I had never traveled beyond the states that border Minnesota until 1968, when I joined the VISTA program and flew to Baltimore for training. It was there I met Joe Isherwood, a native New Yorker, and Jets/Mets fan. I visited Joe in the summer of 1969 and Broadway Joe Namath led the Jets to a Super Bowl victory and the Amazin’ Mets won the World Series.
In 1979 I moved back to Pittsburgh to attend graduate school. In 1979 the Steelers won the Super Bowl and the Pirates won the World Series.
Then, we moved to Michigan 1989. Guess what? The Pistons were NBA champions in that year, and the University of Michigan men’s basketball team won the NCAA championship, beating Seaton Hall.
In 1999, we moved to Des Moines. The following year, the Des Moines Dragons won the International Basketball Association championship. Former Iowa Barnstormers quarterback Kurt Warner also led the St. Louis Rams to victory in Super Bowl XXXIV—his only championship in three Super Bowl appearances.
Fast forward to 2019. We moved to Washington DC. That year the WNBA Mystics won the WNBA championship, and the Nationals won the World Series.
What if the Lynx win the WNBA championship this year? True, this isn’t a year that ends in a 9. But invert the 6 in 2026, and you have a 9. So will the Vikings win the Super Bowl? Will the Gophers be national champions? It could happen.
