Minnesota received some big sporting news today. It’s not about the Vikings or Wild, but it’s about the Lynx trading to get Minnesota-native Lindsay Whalen. Here’s a WCCO link about it.
Many of you know that Whalen was a big part of the Gopher womens Final Four run back in 2004. For those not in the know, she was a huge fan favorite and I believe their tournament run rated better than most of the mens games.
People are gettin’ social about it online. I haven’t seen a Facebook Page on her, but a smaller Facebook Group is starting to get active.
Lindsay Whalen Now a Lynx
This news isn’t a Twitter Trending topic, but folks are weighing in with enthusiasm.
Lindsay Whalen Mentions on Twitter
My favorite Twitter message on this is from @freshmn.
Twitter Message about Whalen
I think I know what she means by this as she is a big Lynx fan and will ask her if I’m correct on this.
Basically, I’ve been lucky enough to know Erica for a few years and chatted with her a good year ago at a @GrumpysDT Tweetup. Somehow, Whalen came into the conversation. Erica was fine that the Lynx didn’t draft her right out of college because tickets would definitely sell short-term, but not long-term if they didn’t produce. I admitted that I would probably be guilty of this.
I’m far from a basketball analyst but was amazed on her sick passes as a Gopher and compared it to Jason Williams. Put it this way, look at her assist stats compared to other Connecticut Sun players.
How about you? Will you be paying more attention now that a veteran like Lindsay is coming home to play for the Lynx? Will tickets sell short or long term?
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LocalMN Blog 
Yup, I’m a big fan of Whalen, especially all she did as a Gopher. I’ll head to a game, with my daughters in tow, for the 1st time ever thanks to this.
What people fail to realize is that the reality of the draft, money, available players, team needs, etc. is that there is NO WAY the Lynx could have gotten Whalen when she first came into the league. She was exactly what Connecticut needed, and they went for it and held onto it.
Also, if the Lynx don’t actually win games this year, it’s really not gonna matter that Lindsay Whalen is here. There’ll be an attendance bump early in the season just because of her, but if there’s no improvement, those folks will go away.
We have a lot of raw talent, and even with this addition, still a lot of really young players. I think Lindsay absolutely makes this a better team, but I think it’ll still take some time for them to gel.
Folks have been speculating on this exact trade for weeks. Personally, I could not believe that either team would actually agree to it. But here we are. I’m optimistic. 🙂 I think there may still be one more big move once free agency opens up on Jan 15.
I’ve been really pleased and amused to see folks that I didn’t know knew or cared that much about the Lynx or the WNBA have been weighing in on this on Twitter all day.
Aaron, I’m with ya. Was always a Whalen fan but have not been to a pro game. Side note – let’s talk geek soon.
Erica, wow. Ask and you shall receive. Thank you for your input! I remember you saying something regarding there was no way the Lynx could have got Whalen right off the bat and I admittedly didn’t understand why. I had no idea that this trade was even in the talks either. It’s exciting!
For attendance, maybe it’s a situation similar to the T-Wolves? I haven’t gone to any of their games yet this season, most likely because they aren’t winning a whole lot. I feel guilty now. 🙂
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my God, i thought you were going to chip in with some decisive insght at the end there, not leave it with ‘we leave it to you to decide’.
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