THE BALL SAILED off Gene Larkin's bat and over the Atlanta Braves' drawn-in outfield as teammate Dan Gladden jogged home to score the winning run of the 1991 World Series, the Minnesota Twins' second championship in five seasons.
The notoriously raucous Metrodome, with a crowd of 55,118, erupted.
At that particular moment, there was so much to anticipate in Minnesota sports. The Twins appeared on the verge of a dynasty. The NHL's North Stars were fresh off an appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals. The NBA had recently returned to the market after a 30-year absence, in the form of the expansion Timberwolves.