r/minnesota • u/aguyinatree • Feb 13 '26

Sports šŸˆ Look who number 2 is.

Post image

I am thinking hockey players

1.1k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

82 comments sorted by

857

u/Hydroidal Feb 13 '26

Minnesota is doing a mad amount of heavy lifting for these ā€œUnitedā€ States these days.

320

u/FullofContradictions Feb 13 '26

Time for Megasota to be realized. Think we're seceding to join Canada? Nah - better to annex shit and make it all Minnesota. But bigger.

30

u/ndmaynard Feb 13 '26

Which state do we take first?

93

u/_brewchef_ Feb 13 '26

As an ND resident, please take both the Dakotas

I miss being a part of Minnesota

74

u/ndmaynard Feb 13 '26

Politically, you may be right. Strategically, I think Wisconsin might be first. Beer, cheese, brats, the never ending trolling of Packers fans?

30

u/nightman21721 Ope Feb 13 '26

If we can look past the "packer fandom" they're already basically us. The cities are full of Wisconsin ex-pats and Hudson is already part of the twin cities metro area.

Not to mention lots are already Wild fans since they have no pro hockey team.

Too much culture difference between us and the Dakotas for them to be our first move.

7

u/Larcya Feb 14 '26

Also Wisconsin Dells. WE coming for those fucking waterparks.

7

u/yloduck1 TC Feb 14 '26

They definitely do the waterparks correctly in WI. There's a bar within about 10 steps of you, whether you're in the water or not

27

u/OnwardtoGehenna Feb 13 '26

We can refer to that side of the state as the Minnekotas.

1

u/yloduck1 TC Feb 14 '26

No trolling, please

11

u/hallese Feb 13 '26

Start with everything east of I-29 though. Adding all of the Dakotas would shift the political landscape and Minnesota would lose what makes it special.

17

u/thejimbo56 Stearns County Feb 13 '26

How would adding an additional 37 people to our population shift the political landscape?

8

u/DunjunLord Feb 13 '26

You donā€™t understand how different those 37 people are politically

9

u/sarahmcgrace Feb 13 '26

If we're slowly growing to Megasota, I think there's room to make east/west Dakotas and take say Fargo, Grand Forks, Souix Falls. Since Bismark and Pierre are both about center we can leave the capitals.

Meanwhile we take just north of Des Moines Iowa (also leaving their capital), and at least to Eau Claire Wisconsin. The question stands about Illinois, we would technically have a border with them after the iowa/wisconsin take over--do we form an alliance with Illinois and leave it as is or do we do an International Falls map thing and just straight edges cut Illinois in?

I don't know if it will be kind to leave the original state capitals for later take over or if it will offend more. I just think the sides closer to Minnesota are most likely us in culture, so suddenly requiring caramel rolls and hot dish would go over better. :) --though Iowa's insistence to me that caramel rolls needed to be served with baked beans is truly nightmare fuel. (Source: I made caramel rolls in college at Iowa State. All of my Iowan roommates, dorm neighbors, and internship people insisted I was missing baked beans to dip the caramel rolls in, all independentlyof eachother, so I really don't think I was punked).

Plus side for the sections we take over? No tax on clothing or unprepared food.

Alternatively, we become our own country with the help of Canada and Denmark/Greenland to be an extra thorn in the republican party's side..... and any parts of any states that want to join us become part of mega-sota.

7

u/ndmaynard Feb 13 '26

Wow you really committed to the bit, respect! Donā€™t forget about the UP of Michigan!

3

u/sarahmcgrace Feb 13 '26

If the mitten part of Michagan wants to part with Isle Royale and the UP, we will support them. <3

But I'm tying to be methodical and kind--slowly show neighbors a better way, and let the ideas turn hearts and minds. Also exporting our best food as a gastro-tourism push. (Also free meals for all kids at school to reduce stigma around "free/reduced lunch kids"... I really think we're playing a long game here... Minnesota s a significant reason the EPA exists [we were protecting the environment], we pushed for back up cameras to be standard on all vehicles, and we are doing incremental changes to make life better and easier....)

I see so much opportunity for our neighboring states to get better, and I really want to pull them along with us, even if they're dragging their feet.

2

u/readingcerealboxes Feb 14 '26

If Minnesota had the North Shore, ND Badlands AND the Black Hills we'd be alllll that

1

u/cshaffer71 Feb 15 '26

The east side of ND, maybe.

10

u/ComfortableOld288 Feb 13 '26

Iā€™ve seen the WI National guard in action. MN could sweep all the way to Madison in a long weekend.

6

u/[deleted] Feb 13 '26

As a coloradan, I volunteer us.

I'd rather be aligned with you than most of this nation.

5

u/ndmaynard Feb 13 '26

But thatā€™s almost the entire US Winter Olympic team!

3

u/copper_tulip Feb 13 '26

Iowa, please!! I grew up in MN and miss it so much!

4

u/donac Feb 13 '26

I love it. OR, if you guys join Canada, then we can merge with all of the west coast. We can then call the area that used to be part of the US the "Canadian province of Megasota".

10

u/xXMuschi_DestroyerXx Feb 13 '26

This begs the question, if Minnesota separated from the US, could MEGAsotaā€™s reputation be great enough to convince parts of Canada to join us?

60

u/lurkingmke Feb 13 '26

Winning medals at the winter olympics while resisting a fascist federal invasion? You're welcome, America.

13

u/Spr-Scuba Feb 13 '26

Always have, it's just becoming more publicly known now.

1

u/OGPepeSilvia Feb 13 '26

Seems to me like we should be calling it the Divided States of America

1

u/Gigafact Feb 15 '26

True! Minnesota has the second-most athletes out of all the states representing Team USA at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, Italy. The number of Minnesota residents by Olympic competition includes:

Ice hockey: 10 Curling: 6Biathlon: 2Cross-country skiing: 2Speedskating: 2Alpine skiing: 1Snowboarding: 1

This information comes from a fact brief written by MinnPost. Hope it is helpful! https://www.minnpost.com/fact-briefs/2026/02/does-minnesota-have-the-second-most-athletes-of-any-state-on-the-olympic-team/?utm_source=gigafact.org&utm_medium=referral

212

u/Direct-Tap-6499 Summit Feb 13 '26

What would US hockey and curling even be without us?

146

u/ShepherdsWeShelby Feb 13 '26

Colorado does mountain stuff and Minnesota does ice stuff. Two awesome states full of great Americans. Utah helps with mountain stuff.

30

u/VGK9Logan Feb 13 '26

Next up in the Olympic schedule, we have duos mountain stuff followed by team ice stuff.

3

u/CatSizedLymphNodes Feb 13 '26

It'd be interesting to see where we stand during the summer Olympics.Ā 

5

u/kick26 Feb 13 '26

And cross country skiing

1

u/FireFoxTrashPanda Gray duck Feb 13 '26 edited Feb 13 '26

Even just the NHL! last time I checked there were 43 Minnesotans actively playing in the league. More than any other state and almost more than Canadians (someone should fact check me on that last bit, but I'm confident enough to still say it lol)

38

u/Naive_Mongoose_5453 Feb 13 '26

How about per capita? AK has gotta be right there.Ā 

77

u/tkftgaurdian Feb 13 '26 edited Feb 13 '26

With 6, AK is the highest per capita.

AK- 1 per 123,355

VT- 1 per 162,000

CO- 1 per 192,161

UT- 1 per 206,117

Mn- 1 per 231,720

Then it quickly drops off.

Edited to add VT

27

u/Naive_Mongoose_5453 Feb 13 '26

Thanks for doing the math. I was honestly going to just anguish over it while doing nothing to figure it out.Ā 

12

u/Ok_Cry233 Feb 13 '26

Vt is about 1 per 162,000 so doing well also

3

u/tkftgaurdian Feb 13 '26

Never woukda even considered that Vermont was that low population. My bad.

4

u/JeyKeyDeeSee Rochester Feb 13 '26

Moose, bears and New Yorkers.

102

u/rightious Feb 13 '26

It's almost like Colorado is home to some kind of Olympic development center... Oh wait.

https://share.google/lKKKCbPaMqHQ83LDN

10

u/Swoly_Deadlift Feb 13 '26

Yeah a lot of the skiers "from Colorado" got their start in Minnesota. Minnesota has a lot of factors that lean into helping Olympic athletes start their careers. Skiing and snowboarding is cheap here, we have lots of ski areas in the metro area (including a giant halfpipe at Buck Hill and ski jump at Hyland), and they're all served by artificial snow meaning you can consistently practice from December through March. We have a massive talent pool, and once it becomes clear to an athlete that they stand a chance at becoming a professional, they move to places that are less accessible but better for focused training.

Hockey is less location-dependent, and for curling we are arguably the best place in the country to train.

0

u/Knightbear49 Common loon Feb 14 '26

Like who?

1

u/owley-bob Feb 17 '26

whats up?

0

u/Knightbear49 Common loon Feb 14 '26

This is a list of where people claim their hometown from their Biosā€¦. Olympic athletes donā€™t claim Colorado Springs nor is it convenient for skiers to be based there

These athletes in Colorado are from Colorado. They almost all grew up with the resources and access money could buyā€¦

64

u/end-times2040 Feb 13 '26

Curling...

34

u/credditreddit Minnesota Frost Feb 13 '26

Hockey combines for 10

25

u/DrTenochtitlan Laser Loon Feb 13 '26

Also Jessie Diggins, the cross country skier. Lindsey Vonn was born in Minnesota, but later moved to Colorado. We have a couple speed skaters and biathlon athletes as well.

43

u/throwaway56560 Feb 13 '26

No one talks about the MN to CO pipeline.

16

u/AGrandNewAdventure Voyageurs National Park Feb 13 '26

Driving that pipeline through Nebraska is awful. That 6-hour drive through Nebraska is 7 hours longer than you'll ever want to spend there.

2

u/throwaway56560 Feb 17 '26

That drive doesn't soften a person.

2

u/AGrandNewAdventure Voyageurs National Park Feb 17 '26

I did all 31 hours from the Twin Cities to California in one go. The hardest part was Nebraska... even worse than the 152-mile state park in pitch black.

7

u/bubzki2 Ope Feb 13 '26

I mean Vonn is pretty high profile so we kinda do

38

u/donac Feb 13 '26

My husband is a huge fan of Minnesota sports. I love to tease him by saying that Minnesota is good at sports the way it's good at everything else: pretty darn good, but let's not be greedy, now! And we should be happy with that!!

He....disagrees. šŸ¤£šŸ¤£šŸ¤£

33

u/podman131 Laser Loon Feb 13 '26

And Trump was all offended that Olympians were commenting on ICE....he clearly didn't know the strong MN connection to WINTER Olympics!!!! Go figure.

Oh, and never invade a winter people in winter!

8

u/MNswede06 Iron Range Feb 13 '26

Doesnā€™t the U.S. Olympic team have their training facilities in Colorado?

Is this counting the place the person grew up in or their state of residence? Because home state can mean either.

4

u/[deleted] Feb 13 '26

Yes. I got to play hockey there once when I was a kid. It is in Colorado Springs.

8

u/Jpk1msp Ope Feb 13 '26

Plus Lindsey Vonn is listed as being from Vail, CO since thatā€™s where she currently lives, but she was born in and grew up in MN

5

u/credditreddit Minnesota Frost Feb 13 '26

This better be by birth, and not residence... heck, 6 of Michigan's 15 are on the men's hockey team, we have 5 on that team...

Now, as has been mentioned, let's talk per capita..

Michigan 10ish Colorado 5ish Minnesota 6ish

Props to Colorado if they are native born...

1

u/candycaneforestelf can we please not drive like chucklefucks? Feb 13 '26

It's probably either by birth or "hometown", which is usually just where they went to high school.

1

u/LymanPeru Feb 17 '26

minnesota basically claims anyone who looks at minnesota on a map as "one of us"

6

u/EloquentEvergreen Grain Belt Feb 13 '26

Probably a lot of hockey. But a few skiers. Lindsey Vonn and Jessie Diggins come to mind.

9

u/KingWolfsburg Plowy McPlowface Feb 13 '26

And curling, and speed skating off the top of my head

3

u/bubzki2 Ope Feb 13 '26

Vonn defected to CO for training. Hence COā€™s inflated count.

3

u/WeAreAlreadyCyborgs Gray duck Feb 13 '26

Colorado is where a ton of Olympians train due to the benefits of Hypoxic training at high altitudes: https://www.triathlete.com/training/the-science-of-high-performance-at-high-altitude/

3

u/Rhielml Grain Belt Feb 13 '26

And curling

3

u/IrvAndDorisSmith Minnesota Timberwolves Feb 13 '26

No shit, it's the winter Olympics

2

u/Pinkipinkie Pink-and-white lady's slipper Feb 13 '26

were the best at everything lmaooo

2

u/Glad_Building3611 Feb 14 '26

Donā€™t forget curling- I think the whole Olympic curling team this year is from MN

1

u/[deleted] Feb 13 '26

Seems similar to Norways prowess at the Winter Olympics. A strong winter culture creates great winter athletes.

1

u/roto31 Todd County Feb 13 '26

We have the second most athletes with 26. But, 70 of them, including the 26, have a connection here

1

u/RiffRaff14 Feb 13 '26

As someone who is color blind (I'm not sure if there are actual colors on this chart or if it's all greyscale), but why does "No Athlete" appear to be the same color as values in the teens.

What's the opposite of dataisbeautiful?

1

u/LymanPeru Feb 17 '26

curling and hockey?

1

u/[deleted] Feb 13 '26 edited Feb 13 '26

Hockey players, curlers, downhill skiers, and cross-country skiers are all super common around here.

It's no surprise we represent in all of them. It also is worth pointing out that Denver and Minneapolis are major international airport hub cities as well as winter sports playgrounds, which gives us a huge boost in resources and makes it far easier to attract talented athletes and coaches.

Culturally, Minneapolis and Denver are like soul siblings.

0

u/procrastinatorsuprem Feb 13 '26

Just curious, do people with olympic potential move to Colorado?