Wild Blog: Take In 'The Mighty Ducks' At Target Field Saturday
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Minnesota is the "State of Hockey." Pretty much every sports fan in the state has some connection to ice hockey.
Most of us played pond hockey in some form as kids and dreamed of playing youth hockey, whether it was as Pee Wee's, Bantams, Squirts or at the high school level. Some are fortunate enough to play at a high level in high school and take it to college with them.
And if you had any interest in the game as a kid, you've seen the movie "The Mighty Ducks." It's a classic sports movie, filmed right in the heart of the Twin Cities. With that in mind, the Minneapolis Downtown Council is hosting a hockey event Saturday for hockey fans and families, especially if you can't make it to the Minnesota Wild game Saturday night.
A showing of "The Mighty Ducks" will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday at Target Field Station big screen, which is located outside Gate 6 at Target Field at the end of the Metro Transit light rail's Green and Blue lines.
We all remember coach Gordon Bombay, who relived his glory days as a youth hockey player in the movie, leading a group that was as dysfunctional as it was disorganized to an improbable state championship over the hated "Hawks" as they formed the team from District 5 became the "Mighty Ducks." If you've seen the movie (who hasn't in Minnesota?!), you remember the "Quack, Quack" chants and the team using the "Flying V" to score a big goal. Emilio Estevez was fantastic in the film.
Hockey fans are encouraged to head to the Target Field Station to see the movie, and you're welcome to bring chairs, a blanket and your friends for one of the great Minnesota sports movies. The showing of the movie is leading up to the Minnesota Wild game against the Anaheim Ducks at 5 p.m. at Xcel Energy Center.
There will be free activities available at the event, including bubble hockey and face painting. Food and beverages will also be available for purchase, and WCCO's "More Than Names" campaign will be on hand so you can sign our flag to honor a military service member.
To complete the hockey hat trick, you can head to Mariucci Arena to watch the University of Minnesota hockey team take on Northeastern. The Gophers are off to a tough start with three losses, but it's still very early in the season and there is plenty of time to turn things around.
It should be a fun and family-friendly day to watch some hockey at Target Field. And any "The Mighty Ducks" fan will remember that scenes from the movie were filmed in the downtown Minneapolis skyway, Gaviidae Common, the IDS Center and Parade Ice Garden.
For more information on Saturday's event, follow the Minneapolis Downtown Council on Twitter via their handle @MplsDowntown as well as their Facebook account. They will also be releasing information this week through the hashtags #MightyDucks and #DowntownMpls.
