Wolves Fans Come Out In Droves For Scrimmage
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The line to watch a Minnesota Timberwolves summer scrimmage stretched for blocks from Target Center through the Skyway in downtown Minneapolis Wednesday.
"We've got a good, young core of players so I'm excited to see what we've got," fan Matt Ostby said.
Last month's picks of Tyus Jones and Karl-Anthony Towns, and the return of Rookie of the Year Andrew Wiggins, had Timberwolves thinking basketball before the Major League All-Star game has even been played.
"We made a day of it," fan Ross Tollefson said. "We went to the Twins game, went out for dinner and then here to see the Timberwolves."
D.J. Jackson and Lyrik Williams were the first two in line, getting there three hours before tip-off.
"We work down here so we were like shoot, 'I'm just going to stand in line,'" Williams said.
And the wait was worth it.
"This is absolutely amazing," fan Stephanie Menke said. "I can't believe how packed it is."
Wolves fan Philip Gracia echoed that sentiment.
"It's amazing. We were here last year and I can think of maybe five times there were this many people here last year," Gracia said.
There were more than 15,000 fans at Target Center in all, and they got to watch the young and promising Wolves put on a show.
For Gracia, it's just the beginning. He is not waiting for the season to start – he is following the Wolves all summer long.
"We are actually going out to Las Vegas to watch the summer league tomorrow, so we are just getting a preview," Garcia said.
The Wolves begin summer league play on Friday against the Los Angeles Lakers in Las Vegas.
They have seen an 85-percent season ticket renewal so far, and they say the biggest boost may be yet to come.
That happens in August when the NBA releases the schedule for the coming year.
