Football
Associated Press 17y

Snapshots of the season finale: Wolves, fans wonder what's next

MINNEAPOLIS -- Living, breathing Minnesota Timberwolves fans
were positively identified in downtown Minneapolis on Wednesday
night. There just weren't that many of them.

Yes, the end of another ruined season arrived for a franchise
that is fast becoming irrelevant around here. Even in the Target
Center's upper concourse, where the team's most loyal supporters
are typically found, the signs of apathy were apparent.

"Free tickets. I'll be honest," said St. Paul resident Jeff
Rosalez, when asked what lured him and his son to a meaningless
game between two teams that have been trying to lose for the past
couple of weeks to make sure they're drafting high in June.

Rosalez was well aware of the situation, reminding his son that
Kevin Garnett wasn't going to be there because of his quadriceps
injury that suddenly popped up this month.

They're still fans, though, optimistic that a rebuilding project
will yield a winning team and bring consistently big crowds back to
the building.

The guess here? That will take a while, even if the Wolves soon
figure out how to make themselves into a playoff fixture again.
Both the roster and the fan base are in dire need of resuscitation.

Two hours before tipoff, the skyway outside one of the primary
entry points was mostly devoid of activity except for a scrolling
trivia question on a video screen that asked who the team's leader
in assists was. Answer? Ricky Davis!

While Mark Madsen was slapping hands and signing autographs for
dozens of grade-school oglers around the corner, Mark Blount was
stretching outside the locker room and sighing as he reluctantly
agreed to pose for a picture with a young woman.

In one corner of the arena about a half-hour before the game, a
handful of brochures for Madsen's summer youth basketball camp were
scattered on a table next to mustard and ketchup dispensers and
open containers of onions and sauerkraut that stood a solid chance
of going unused until the Lynx opener in May.

Crunch the mascot -- whose trampoline-aided vertical jump is 15
feet, according to the team's media guide -- scampered down the
aisle and tossed bags of snacks to people in the $125 seats at
midcourt during a second-quarter timeout. Perhaps he was clearing
out the leftovers from the concession stands.

It's obvious to anyone that frustration with the direction of
the franchise under owner Glen Taylor and basketball boss Kevin
McHale has devolved into disinterest. Attendance has continued to
wane, and the noise level at games long before the Wolves were
eliminated from postseason contention has been much lower than it
was just a few years ago.

Travis Brittain and Adrienne Bleick confirmed the suspicion.

"We tend to be the solo cheerers," Bleick said, smiling.

The finale against the Memphis Grizzlies, who had already locked
up the league's worst record and the best chance to get their
pingpong ball picked first in the draft-order lottery next month,
was the sixth game Brittain and Bleick attended this season.

This one wasn't on their planner until last weekend, when
Brittain decided to buy tickets. He figured they should be there.

"Because we're true fans," Brittain said.

So north they went from Bloomington, with Brittain wearing his
white Garnett jersey and Bleick sporting a gray T-shirt bearing
Randy Foye's visage.

"We stay every minute of every game," Bleick said.

And while Brittain expressed his displeasure with the leadership
of Taylor and McHale, there's hope that a fresh voice from an
overhauled front office might be around the corner and lead the
Wolves to better days.

Up there in that darkened upper deck, the few fans who paid
attention were treated to a fairly entertaining noonhour pickup
game.

Davis and Foye, who apparently missed the company-wide memo
about the importance of draft position, made nine jumpers between
them in the first period and helped forge a 27-all tie.

But the evening wore on, the Grizzlies pulled away, and the
Wolves cemented their spot in the NBA's bottom seven -- guaranteeing
that the Los Angeles Clippers would keep their grubby little hands
off that coveted first-round draft pick.

The Clippers must wait at least one more year for the completion
of that Sam Cassell-Marko Jaric trade from two summers ago. And, as
they slowly filed out of Target Center, the fans here were left to
ponder just how long they would have to wait here for another
winner.

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Dave Campbell can be reached at dcampbell(at)ap.org.

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