The Twins had a monopoly on the Twin Cities sports scene earlier in the week, and took advantage by winning a pair of tense, low-scoring games against the Toronto Blue Jays.
This was extremely notable for ending the Twins' Western Hemisphere record of losing 18 consecutive playoff contests, and allowing them to advance in baseball's postseason for the first time since winning a Division Series with Oakland in 2002.
The pumped-up sellout crowds vs. Toronto so thrilled the Twins' marketers they decided to hold Saturday and Sunday "watch parties" for the first two games of the best-of-five division series with the Houston Astros.
This was a considerable upgrade in competition, not only facing the reigning World Series champion Astros on the road, but also taking on the great sports monster: football.
Combined, there have been few October football weekends to top this in the Twin Cities, with No. 2-rated Michigan taking on the Gophers with an evening kickoff Saturday, and defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City in the Zygidome for a 3:25 p.m. kickoff Sunday.
Plus, the possibility Taylor Swift, Queen of Swiftie Nation, could be here Sunday to watch her friend Travis Kelce with the Chiefs.
Considering these mighty distractions, the number of fans that showed up at Target Field was impressive. There was no charge to attend, but those interested were asked to register at Twins.com/watchparty.
The Twins said 6,000 people had done so, and it appeared a minimum of 80 percent actually showed up. They were directed to the mezzanine level and filled the Legends Club portion of the seats, and then some.