Hero continues to inspire

Sports Column by FAITH MOLDAN

Bigfork Eagle

One of my childhood heroes died Monday. His death has brought back a flood of memories to me.

Kirby Puckett was not your typical professional athlete. At 5-foot-8 and 220 pounds he gave me, a chubby little girl from small-town, southern Minnesota, hope that it wasn't always the swiftest that came in first and succeeded in acheiving their dreams. When I was growing up my family consistently watched Twins baseball on television and listened to it on the radio when we weren't near a TV set. My grandpa still sometimes listens to games on the radio, even when they are televised. I think it takes him back to his childhood days.

Our home was a slight madhouse during the 1991 World Series. I was seven-years old and had to make sure that my mom was wearing her lucky unicorn earings every gameday. With earings in and the whole state behind them, there was no doubt in my mind that the Twins would win the series and send the Atlanta Braves home ringless.

Game six wore on my young nerves, but Kirby settled them with a walk-off homerun against Braves pitcher Charlie Leibrandt in the 11th inning. The TV broadcaster's, "We'll see you tomorrow night," was almost drowned out by our shouts of joy! Kirby's homerun sent the series into game seven, in which the Twins would win again and be crowned World Series champions for the second time in my young life.

Trips to the Twin Cities to watch the Twins at the Metrodome always put a smile on my face. Hearing public address announcer Bob Casey introduce "Kirbbbbbyyyyyy Puckett" is something I'll never forget. Heck, I even named my pet rabbits after Kirby and some other Twins. The brother of a college friend of mine named his dog after Puckett. As a lifelong Twins fan I've seen the good and the bad, as they've suffered through some horrible seasons.

Kirby wasn't all good either. He and his wife divorced in 2001, the same year he was inducted into the hall of fame in Cooperstown, and he had his share of legal trouble as well. Kirby was also afflicted with glacouma, which forced him to retire in 1996. All these flaws made him more human, almost more likeable. The six-time Gold Glove winner was loyal to his team, spending all 12 years of his major league career with the Twins.

Like all heroes, I'm sure that Kirby changed and inspired many young lives. Maybe his untimely death at the age of 45 will inspire some older people too. I hope all kids find a hero of their own, whether it be an athlete, a teacher, a police officer or parent. This week also conjours up memories of two of my other heroes, my aunt and my grandmother, who passed away on the same day, March 10, two years apart. I know others have lost loved ones, heroes, lately and during this time of year. Although they're gone, their memories will never fade.

Though the Twins have not made it to a World Series since 1991, I remain faithful to them just as Kirby did. I somewhat forced my roommate freshman year to watch the Twins and Timberwolves with me, and made one unfortunate exchange student do the same the next year in our hall's lounge area.

People may say I'm dumb for for following a team like this, but there's something that they just don't understand. There's a connection between me and these grown men that get paid millions of dollars to play a game.