Enthusiasms — What to look forward to 10-25-24
Welcome to Enthusiasms. Your reminder to always be looking forward to something. Pulltab Sports Editor-In-Chief, John King, points you in the right direction.
GOPHER HOCKEY AT THE X
If you’re one of the many folks in the State of Hockey pining away for a little college hockey at the X—reminiscent of the old WCHA Final 5 days, you’ll have your chance this Saturday when the U of M Golden Gophers take on St. Thomas on West 7th. The series was unexpectedly close last year, with Jimmy Snuggerud bailing the maroon and gold out after a lot of fan-friendly fire wagon hockey.
If you’ve yet to see Minnesota play this year, as a Golden Gopher fan, the early returns of the season have been favorable. Head Coach Bob Motzko seems to have the boys locked in early, and a 3rd trip to the Frozen Four in four years seems possible. Which makes sense because if you drink enough seltzers and look closely at the Saint Louis arch, it does look a lot like a big “M.”
This year’s Gopher squad is loaded with NHL talent, with over a dozen NHL draft picks on the roster, the most in college hockey, and a powerplay filled with first-rounders. The blueline is experienced and has size. And the forward group includes the NHL ready shot of “Top” Jimmy Snuggerud and the top college transfer from this season, UConn’s Matthew Wood, who will give you Thomas Vanek/Blake Wheeler feels, as well as plenty of other studs.
What seems to be different about this year’s Gopher team is that they’re a true team. They can get scoring from anywhere; it remains to be seen if the goaltending is any good because the Gophers are outshooting people consistently from 50 to 20. A good problem to have, for now.
WYATT FLORES VISITS FIRST AVENUE
Sad boy country has been dominating the streams for a while now, led by the King himself, Zach Bryan. What is sad boy country? Well, if you’ve found yourself happily singing along to Zach Bryan lyrics like “the kids are in town for a funeral” on “Pink Skies,” that fits the brief.
Oklahoma gave us Mr. Bryan from Oologah, and they also gave us Wyatt Flores from Stillwater (not that Stillwater). Pulltab Sports has been a fan of Flores for a while now because he’s quite a songwriter and has some pretty magnificent flow. To use a hip-hop metaphor, if Zach Bryan is Doctor Dre, Wyatt Flores would be his Snoop Dog.
If you like the modern version of Outlaw Country with Sturgill Simpson, Chris Stapleton and Tyler Childers, you’re going to love Wyatt Flores.
Flores’ lyrics do run a little darker. The Day of the Dead artwork you see on his album covers runs headlong into his lyrics, with death and mortality a constant throughout. Flores has dealt with mental health issues, and the day-to-day battle is all over his albums, not unlike how Jelly Roll has leaned into speaking his truth instead of the garden variety red dirt, six pack, pickup truck, and dogs speak of country music on the radio.
Flores just released a new album, Welcome to the Plains, and is known for being an excellent live performer. Tickets are sold out for the 10/29 show at First Avenue, but you can find them for about $75 a piece on the secondary market. And while that may seem steep, combine standout tracks like “Life Lessons”, “Please Don’t Go”, and “Losing Sleep” with Flores’ live rep, and you’ll find these tickets are worth every penny.
FACE OFF NHL DOCUMENTARY ON PRIME
If you like sports docuseries, there are about 9 million to choose from these days. A universe that began with HBO’s 24/7 with the NHL prominently featured has grown to include the Hard Knocks, Quarterback, and Receiver franchises as well as the new Netflix NBA one, Starting 5.
Even if you’ve seen a super-served sports docuseries and are experiencing some documentary fatigue, we highly recommend Faceoff. Why? Because it’s radically different for one reason: ACCESS. The access to the players during the most heightened time of year, last year’s Stanley Cup playoffs, is unprecedented. So much so that many teams asked for certain scenes to be removed from the final product, and Amazon was like, “Ahh, no.”
Never before have we been riding along with a team’s star players as they drive to an elimination game or sitting in the locker room after a team loses Game 7 of the Cup Final! Even if, like most Minnesotans, you’ve watched thousands of hockey games in your lifetime, you must watch Faceoff. It’s that different.
If you’re pressed for time, you can skip Episode 4, which focuses on a sleepy Quinn Hughes, odd Jacob Trouba, and a not-even-playing Gabriel Landeskog. Beyond that one dip of an episode, the rest of Faceoff is brilliant. Especially the last two episodes, which show us the dueling archetypes of the weight of the world on his shoulders, Connor McDavid, and party on wheels Matthew Tkachuk (and his family). Nowhere is this contrast more apparent than McDavid’s presser before the Cup Final, where he says, “I just want the madness to be over,” right alongside a clip of Tkachuk floating in his swimming pool, who describes the playoffs as being “like Christmas morning.” In the end, you’ll appreciate both perspectives, as McDavid’s locker-room meltdowns, especially after Game 7, as the simple phrase “It’s just so hard” hangs in the air, are truly heartbreaking.
Perhaps most importantly, Prime’s Faceoff will remove the bad taste in your mouth from the Nic Cage and John Travolta 1997 film of the same title.
If you don’t have time for another sports docuseries, at least watch enough to catch these 3 moments:
Matthew’s dad, Keith “Walt” Tkachuk bursting into tears after the Panthers win as his mother screams, “He did it!”
McDavid’s passion and heartbreak as he ends up one game short.
Matthew Tkachuk’s torn v-neck deserves a docuseries of its own. This bad boy had to cost $1,000 to look as damaged as it is. Legend.
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