The thrill of possible victory and the agony of defeat were expressed by Garet Grant and Elijah Heggerness as they watched the Timberwolves play the Dallas Mavericks in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals on TV at HeadFlyer Brewery, which was packed with fans. (Davis Steen)
Life on the corner of Johnson and 29th Ave. NE has been a little louder over the past few months.
“We hear a car horn honking about every five minutes,” Lauren Thon said as she prepared the red pepper flakes for the day at Parkway Pizza NE. Right outside the restaurant was the infamous “Honk if you love Naz Reid” sign, which Lauren also had on her shirt. (Reid, who plays center for the Wolves, had his photo taken by the sign earlier this year.)
The Timberwolves ended a historic run in the NBA playoffs on May 30. While the games were played in Downtown Minneapolis, Denver or Dallas, it was easy to see the effect it had on the Northeast Minneapolis area.
“I would say on any given game night, we saw a 50% influx,” Nate Larson said. Larson is a co-owner of HeadFlyer Brewing, located at 861 E Hennepin Ave. in Minneapolis. “Game 7, the place was packed. We were praying for a win, because one more round means a lot more business for us.”
HeadFlyer Brewing was packed again for Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals between the Timberwolves and the Dallas Mavericks. The series at that point was looking bleak for the Timberwolves; they had lost the first two games.
“There’s a lot of hesitation, you’ve got the holiday. Historically, this is a tough weekend for us and I get it,” Larson said. It was the Sunday before Memorial Day, a day typically not well attended for HeadFlyer and many other Minneapolis establishments. But not this given Sunday. The brewery was packed, not a single table was empty.
The energy was something else, too. People were coming in excited, as if the first two games didn’t matter. Matt Schaefer came from St. Paul. Gary Petermeier, Kristi Arndt and Charlie Ruegemer were seated at a table in front of the TV an hour before the game started.
“It’s just as good as the games. Everyone gets into it,” Arndt, a Timberwolves season ticket holder, said. She was wearing a shirt she had received at an earlier Timberwolves game; they all were. “We love it here.”
The buzz in the brewery grew as the game came closer to starting.
People were using mild expletives that most wouldn’t use in conversation, but “Bring ya ass,” guard Anthony Edwards’ challenge to TV analyst Charles Barkley, filled the brewery. HeadFlyer had even turned part of their warehouse into a special screening area they called “Wolves’ Den” for the game.
“This has happened before, sports bringing the community together. Pro sports just brings all walks of people together,” Michael Rainville said. In a phone interview he talked about what he has experienced both living in Minneapolis and as Ward 3 Council member for the city.
“You cannot deny how much money is being spent in these street bars in Northeast Minneapolis during the games and the mega dollars spent downtown,” Rainville said.
Rainville also joked that the number of calls he regularly gets had gone up, but mostly around people asking for tickets to Timberwolves games. “I’m not a magician, but somehow they think I can get them tickets.”
While residents in Northeast have seen an uptick in the economy and in the honking of cars as they pass, they’ve also seen more politeness and happiness throughout the area.
“Not only are people in the same room, but it’s much more a polite thing,” Rainville said. Kate, a bartender at HeadFlyer, had the same sentiment. “Not only has it been a lot of people, they’ve all been happy.”
One constant over the past five years has been change, especially around socialization. Rainville mentioned COVID and the civil unrest. “The Timberwolves have reinforced that social connection. Put that glue on our social fabric.”
It was hard to deny what Kate and Rainville were saying. Even with the Timberwolves losing, everyone remained in as high of spirits as they could throughout the game at HeadFlyer.
“When a team wins, it’s just something really special. I’m a fan because of the way it draws the community together, whether it’s a brewpub in Northeast Minneapolis or a block party in Downtown Minneapolis,” Rainville said.
And for one brief but fun stint in the NBA playoffs, the people of Northeast Minneapolis followed the words of Anthony Edwards and they “brought their ass.” Even putting the words on their shirts.
The sign in front of Parkway Pizza at 2851 Johnson St. NE caused a lot of honking during the NBA playoffs. Reid had his photo taken by it earlier this year. (Davis Steen)