MINNEAPOLIS — A busy sports Sunday in Minneapolis, a doubleheader for the Twins in Boston and a doubleheader in Minneapolis with the Vikings and Lynx both winning at home.
Shawn Hanson is a fan of both the Vikings and the Lynx.
He said he normally waits until the Vikings game is over before he starts watching the Lynx, but he was excited to see his first Lynx playoff game in person, so he shut the TV off early and started heading downtown.
“We watched until about the third quarter and then we left to drive to Minneapolis. I had the Vikings on the radio while I was driving and my wife and my youngest both had it on their phones so we would hear the score updates before the Lynx game,” Hanson said.
Rarely do the Vikings and Lynx play their games so close together, but with a noon start for the Vikings and a 4 p.m. start for the Lynx, many Minnesota sports fans had to scramble to watch both games.
“I did see a lot of Vikings jerseys at the game last night. I wanted to wear my Vikings shorts over my pants last night so I could show support for both teams at the Lynx game, but my wife said that wouldn’t look good,” Hanson laughed.
Of the two wins on Sunday Lynx fans say they're not surprised by their team.
"You have great players, and then you have great teams, we have a great team filled with great players,” Lynx fan Hayley Fletcher said.
But many Vikings fans are surprised that their team is starting the season 3-0.
At Triple Diamond Sports Cards in Eagan, Kevin Royal said Vikings fans are all-in, buying cards of their favorite players.
“We’re starting to see more people looking for Sam Darnold cards now,” Royal said. "He's pretty hot right now."
Royal himself invested in a Sam Darnold rookie card before the season started.
“His cards were cheap, and I decided to take a chance on it,” Royal said.
He purchased the rookie card for around $400 and he said the most recent sales online show the card is now selling for $650 to $700.
Royal said he wants to hold onto the card for now, because the season is just getting started.
For the Lynx, it's game two on Wednesday, and fans say not even a late tipoff will keep them away from supporting their favorite team.
"It starts at 8:30 at night. I work corporately, so I'm up at like 4 a.m. but it’s nothing a nap can't cure,” Fletcher laughed.
If the Lynx win game two on Wednesday night the team will advance to the next round of the playoffs. However, if the team loses to the Phoenix Mercury on Wednesday a third game will be played on Friday night in Phoenix.