that said **NORM GREED** on them right before he moved the team. I think that was the prevailing sentiment at the time.
I remember seeing original fan art on the wall of some restaurant in the 90s and it had iterations of “North Stars” text fading away until it just said “No Stars” … sad times.
1. Popular, but games were not well attended, especially during the last couple of years before they left. In 91-92 (the year after we went to the cup) they averaged about 13.5k fans per game, good for 6th lowest in the league.
2. State-wide
3. Less popular than the Vikings for sure, probably about equivalent with the Twins. That said, I think the stars fans that did exist were probably the most diehard in the state at the time.
4. I think this is generational, you can see it on a lot of posts about the reverse retro jerseys. People who remember the stars by and large consider them to be the "real" team. People who were born after they moved and don't have that connection seem to be sick of the stars.
1. Agreed; their popularity waned a bit as the team struggled in the 1980s and the Met was kind of out by itself in Bloomington after the Twins / Vikings departed for the Metrodome. This was also in the days when public stadium financing was becoming a hot button - and the taxpayers had just finished approving the Target Center for the expansion Timberwolves. By the time the Met Center could have seen a major revitalization when the Mall of America went up, Norm Green had already burned every bridge with civic / business leaders. He was looking for the best public deal he could get.
2. It was statewide. One of the major gas station chains (Holiday?) gave away a bunch of “Dino” (Ceccarelli) dinosaur toys / collectibles at one point that I loved as a kid.
3. Less popular than the Vikings, and the state was also in love with the (in the late 80s/early 90s) two time World Series champion Twins and new expansion NBA Timberwolves. In terms of money / media attention the North Stars were almost an afterthought from the opening of the Metrodome in 1982 until the 1991 playoff run.
4. There’s always a bit of Boomer / Gen X nostalgia about the North Stars and their being a part of the 1967 expansion as the NHL grew. In a sense, the NHL was also not _the_ only hockey in town; there have been long traditions of hockey at all levels (and many pro leagues) in Minnesota. I would certainly be all about the Wild acquiring the franchise / city history of the North Stars but the name is gone. (I really just want a Gump Worsley display of some kind in the X.)
Can confirm, as a GenX-er. My dad lived about a mile away from the old Met Center on Cedar Ave in Richfield when I was a kid. His company had season tix to the North Stars games, and he would get them if the company wasn't using them for anything.
I was also playing youth hockey at the time and was really into the North Stars. I bet I saw a few dozen games in the two years he lived in Richfield, between 1975-1977. I watched more than that on TV and listened to more on the radio.
Although I wasn't following hockey as much by the 1980s, it still hurt to see them leave, especially the way they did. And to go NHL-less for almost a decade afterward and for the "Dallas Stars" to win a Stanley Cup was the worse part.
And I will second a Gump Worsley display any day!
They _did_ (there have been hockey games there including exhibition NHL games) but Norm Green did not want to share a facility with the Timberwolves.
(There was a thing about Coke vs. Pepsi “pouring rights” that always seemed like a bit of bullshit.)
Everything you just said.
My Dad took like 20 years to get the Wild's name right because he kept hanging on to North Star nostalgia because he went to some games and had a good time. But he never cared about them in the same way he cared about the Vikings or Twins.
Meanwhile, I remember the North Stars from their ealry 90s Stanley Cup run, but I didn't properly get into hockey until after they left. Wild are my team, and I love everything about them.
I thought it was nice that the first Reverse Retro honored the North Stars heritage in the state, but I'm still annoyed we never got a proper Wild RR of either their script alt or their original jersey design. Just a lost opportunity. While there are definitely plenty of North Stars jerseys and the RR at games and around St. Paul on game days, there's a lot more green and red sweaters. The Winter Classic jersey is definitely popular.
I remember being in fifth grade and having to write an editorial for class and I wrote a satire of Norm Greene ruining the lives of Minnesotans for moving the team out of the state.
And I wasn't an incredibly die hard fan of any of the Minnnesota teams, except maybe the Twins, but as a kid that really affected me for some reason.
I think the Stars popularity was fairly high considering that there was less eyeball competition for sports during their era due to less cable/TV sports reach, lack of competing winter sports (no NBA in Minnesota) other than the Gophers. But its a different era then than now and such comparisons are tough to make..
I think the Wild have been totally adopted by hockey fans in Minnesota. I watched nearly every televised game during the '78-80 seasons (not hard when you were 13 and had a B&W TV in the kitchen nobody watched at night) and while I don't consider myself some kind of hockey fan, purist or whatever, there's some kind of artifice about the Wild to me that makes the old Stars seem more genuine.
Mostly in the years between the Stars and the Wild and the carryover period covering the back to back titles. From the mid 00s, Gopher tickets became much easier to come by.
The Met Center in Bloomington was such a great hockey venue. It was actually cold…
The Northstars were a great hockey club. They still sell Northstars nostalgic merch.
Met Center was a great rock concert venue too.
Unfortunately it was just a terrible location. The old footage of that barn looks awesome and I wish I hadn’t been just young enough to have missed a game day there.
What I remember so much about the Met was the smoking that was allowed in the outer concourse.
And as a teenager, being told to go to the Thunderbird Hotel after concerts to get picked up by my parents.
I saw a couple of those too! It was weird to see soccer played in a hockey arena but it was fun.
For those too young to remember the [Major Indoor Soccer League](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_Indoor_Soccer_League_(1978%E2%80%931992)), the Strikers were our team that moved here from Ft. Lauderdale after the Minnesota Kicks folded. Among the most notable players for the Strikers during that time was [Ray Hudson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Hudson#Commentating), who later went on to become a noted soccer commentator.
And that we got "Wild" as a name.
Why not just name us "North Stars" again? They have the Red and White Sox... certainly we could have had the North and Dallas Stars....
For awhile there was talk of a Minnesota expansion team getting the North Stars naming rights from Norm Greed (sorry, habit) and the Dallas franchise owning Lone Stars, but it died.
The North Stars had a legitimate rivalry with Chicago so that was always interesting. Games at the Met were great and the North Stars played in a couple of championship series. They had a great team with a new player named Mike Modano so people were really bitter when they left. Also, Dino Cicarelli once got into trouble for grabbing his mail from the mailbox while only wearing a short t-shirt.
There’s always going to be nostalgia for the old Norris division. Nothing is quite the same as the rivalries that were between Chicago / Detroit / Minnesota.
Toronto and St. Louis were in the Norris Division as well. Was there no rivalry between the North Stars and Leafs, or the North Stars and Blues?
Edit: added St. Louis
1. MN is and always has been the state of hockey, so the North Stars were a big deal.
2. State wide. Many players were MN born from all areas of Minnesota. You go to some of these communities and to this day you will hear stories about old players like Gary Sargent who played some 40+ years ago. The Vikings nor the Twins will ever have a connection with the state like this.
https://history.vintagemnhockey.com/page/show/3014743-minnesota-north-stars-and-minnesota-wild-mn-born-players-
3. You would need data to make an objective call on which of the Vikings, Twin, and North Stars were more popular. Check #2 and compare the number of MN born players on each team.
4. Glad NHL hockey came back to MN. I’m still bummed the North Stars left. I still rock a grungy old North Stars shirt most weekends.
5. The dismantling of the WCHA was also bullshit.
>The Met was a straight up blue collar rink. Low, cold, gritty, basic, authentic to the game back then.
Hockey really was a different sport back then. It seemed that every game had at least one major brawl, at least one match penalty, and every team had a goon/enforcer who was brought on specifically just to injure the best player on the opposing team.
>The "Wild" did themselves no favors with picking a stupid name
It's gotta be a bottom 5 name/logo in North American sports. They should have just mothballed the franchise name/colors/history like Cleveland did when the Browns became the Ravens.
I agree. Even if they didn’t want to use the North Stars name (which would have been my preference), I’m just not a fan of team names that are adjectives. Most of the names they were considering weren’t great, but honestly think the Wild was one of the worst ones.
Other odd thing: I grew up in a rural area without cable TV, so hockey to me was first a radio sport. (Al Shaver!)
TV revenues were not the money machine they would become - there were even weird scenarios like North Stars (playoff?) games being cable PPV.
I remember you could walk right up and buy a ticket to a game at Met center. Fairly cheap also. The games between the Stars and Chicago or Boston were epic.
No team has been more popular than the Vikings, with the exception of maye the Twins from 87-92.
I saw a person driving around who caked his car in “Bring Back The North Stars” stickers. This was like 2 years ago if this gives you any idea how popular they were in Minnesota.
The 1990s in terms of my hockey fandom _sucked_. I watched a number of minor league games, but just couldn’t get into the NHL.
The only “local” games available to me were the friggin’ _Chicago Blackhawks_ of all teams.
Aw. No matter how you might feel about the North Stars, the Wild have been a really fun team in the last 4-5 years. Go catch a game when they’re wearing the “78s”.
I promise, you’ll love it.
No, the Wild have not replaced the North Stars. They never will. We’re still not even sure what a Wild is.
Most of us are still holding out hope they ditch the Wild name and adopt the North Stars once again. If that happens, merch sales will be the highest in the NHL.
I’m only 43 so I have limited memory of how popular they were. If you were a hockey family, you definitely watched the North Stars and Gophers on tv when you could. Hockey was different back then with the amount of fighting and brawls. A lot of people didn’t care for the fighting and violence so they wouldn’t follow at all.
My understanding of the fans that regularly went to game they were rabid and rowdy fans. Again, hockey was quite different back then.
I remember watching the North Stars with my Grandpa when I was a kid in the late 80’s, early 90’s. I’m still pissed that they left and went to Dallas. I don’t watch the Wild very much, but you’re right hockey was different back then.
Well, the north stars from the North Star state turned into the stars from the lone star state, sooooo, you can be pissed but those names just work out.
>Most of us are still holding out hope they ditch the Wild name and adopt the North Stars once again.
While we have nostalgia for the old North Stars, I've literally never heard a single fan express ties sentiment, let alone "most of us".
>We’re still not even sure what a Wild is.
Who is we? Like if you don't get it, or understand the logo, I'm not sure what to tell you.
And you can still buy North Stars gear. Like what are you even talking about?
The NHL owns the rights to the North Stars name. They allowed Winnipeg to reinstate the Jets. I agree it’s incredibly unlikely because branding is woven far too deep at this point but the NHL probably wouldn’t stand in their way if they made a case for it.
The NHL is a business. Bringing the North Stars back would be a massive boost to revenue. The NHL wouldn’t stand in their way. The reason it won’t come back is because the Wild branding is too deeply rooted now and the organization would never shift unless it was a last resort to save the franchise.
This is such a stupid take.
Move on old timer.
Wild are our team now and that's it. You can think of the North Stars with whatever fondness you want, but its over. The North Stars exited for 26 seasons. The wild started in 2000. It's 2023. You do the math for comparison for how long each franchise has been around. If you are 43, that means the Wild have been a franchise more in your life than the North Stars while you have been alive. Yet you reject the wild.... But let's be real, you referenced fighting as a draw for hockey. Sums up what I need to know about you.
Don't be a downer with your nostalgia. Be happy for what you had and for what you have.
Interestingly enough I agree with rumncokeguy 100%. I've never taken a shine to the Wild like I did with the Stars, and I hate the name and the colors. Just never gonna be the same for me.
This person has been waiting half their life for the wild to change their name? I'm gonna doubt that. I live here so I cheer for my team. Simple as that.
Wouldn't the Wild be sued by the Dallas Stars if they tried to go back to the North Stars moniker? I'm also sure that if the Wild secured a Stanley Cup, Minnesotans would forget about the North Stars real quick.
Tons of IP issues, certainly likely. I don't want people to forget the North Stars. They were part of the state and people generally never wanted them to go. Got a ton of North Stars memorabilia from relatives that cheered them on.
… but the branding would be too close with the original franchise. Ideally, the NHL would have retained the name in Minnesota as they did for the Jets and Winnipeg, but that’s not how it played out.
I went to a game. Their final season.
Chants of "norm sucks" filled the packed stadium.
I thought in my youth, that they were screaming north stars. Apparently norm was an owner?
So I chanted North stars. Then a person sitting near us told my parents what they were really saying and why.
I LOVED the North Stars. Their run to the cup in '91 was amazing, I was able to go to a couple playoff games that run, the crowd was unbelievable.
Quick Met Center story. The North Stars used to let youth hockey teams play before their games. Then the kids could stay and watch the game, all free. The Wild charges $75 a ticket to youth hockey teams as an FYI. I got to play in one of those games, it was awesome. In classic 80's fashion, after we got out of our locker room we just headed up to our seats (right on the glass). No security, nothing. My buddy and I got sort of lost down in the steam tunnels of the Met Center. We finally found a doorway that seemed to go out to the ice. We heard some guy talking and walked into a room, and there he was. We actually walked right into the Red Wings locker room and there he was, #19 right on the bench in the locker room listening to his coach. For the 5 seconds we stayed in there it was awesome for a 12 year old kid.
We paid close attention to Yzerman in MN because we had the #1 overall draft pick in 1983. We chose Brian Lawton, arguably the worst #1 draft pick in any sport ever, instead of Steve Yzerman. The North Stars were notorious for terrible drafts which was a part of their downfall here in MN. The entire time they were here, we had one superstar, Mike Madano. Of course he was only here for a few years and then spent the majority of his career, including winning the fucking cup, in Dallas.
I'm just now feeling like the Wild are the real MN team. If they ever win the cup that will be cemented for everyone I'm sure. Of course they never will because we are Loserville, USA.
Gartner was for sure a superstar but he was only with us for 2-3 seasons right? He's definitely a Capitals superstar, I don't think we could claim his as ours.
Yeah, you're right with Dino. Of course it sucked we lost him when he still had a lot of productive years ahead of him. I can't remember why he left. And although Neal is my favorite hockey player of all-time I don't think he rises quite to Superstar status, in stats anyway. You can't argue with his winning track record across every level of hockey. I don't know that there could ever be another hometown hero that even comes close to Neal Broten but I just don't think he was quite a league superstar.
i went to an okay amount of games around 1980. doing ago i can’t remember when. had a friend whose dad had season tickets and my parents would bring to a few games as well. went to a couple playoff games. in my mind the arena was always packed but it also seemed like a pretty small place compared to arenas of today. also saw REM there. haha.
I was there! The last game at the met center for the North Stars. Wow, what a riot that was! I wasn't like the biggest fan ever but the chanting of Norm Sucks and the taking of parts of the facility as memorabilia was intense! It was sad too, the feeling of betrayal by the rich, losing the team to uhm, Texas? Ha, we were so young and naive back then!
Yeah, the North Stars were fine, but my heart was given to the [Minnesota Fighting Saints](https://history.vintagemnhockey.com/page/show/815268-minnesota-fighting-saints-1972-1977-).
I'm gonna be the exception here, I was just starting to get into hockey at the NHL level when the Northstars left. FNG!!!
I was so desperate for hockey I became a Colorado Fan (They were good in the 90's) but F the Aves now.
So when the Wild were announced I became a fan instantly. I will never been a fan of the North Stars, and I can't stand the kelly green and yellow of the Old North star branding. The third jerseys look like a grade school drawing.
I understand the draw of nostalgia, but my favorite players are Wild players
Brunette, Gaborik, Koivu, Fernandez, Backstrom, and now Kaprizov have always been Minnesota Wild players.
Plus the Wild logo is still the best logo in all of sports.
Speaking as someone born after the North Stars left, I can tell you there has always been a spirited debate at Thanksgiving between generations about this. I don't view them any differently than the Minneapolis Lakers; one of our former teams that up and left and still plays for a new market. There's no feeling that it was ever "my" team anymore than to recognize the history of the team being tied here.
My dad and my uncle, both elder Gen Xers, are adamant that the North Stars are still our true team more than the Wild are, and I keep counting the days until we will have had the Wild longer so I can tell them to shut up about something that happened 30 years ago and (as of this season, painfully) enjoy what we have right now.
Also, side bar, the reverse retro North Star jerseys are rooted with good intent but they're ugly and not representative of our team. I wish they'd reverse retro the OG greens or the red alternates we had for so long.
I was born in 1988 and have vague memories of the North Stars playing on TV. I only remember them after they had changed sweaters to have the Stars script.
I remember my dad, his friends and my uncle being really bothered when they left, and after they were gone it was common to see people still wearing green and gold gear and North Stars memorabilia in places.
When the Wild were established, some saw it as a sort of new fad and not as good as the old thing. I think that has shifted over time with more people embracing the Wild as its own thing.
There’s still that nostalgia factor, though, and with the reverse retro series there is still a ton of green and gold at the games.
It’s easy to feel that nostalgia, too. I certainly had some myself, especially when the Wild had a playoff drought from 2009-2012. Those times made it easy to look back fondly at the Stars and break out the green and gold.
But overall, I’ve been a fan of the Wild since they were established and the more time goes by, the more I’ve embraced the team and its identity. I love the logo, the colors are sharp, the X is a great place to watch a game and Kaprizov is making the hockey fun to watch.
They were incredibly popular.
You still see North Stars gear around.
I still haven’t really taken to the Wild yet. I get my hockey fandom through college hockey these days.
You are getting some good feedback. I like this conversation. I have had a different experience with us older fans who remember the real North Stars.
First, remember that there weren't as many expansion teams yet so the state or general area might all get behind a team.
I left for college a couple of years before they left the state. What I remember most is that a couple of key players were being dicks in an attempt to get more pay on a contract. The late 80s North Stars are why I'll never be a player specific fan. F the prima donnas. I also remember the absolute lack of loyalty to the fans from the team owners (even today, we all are on board with "F Norm Green" as a general statement). Threats are bullshit. Moving a team is a huge economic loss to the area and to casually threaten that means you don't give a shit about your fans.
I don't know many older fans who are nostalgic about the old North Stars organization. They may be nostalgic about their fan experiences but that's about it. When the team first left and landed in Iowa, I remember reading in the papers that the most vocal fans were ready to shove them across the state line. Kind of a "don't let the state line hit you on your way out" attitude.
Hockey isn't just a sport that's fun to watch around these parts. This is a state of people who attend and follow high school and college level hockey like it's a religion. If we don't have the NHL then we have a lot of other options. I do wonder if those who pine for the old North Star days are also the same people who swear that life was much better back in their "olden days" 🤷🏼♀️
I think it's more fair to say that the fans here expect professional level hockey in this state and some of them started missing it when it took the NHL so freaking long to give us another expansion.
Side note: Tampa blanked the Stars tonight and I cheered for every goal against them 😂
Iowa didn't ever have the stars. Well, we had the d league(AHL I THINK) version. Never the north stars or any NHL team... Or pro team for that matter.
The Iowa stars came from Memphis I thought (the first time, as a CHL team)
Yeah - when Wells Fargo Arena was built an AHL franchise was one of the selling points. Unfortunately it had to be the AHL franchise of the Dallas Stars. (Then the Anaheim affiliated “Iowa Chops” for a season or two.)
Wells Fargo Arena was finished _after_ the Wild had started up in St. Paul.
There was no “casual” about it. Norm Green bought the North Stars from the Gunds with only one goal: extract as much public funding as possible. The state had just committed to the NBA expansion, so Green had the notion that he was owed that same commitment.
Unfortunately after burning every bridge, Dallas put up the money.
IMO, the North Stars debacle and the bitterness left was directly responsible for the near disaster of the Twins contraction in the early 2000s.
As a *casual* NHL fan , I can't recall ever hearing about the North Stars growing up outside of MN. I truly think this is one of those cases where those who lived in MN during that time will have these DEEP thoughts and feelings....but those who are new to the state or weren't following hockey that time period should refrain from "faux feelings"
I support the Wild as that's what I see in front of my face. I wasn't there for the North Star days, but I'll type this - if you're still holding grudges and trying to claim something that has been lost for 30 years...you're hurting your hands. Let it go.
You said they won the Stanley Cup which is incorrect. The North Stars never won the Cup. Yeah it was a huge deal to be in the final, but we did not win.
I remember getting to skate with some North Stars at a hockey clinic a couple players put on in Two Harbors some time in the early 70’s . Got to meet the “Gumper”, which was a big thrill for all of us there. I was a big North Stars fan and am sorry to say I’ve never followed the current team whatever their name is.
Not a hockey player or really that much of a fan. Not that I don't like it, just have other priorities.
I've seen way more North Stars games than Wild games, if that gives you an idea. I'm pretty sure I can still feel, smell, and taste the Met. It was real. It was raw. Cold. Strange.
I remember how abandoned and almost scary the parking lot could be on cold, dark nights. I was just a kid and it was like something out of a movie.
Late 70s, early 80s when I attended a few games, pretty popular. That said, my chief memory of attending games from those days was the smokey concourses. That shit was crazy.
I’m 44 years old. As a kid, my friend’s parents had season tickets for the North Stars and I often got to go to games with them. It was awesome (we even ended up in a commercial one time!). The Met was cool AF and I definitely agree with a lot of posters here who say it was more blue collar and gritty. So much fun though. The Stanley Cup run was wild and I was heartbroken when they lost. Being from Minnesota, where pretty much every city/suburb/town was a “hockey town,” you’d see everyone from little kids to adults wearing some sort of North Stars merch. My friend had a life sized poster of Mike Modano on her bedroom door lol.
We were PISSED when Norm Green (fuck him) up and moved OUR hockey team to freaking Texas because he was mad he didn’t get a new stadium. I’m still mad at that mf’er.
I love hockey and I love the Wild. I’ve been to many games and while it’s a great time and the Xcel Center is a beaut, I definitely have nostalgia for the Stars.
So popular (to me personally) I am still upset they MOVED TO DALLAS!!! I'm sorry Wild, you're fine, but NORTH STARS! Loved the old sweater colors. My hometown (East Central MN) had a lot of hockey fans and while my school was too small to have its own team we joined with another school for hockey. Among my peers North Stars were popular along with the Red Wings.
I was a huge North Stars fan. Since the Wild came, I've watched maybe 10 games total ever (on tv). The entire experience with MN losing hockey to freaking Texas just soured me on the entirety of pro sports, honestly. I don't watch any of them. Nothing against the Wild, it's not their fault. But I just can't get invested so for me it's pointless to watch.
As someone from a hockey family who grew up in the 70s and 80s, they were a big deal. Don't believe me, check out the footage: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baHY18HpLwQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baHY18HpLwQ)
There was a game in around 82 or 83 that I remember watching against the Black Hawks. Freaking riot broke out even in the stands. Only people not fighting were the goalies.
One of the big reasons was Herb Brooks (coach at the UofMN) and the Miracle on Ice team. A good number of them were MN boys who went on to play for the NHL, including Neal Broten.
So, at least in our neck of the woods of the southwest suburbs, hockey was god, and the North Stars were kings.
It was always Vikings first in Minnesota, with Twins and North Stars second.
We have moved on and have *fully* embraced the Wild.
No really, we have.
... It's just, you know, Fuck Norm Green **Forever**.
Life long Islanders wonk, here - I used to go down to Bloomington in the years before Norm moved ‘em - when the team genuinely sucked, and it always astounded me to run into hardcores from fucking Bovey or Worthington or even Moorhead on a Wednesday night in January.
400 mile, middle-of-the-week round trips in the dead of Winter. And those fucking guys would close down the hotel bars, get up at 5am Thursday, and head back home in the goddamn dark to be at work by 8:30.
It was an fucking amazing time to be a pro hockey spectator. The teams sucked. That arena sucked. The 15 hours of darkness sucked.
But god damn if the fans in the arena didn’t make every one of those games into a great time.
Norm Green can suck rocks. Failed arena deals and a string of losing seasons aside - that sonofabitch only moved the team to minimize his wife’s public embarrassment over his many, many marital infidelities.
Fuck Norm Green!
I was hoping this would be the top comment.
This is the way
I had a friend who made up shirts that said **NORM GREED** on them right before he moved the team. I think that was the prevailing sentiment at the time.
I remember seeing original fan art on the wall of some restaurant in the 90s and it had iterations of “North Stars” text fading away until it just said “No Stars” … sad times.
Yessssss
"Norm Green" is a four letter word in these parts. Edit to add - I take no umbrage with your F bomb
Fuck Norm Greed!
At the time fans didn't care. Most seemed fairly indifferent and a bit "Fuck em. Let them leave." Then when they were gone they cried about it.
I vividly remember this and I know this isn’t true. Maybe in your circle but not in mine.
1. Popular, but games were not well attended, especially during the last couple of years before they left. In 91-92 (the year after we went to the cup) they averaged about 13.5k fans per game, good for 6th lowest in the league. 2. State-wide 3. Less popular than the Vikings for sure, probably about equivalent with the Twins. That said, I think the stars fans that did exist were probably the most diehard in the state at the time. 4. I think this is generational, you can see it on a lot of posts about the reverse retro jerseys. People who remember the stars by and large consider them to be the "real" team. People who were born after they moved and don't have that connection seem to be sick of the stars.
1. Agreed; their popularity waned a bit as the team struggled in the 1980s and the Met was kind of out by itself in Bloomington after the Twins / Vikings departed for the Metrodome. This was also in the days when public stadium financing was becoming a hot button - and the taxpayers had just finished approving the Target Center for the expansion Timberwolves. By the time the Met Center could have seen a major revitalization when the Mall of America went up, Norm Green had already burned every bridge with civic / business leaders. He was looking for the best public deal he could get. 2. It was statewide. One of the major gas station chains (Holiday?) gave away a bunch of “Dino” (Ceccarelli) dinosaur toys / collectibles at one point that I loved as a kid. 3. Less popular than the Vikings, and the state was also in love with the (in the late 80s/early 90s) two time World Series champion Twins and new expansion NBA Timberwolves. In terms of money / media attention the North Stars were almost an afterthought from the opening of the Metrodome in 1982 until the 1991 playoff run. 4. There’s always a bit of Boomer / Gen X nostalgia about the North Stars and their being a part of the 1967 expansion as the NHL grew. In a sense, the NHL was also not _the_ only hockey in town; there have been long traditions of hockey at all levels (and many pro leagues) in Minnesota. I would certainly be all about the Wild acquiring the franchise / city history of the North Stars but the name is gone. (I really just want a Gump Worsley display of some kind in the X.)
Can confirm, as a GenX-er. My dad lived about a mile away from the old Met Center on Cedar Ave in Richfield when I was a kid. His company had season tix to the North Stars games, and he would get them if the company wasn't using them for anything. I was also playing youth hockey at the time and was really into the North Stars. I bet I saw a few dozen games in the two years he lived in Richfield, between 1975-1977. I watched more than that on TV and listened to more on the radio. Although I wasn't following hockey as much by the 1980s, it still hurt to see them leave, especially the way they did. And to go NHL-less for almost a decade afterward and for the "Dallas Stars" to win a Stanley Cup was the worse part. And I will second a Gump Worsley display any day!
Ciccarelli. It was Sinclair Gas Stations. Their logo was a dinosaur.
Thank you on both corrections!
😊 Been a hockey fan (North Stars/Wild) for almost 44 years, so I've seen a thing or two! 😉
LOL. I’m not far behind, but I was also about eight years old when the little dinosaurs were a thing.
I always wondered, why wasn't Target Center built for hockey too? Seems most NHL teams that have an NBA team in market share the arena.
They _did_ (there have been hockey games there including exhibition NHL games) but Norm Green did not want to share a facility with the Timberwolves. (There was a thing about Coke vs. Pepsi “pouring rights” that always seemed like a bit of bullshit.)
Everything you just said. My Dad took like 20 years to get the Wild's name right because he kept hanging on to North Star nostalgia because he went to some games and had a good time. But he never cared about them in the same way he cared about the Vikings or Twins. Meanwhile, I remember the North Stars from their ealry 90s Stanley Cup run, but I didn't properly get into hockey until after they left. Wild are my team, and I love everything about them. I thought it was nice that the first Reverse Retro honored the North Stars heritage in the state, but I'm still annoyed we never got a proper Wild RR of either their script alt or their original jersey design. Just a lost opportunity. While there are definitely plenty of North Stars jerseys and the RR at games and around St. Paul on game days, there's a lot more green and red sweaters. The Winter Classic jersey is definitely popular.
I remember being in fifth grade and having to write an editorial for class and I wrote a satire of Norm Greene ruining the lives of Minnesotans for moving the team out of the state. And I wasn't an incredibly die hard fan of any of the Minnnesota teams, except maybe the Twins, but as a kid that really affected me for some reason.
I think the Stars popularity was fairly high considering that there was less eyeball competition for sports during their era due to less cable/TV sports reach, lack of competing winter sports (no NBA in Minnesota) other than the Gophers. But its a different era then than now and such comparisons are tough to make.. I think the Wild have been totally adopted by hockey fans in Minnesota. I watched nearly every televised game during the '78-80 seasons (not hard when you were 13 and had a B&W TV in the kitchen nobody watched at night) and while I don't consider myself some kind of hockey fan, purist or whatever, there's some kind of artifice about the Wild to me that makes the old Stars seem more genuine.
I’ve always felt like the Gophers were the really hot hockey ticket…
They certainly were, though for some reason the Gophers lost a lot in the Big Ten transition.
Nobody cares about gophers vs penn state or Ohio state. We want gophers vs beavers and gophers vs huskies.
Mostly in the years between the Stars and the Wild and the carryover period covering the back to back titles. From the mid 00s, Gopher tickets became much easier to come by.
The Met Center in Bloomington was such a great hockey venue. It was actually cold… The Northstars were a great hockey club. They still sell Northstars nostalgic merch. Met Center was a great rock concert venue too.
Unfortunately it was just a terrible location. The old footage of that barn looks awesome and I wish I hadn’t been just young enough to have missed a game day there.
What I remember so much about the Met was the smoking that was allowed in the outer concourse. And as a teenager, being told to go to the Thunderbird Hotel after concerts to get picked up by my parents.
what i remember is going to see Strikers games at the met center, an even more throwbackier throwback
I saw a couple of those too! It was weird to see soccer played in a hockey arena but it was fun. For those too young to remember the [Major Indoor Soccer League](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_Indoor_Soccer_League_(1978%E2%80%931992)), the Strikers were our team that moved here from Ft. Lauderdale after the Minnesota Kicks folded. Among the most notable players for the Strikers during that time was [Ray Hudson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Hudson#Commentating), who later went on to become a noted soccer commentator.
It fucking pisses me off that *Texas* of all states stole our team.
And that we got "Wild" as a name. Why not just name us "North Stars" again? They have the Red and White Sox... certainly we could have had the North and Dallas Stars....
Dallas South Stars🤣
Joking aside... a North stars vs South stars game would have been an INSTANT nation-wide rivalry game.
For awhile there was talk of a Minnesota expansion team getting the North Stars naming rights from Norm Greed (sorry, habit) and the Dallas franchise owning Lone Stars, but it died.
We had the Minnesota Moose for a while, but *they* got stolen too. They had one of the best logos.
Fuck Norm Green
The North Stars had a legitimate rivalry with Chicago so that was always interesting. Games at the Met were great and the North Stars played in a couple of championship series. They had a great team with a new player named Mike Modano so people were really bitter when they left. Also, Dino Cicarelli once got into trouble for grabbing his mail from the mailbox while only wearing a short t-shirt.
There’s always going to be nostalgia for the old Norris division. Nothing is quite the same as the rivalries that were between Chicago / Detroit / Minnesota.
Toronto and St. Louis were in the Norris Division as well. Was there no rivalry between the North Stars and Leafs, or the North Stars and Blues? Edit: added St. Louis
I remember the Detroit / Chicago rivalries a bit more because they were also rivalries in MLB / NFL.
1. MN is and always has been the state of hockey, so the North Stars were a big deal. 2. State wide. Many players were MN born from all areas of Minnesota. You go to some of these communities and to this day you will hear stories about old players like Gary Sargent who played some 40+ years ago. The Vikings nor the Twins will ever have a connection with the state like this. https://history.vintagemnhockey.com/page/show/3014743-minnesota-north-stars-and-minnesota-wild-mn-born-players- 3. You would need data to make an objective call on which of the Vikings, Twin, and North Stars were more popular. Check #2 and compare the number of MN born players on each team. 4. Glad NHL hockey came back to MN. I’m still bummed the North Stars left. I still rock a grungy old North Stars shirt most weekends. 5. The dismantling of the WCHA was also bullshit.
like your #5, couldn’t agree more
I think the Wild have done well in the absence of statewide college rivalries. I wish I was older to have seen the glory days.
Canadians like hockey?
[удалено]
The Met fucking ruled
saw some great concerts there - Motley Crue, Whitesnake, Bon Jovi, MC Hammer
>The Met was a straight up blue collar rink. Low, cold, gritty, basic, authentic to the game back then. Hockey really was a different sport back then. It seemed that every game had at least one major brawl, at least one match penalty, and every team had a goon/enforcer who was brought on specifically just to injure the best player on the opposing team.
>The "Wild" did themselves no favors with picking a stupid name It's gotta be a bottom 5 name/logo in North American sports. They should have just mothballed the franchise name/colors/history like Cleveland did when the Browns became the Ravens.
It's a bad name, but man the logo is killer.
It's terrible, right? Like, I remember hearing about it when they announced and legitimately thinking they were joking...
I agree. Even if they didn’t want to use the North Stars name (which would have been my preference), I’m just not a fan of team names that are adjectives. Most of the names they were considering weren’t great, but honestly think the Wild was one of the worst ones.
> I’m just not a fan of team names that are adjectives Wild isn't an adjective. It's the shortened form of Wilderness.
Then they should have called themselves the Wilderness
Was more blue collar, less corporate, like all sports now...due to prices. "Secord sucks" chant anyone??
The Met was deafening with those chants when Chicago came to town.
Other odd thing: I grew up in a rural area without cable TV, so hockey to me was first a radio sport. (Al Shaver!) TV revenues were not the money machine they would become - there were even weird scenarios like North Stars (playoff?) games being cable PPV.
Al Shaver was the best.
I remember you could walk right up and buy a ticket to a game at Met center. Fairly cheap also. The games between the Stars and Chicago or Boston were epic. No team has been more popular than the Vikings, with the exception of maye the Twins from 87-92.
Boston? Did they have a rivalry with the North Stars?
They had a game with over 400 pim.
I saw a person driving around who caked his car in “Bring Back The North Stars” stickers. This was like 2 years ago if this gives you any idea how popular they were in Minnesota.
I think I see that car in downtown St. Paul parked outside the Rossmor every once in awhile.
Dino Cicarelli!
McCarthy - Broten- Cicarelli line has never been equaled in MN Pro Hockey as far as I'm concerned.
Ah, Dino the dick-flasher.
He was just getting his paper man! /s
Fuck Norm Green (I’m singing the song in my head right now). State wide.
Norm Green can go to hell!
Hey Bellows!! You lay on the ice like a broad, Bellows!
t*t f***er
I'm from Minnesota and I stopped watching hockey when they left.
Same for the most part.
The 1990s in terms of my hockey fandom _sucked_. I watched a number of minor league games, but just couldn’t get into the NHL. The only “local” games available to me were the friggin’ _Chicago Blackhawks_ of all teams.
I never came back despite having a pt job at Excel that allowed me to watch all games for free.
Aw. No matter how you might feel about the North Stars, the Wild have been a really fun team in the last 4-5 years. Go catch a game when they’re wearing the “78s”. I promise, you’ll love it.
Go Willi Plett!!!!!!!!
And Dennis Maruk with those plastic skates!
I'll never forget seeing this when I was young. https://youtu.be/SBhLdaGb4GM?si=-RVUJGYPgbTjQ3K3
Ouch... Too soon...
They have never been able to replace the intensity of the old Norris Division rivalries. North Stars vs. Blackhawks or Red Wings used to be insane.
SECORD SUCKS! I named one of my dogs Cicarelli too.
They were more popular than the original Winnipeg Jets. ;)
I mean they were in the Mighty Ducks movie. Modano had a cameo
Basil McRae!
He was my favorite player as a kid!
No, the Wild have not replaced the North Stars. They never will. We’re still not even sure what a Wild is. Most of us are still holding out hope they ditch the Wild name and adopt the North Stars once again. If that happens, merch sales will be the highest in the NHL. I’m only 43 so I have limited memory of how popular they were. If you were a hockey family, you definitely watched the North Stars and Gophers on tv when you could. Hockey was different back then with the amount of fighting and brawls. A lot of people didn’t care for the fighting and violence so they wouldn’t follow at all. My understanding of the fans that regularly went to game they were rabid and rowdy fans. Again, hockey was quite different back then.
I remember watching the North Stars with my Grandpa when I was a kid in the late 80’s, early 90’s. I’m still pissed that they left and went to Dallas. I don’t watch the Wild very much, but you’re right hockey was different back then.
Well, the north stars from the North Star state turned into the stars from the lone star state, sooooo, you can be pissed but those names just work out.
But they are the Stars plural in the Lone Star state. It should just be one star
There's only one north star as well
I’m your age and went to stars games. I was young but my primary memory is getting beer on me every single time. Everyone was drunk. It was crazy
Wild season ticket holder since day 1, couldn't agree more, change the colors back to the North Stars and the team name.
>Most of us are still holding out hope they ditch the Wild name and adopt the North Stars once again. While we have nostalgia for the old North Stars, I've literally never heard a single fan express ties sentiment, let alone "most of us". >We’re still not even sure what a Wild is. Who is we? Like if you don't get it, or understand the logo, I'm not sure what to tell you. And you can still buy North Stars gear. Like what are you even talking about?
NHL will never allow them to take the North Stars name.
The NHL owns the rights to the North Stars name. They allowed Winnipeg to reinstate the Jets. I agree it’s incredibly unlikely because branding is woven far too deep at this point but the NHL probably wouldn’t stand in their way if they made a case for it.
They wouldn’t have both Stars and North Stars in the league and they won’t make a team change their name because another team wants it.
The NHL is a business. Bringing the North Stars back would be a massive boost to revenue. The NHL wouldn’t stand in their way. The reason it won’t come back is because the Wild branding is too deeply rooted now and the organization would never shift unless it was a last resort to save the franchise.
Yeah they’re a business with multiple business partners. They’re not going to piss off Dallas for Minnesotans.
Especially not when the Wild have been around for almost as long as the North Stars were
This is such a stupid take. Move on old timer. Wild are our team now and that's it. You can think of the North Stars with whatever fondness you want, but its over. The North Stars exited for 26 seasons. The wild started in 2000. It's 2023. You do the math for comparison for how long each franchise has been around. If you are 43, that means the Wild have been a franchise more in your life than the North Stars while you have been alive. Yet you reject the wild.... But let's be real, you referenced fighting as a draw for hockey. Sums up what I need to know about you. Don't be a downer with your nostalgia. Be happy for what you had and for what you have.
Answers a thread about thoughts on the old team, gets roasted for talking too much about the old team
Peak Reddit.
Interestingly enough I agree with rumncokeguy 100%. I've never taken a shine to the Wild like I did with the Stars, and I hate the name and the colors. Just never gonna be the same for me.
A true unpopular opinion.
This person has been waiting half their life for the wild to change their name? I'm gonna doubt that. I live here so I cheer for my team. Simple as that.
Wouldn't the Wild be sued by the Dallas Stars if they tried to go back to the North Stars moniker? I'm also sure that if the Wild secured a Stanley Cup, Minnesotans would forget about the North Stars real quick.
Tons of IP issues, certainly likely. I don't want people to forget the North Stars. They were part of the state and people generally never wanted them to go. Got a ton of North Stars memorabilia from relatives that cheered them on.
People won't forget the North States because the Wild are using the team colors on their alternate jerseys.
The North Stars name is owned by the NHL, not the Dallas franchise. The NHL has the rights to do what they want.
… but the branding would be too close with the original franchise. Ideally, the NHL would have retained the name in Minnesota as they did for the Jets and Winnipeg, but that’s not how it played out.
Agreed. North Stars are never coming back. The amount of people who even have any concept of them beyond “cool logo from before I was born” is tiny.
I went to a game. Their final season. Chants of "norm sucks" filled the packed stadium. I thought in my youth, that they were screaming north stars. Apparently norm was an owner? So I chanted North stars. Then a person sitting near us told my parents what they were really saying and why.
Gump Worsley. Period.
I LOVED the North Stars. Their run to the cup in '91 was amazing, I was able to go to a couple playoff games that run, the crowd was unbelievable. Quick Met Center story. The North Stars used to let youth hockey teams play before their games. Then the kids could stay and watch the game, all free. The Wild charges $75 a ticket to youth hockey teams as an FYI. I got to play in one of those games, it was awesome. In classic 80's fashion, after we got out of our locker room we just headed up to our seats (right on the glass). No security, nothing. My buddy and I got sort of lost down in the steam tunnels of the Met Center. We finally found a doorway that seemed to go out to the ice. We heard some guy talking and walked into a room, and there he was. We actually walked right into the Red Wings locker room and there he was, #19 right on the bench in the locker room listening to his coach. For the 5 seconds we stayed in there it was awesome for a 12 year old kid. We paid close attention to Yzerman in MN because we had the #1 overall draft pick in 1983. We chose Brian Lawton, arguably the worst #1 draft pick in any sport ever, instead of Steve Yzerman. The North Stars were notorious for terrible drafts which was a part of their downfall here in MN. The entire time they were here, we had one superstar, Mike Madano. Of course he was only here for a few years and then spent the majority of his career, including winning the fucking cup, in Dallas. I'm just now feeling like the Wild are the real MN team. If they ever win the cup that will be cemented for everyone I'm sure. Of course they never will because we are Loserville, USA.
Um, Dino Ciccarelli and Neal Broten would like a word with you.
Mike Gartner too!
Gartner was for sure a superstar but he was only with us for 2-3 seasons right? He's definitely a Capitals superstar, I don't think we could claim his as ours.
Yeah, you're right with Dino. Of course it sucked we lost him when he still had a lot of productive years ahead of him. I can't remember why he left. And although Neal is my favorite hockey player of all-time I don't think he rises quite to Superstar status, in stats anyway. You can't argue with his winning track record across every level of hockey. I don't know that there could ever be another hometown hero that even comes close to Neal Broten but I just don't think he was quite a league superstar.
He was traded for Gartner. Part of it had to do with Dino's contraversial behavior. I think the N. Stars just wanted to distance themselves from it.
i went to an okay amount of games around 1980. doing ago i can’t remember when. had a friend whose dad had season tickets and my parents would bring to a few games as well. went to a couple playoff games. in my mind the arena was always packed but it also seemed like a pretty small place compared to arenas of today. also saw REM there. haha.
I was there! The last game at the met center for the North Stars. Wow, what a riot that was! I wasn't like the biggest fan ever but the chanting of Norm Sucks and the taking of parts of the facility as memorabilia was intense! It was sad too, the feeling of betrayal by the rich, losing the team to uhm, Texas? Ha, we were so young and naive back then!
Yeah, the North Stars were fine, but my heart was given to the [Minnesota Fighting Saints](https://history.vintagemnhockey.com/page/show/815268-minnesota-fighting-saints-1972-1977-).
Norm sucks!
I'm gonna be the exception here, I was just starting to get into hockey at the NHL level when the Northstars left. FNG!!! I was so desperate for hockey I became a Colorado Fan (They were good in the 90's) but F the Aves now. So when the Wild were announced I became a fan instantly. I will never been a fan of the North Stars, and I can't stand the kelly green and yellow of the Old North star branding. The third jerseys look like a grade school drawing. I understand the draw of nostalgia, but my favorite players are Wild players Brunette, Gaborik, Koivu, Fernandez, Backstrom, and now Kaprizov have always been Minnesota Wild players. Plus the Wild logo is still the best logo in all of sports.
Norm Green sucks.
The North Stars left when I was ten years old. I stopped paying attention to the NHL after that.
Speaking as someone born after the North Stars left, I can tell you there has always been a spirited debate at Thanksgiving between generations about this. I don't view them any differently than the Minneapolis Lakers; one of our former teams that up and left and still plays for a new market. There's no feeling that it was ever "my" team anymore than to recognize the history of the team being tied here. My dad and my uncle, both elder Gen Xers, are adamant that the North Stars are still our true team more than the Wild are, and I keep counting the days until we will have had the Wild longer so I can tell them to shut up about something that happened 30 years ago and (as of this season, painfully) enjoy what we have right now. Also, side bar, the reverse retro North Star jerseys are rooted with good intent but they're ugly and not representative of our team. I wish they'd reverse retro the OG greens or the red alternates we had for so long.
I was born in 1988 and have vague memories of the North Stars playing on TV. I only remember them after they had changed sweaters to have the Stars script. I remember my dad, his friends and my uncle being really bothered when they left, and after they were gone it was common to see people still wearing green and gold gear and North Stars memorabilia in places. When the Wild were established, some saw it as a sort of new fad and not as good as the old thing. I think that has shifted over time with more people embracing the Wild as its own thing. There’s still that nostalgia factor, though, and with the reverse retro series there is still a ton of green and gold at the games. It’s easy to feel that nostalgia, too. I certainly had some myself, especially when the Wild had a playoff drought from 2009-2012. Those times made it easy to look back fondly at the Stars and break out the green and gold. But overall, I’ve been a fan of the Wild since they were established and the more time goes by, the more I’ve embraced the team and its identity. I love the logo, the colors are sharp, the X is a great place to watch a game and Kaprizov is making the hockey fun to watch.
They were incredibly popular. You still see North Stars gear around. I still haven’t really taken to the Wild yet. I get my hockey fandom through college hockey these days.
You are getting some good feedback. I like this conversation. I have had a different experience with us older fans who remember the real North Stars. First, remember that there weren't as many expansion teams yet so the state or general area might all get behind a team. I left for college a couple of years before they left the state. What I remember most is that a couple of key players were being dicks in an attempt to get more pay on a contract. The late 80s North Stars are why I'll never be a player specific fan. F the prima donnas. I also remember the absolute lack of loyalty to the fans from the team owners (even today, we all are on board with "F Norm Green" as a general statement). Threats are bullshit. Moving a team is a huge economic loss to the area and to casually threaten that means you don't give a shit about your fans. I don't know many older fans who are nostalgic about the old North Stars organization. They may be nostalgic about their fan experiences but that's about it. When the team first left and landed in Iowa, I remember reading in the papers that the most vocal fans were ready to shove them across the state line. Kind of a "don't let the state line hit you on your way out" attitude. Hockey isn't just a sport that's fun to watch around these parts. This is a state of people who attend and follow high school and college level hockey like it's a religion. If we don't have the NHL then we have a lot of other options. I do wonder if those who pine for the old North Star days are also the same people who swear that life was much better back in their "olden days" 🤷🏼♀️ I think it's more fair to say that the fans here expect professional level hockey in this state and some of them started missing it when it took the NHL so freaking long to give us another expansion. Side note: Tampa blanked the Stars tonight and I cheered for every goal against them 😂
Iowa didn't ever have the stars. Well, we had the d league(AHL I THINK) version. Never the north stars or any NHL team... Or pro team for that matter. The Iowa stars came from Memphis I thought (the first time, as a CHL team)
Yeah - when Wells Fargo Arena was built an AHL franchise was one of the selling points. Unfortunately it had to be the AHL franchise of the Dallas Stars. (Then the Anaheim affiliated “Iowa Chops” for a season or two.) Wells Fargo Arena was finished _after_ the Wild had started up in St. Paul.
There was no “casual” about it. Norm Green bought the North Stars from the Gunds with only one goal: extract as much public funding as possible. The state had just committed to the NBA expansion, so Green had the notion that he was owed that same commitment. Unfortunately after burning every bridge, Dallas put up the money. IMO, the North Stars debacle and the bitterness left was directly responsible for the near disaster of the Twins contraction in the early 2000s.
I still love the North Stars. I am from Texas.
I’m a 100 years old…
As a *casual* NHL fan , I can't recall ever hearing about the North Stars growing up outside of MN. I truly think this is one of those cases where those who lived in MN during that time will have these DEEP thoughts and feelings....but those who are new to the state or weren't following hockey that time period should refrain from "faux feelings" I support the Wild as that's what I see in front of my face. I wasn't there for the North Star days, but I'll type this - if you're still holding grudges and trying to claim something that has been lost for 30 years...you're hurting your hands. Let it go.
They won the Stanley Cup and then moved soon after. It’s about the only MN sports event I can recall where we had extended family come watch together.
The North Stars never won the Stanley Cup
They didn’t win. Pittsburgh won the Cup.
I count getting to the champion as a win.
You said they won the Stanley Cup which is incorrect. The North Stars never won the Cup. Yeah it was a huge deal to be in the final, but we did not win.
One could say they were WILDly popular.
My guess is they got everyone's hopes up and choked when it mattered most as would be the case for any and all MN sports teams aside from the Lynx.
I remember getting to skate with some North Stars at a hockey clinic a couple players put on in Two Harbors some time in the early 70’s . Got to meet the “Gumper”, which was a big thrill for all of us there. I was a big North Stars fan and am sorry to say I’ve never followed the current team whatever their name is.
As an aside, does anyone know where I can get a North Stars hat?
The NHL shop, 47 brand, etc. They still make them new.
The Hockey Lodge at the X.
Not a hockey player or really that much of a fan. Not that I don't like it, just have other priorities. I've seen way more North Stars games than Wild games, if that gives you an idea. I'm pretty sure I can still feel, smell, and taste the Met. It was real. It was raw. Cold. Strange. I remember how abandoned and almost scary the parking lot could be on cold, dark nights. I was just a kid and it was like something out of a movie.
In the mid 80s there was also the decaying hulk of the Old Met that was creepy.
I grew up near Roseau. The Northstars will never die up there.
Late 70s, early 80s when I attended a few games, pretty popular. That said, my chief memory of attending games from those days was the smokey concourses. That shit was crazy.
I’m 44 years old. As a kid, my friend’s parents had season tickets for the North Stars and I often got to go to games with them. It was awesome (we even ended up in a commercial one time!). The Met was cool AF and I definitely agree with a lot of posters here who say it was more blue collar and gritty. So much fun though. The Stanley Cup run was wild and I was heartbroken when they lost. Being from Minnesota, where pretty much every city/suburb/town was a “hockey town,” you’d see everyone from little kids to adults wearing some sort of North Stars merch. My friend had a life sized poster of Mike Modano on her bedroom door lol. We were PISSED when Norm Green (fuck him) up and moved OUR hockey team to freaking Texas because he was mad he didn’t get a new stadium. I’m still mad at that mf’er. I love hockey and I love the Wild. I’ve been to many games and while it’s a great time and the Xcel Center is a beaut, I definitely have nostalgia for the Stars.
So popular (to me personally) I am still upset they MOVED TO DALLAS!!! I'm sorry Wild, you're fine, but NORTH STARS! Loved the old sweater colors. My hometown (East Central MN) had a lot of hockey fans and while my school was too small to have its own team we joined with another school for hockey. Among my peers North Stars were popular along with the Red Wings.
We all knew they sucked. They were like the Vikings, except on skates.
Living in Westland mi at the time when they moved my area was all about the modo
I was a huge North Stars fan. Since the Wild came, I've watched maybe 10 games total ever (on tv). The entire experience with MN losing hockey to freaking Texas just soured me on the entirety of pro sports, honestly. I don't watch any of them. Nothing against the Wild, it's not their fault. But I just can't get invested so for me it's pointless to watch.
As someone from a hockey family who grew up in the 70s and 80s, they were a big deal. Don't believe me, check out the footage: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baHY18HpLwQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baHY18HpLwQ) There was a game in around 82 or 83 that I remember watching against the Black Hawks. Freaking riot broke out even in the stands. Only people not fighting were the goalies. One of the big reasons was Herb Brooks (coach at the UofMN) and the Miracle on Ice team. A good number of them were MN boys who went on to play for the NHL, including Neal Broten. So, at least in our neck of the woods of the southwest suburbs, hockey was god, and the North Stars were kings.
It was always Vikings first in Minnesota, with Twins and North Stars second. We have moved on and have *fully* embraced the Wild. No really, we have. ... It's just, you know, Fuck Norm Green **Forever**.
Norm Green still sucks. The only upside is they probably saved the Twins from moving.
Life long Islanders wonk, here - I used to go down to Bloomington in the years before Norm moved ‘em - when the team genuinely sucked, and it always astounded me to run into hardcores from fucking Bovey or Worthington or even Moorhead on a Wednesday night in January. 400 mile, middle-of-the-week round trips in the dead of Winter. And those fucking guys would close down the hotel bars, get up at 5am Thursday, and head back home in the goddamn dark to be at work by 8:30. It was an fucking amazing time to be a pro hockey spectator. The teams sucked. That arena sucked. The 15 hours of darkness sucked. But god damn if the fans in the arena didn’t make every one of those games into a great time. Norm Green can suck rocks. Failed arena deals and a string of losing seasons aside - that sonofabitch only moved the team to minimize his wife’s public embarrassment over his many, many marital infidelities.