Bornhoft: PJ Fleck Etches Himself Into Minnesota Sports Lore

MINNEAPOLIS — In 2016, the Tracy Claeys-led Minnesota Gophers won nine games and went 5-and-4 in the Big 10. The season was capped off with an impressive win against Mike Leach and the Washington State Cougars in the Holiday Bowl.

The season was, without a doubt, a success. It was also fairly forgettable, outside of the embarrassing moments that came off the field.

That year, Minnesota beat decent to mediocre teams, including Maryland, Rutgers, Illinois, and Purdue. I and other fans froze in the stands during the Nov. 19 game at TCF Bank Stadium, but getting the win over Northwestern was well worth it.

But the Gophers lost to their biggest rivals that year, Iowa and Wisconsin.

I can’t speak for other fans and alumni. But there’s no way I would trade the current 2018 season (6-6, with a bottom-tier bowl game ahead) for another season like 2016.

Why? It’s simple, really. It’s because of the Axe. The longest drought in the long history of the Gopher-Badger rivalry is finally over.

It’s because we have Badger-loving friends, neighbors, relatives, and coworkers. And for at least 365 days, we at long last have Paul Bunyan’s Axe, and they don’t.

At our very core, college football fans are tribal, and proudly so.

Most teams don’t even have a shot at making it to the national championship game, even before the season starts. So beating your rivals takes on a heightened priority. Winning the border battles can be just as important as having a good record.

Look at Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh. In his four years with the Wolverines, he’s finished with 10 wins, three different times. Despite those successful seasons, fans and media are calling for his dismissal after losing to Ohio State yet again.

That’s why, regardless of what happens in the Gophers’ upcoming bowl game or in the seasons to come, head coach P.J. Fleck has etched his name in Minnesota sports lore. That may sound ridiculous after only winning six games this season, but it’s no less true.

On the day of Minnesota’s 2018 spring game, I asked fans for their perspective on the team. One fan, Lou, told me he's been cheering for the Gophers since 1961, when he first enrolled at the university.

"I have a chronic lung disease and I think I know what caused it; 14 straight losses to the Badgers," he joked.

Here’s hoping Saturday’s win was a cure.

It may not be fair, but years from now, most Gopher fans won’t remember Tracy Claeys’ bringing the Holiday Bowl trophy to Minnesota. They won’t remember making it to the 2015 Citrus Bowl under Jerry Kill.

They will, however, remember Fleck ending the exasperating losing streak against the Wisconsin Badgers in his second year. It doesn’t matter that Wisconsin had a “down year” in 2018. Obviously, so did we, considering the awful losses against Nebraska and Illinois.

For seasons, bowl games and decent wins for Minnesota came and went, but the Axe stayed in Madison. I couldn’t have been the only Gopher fan worried that it was never coming back.

But somehow, during an otherwise bleak season, it did.

Does the win over the Badgers guarantee anything for next season? No, not at all, as Fleck himself has noted since the win. The charismatic coach will have to prove himself through more on-field victories.

But for me, a university alum and Minnesota native, the 37-15 drubbing of the Badgers Saturday will go down as a Top-5 Minnesota sports memory.

William Bornhoft is Patch's Minnesota editor. Reach him at William.Bornhoft@Patch.com

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Photo: Head coach P.J. Fleck of the Minnesota Golden Gophers (center) celebrates with his team after beating the Wisconsin Badgers 37-15 at Camp Randall Stadium on November 24, 2018 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)