As the Twins play their final games in the Metrodome, a lot of us in the WCCO newsroom have so many memories of highlights from covering the two World Series won by the Minnesota Twins.
One of my favorite "scoops" happened outside the Dome on Game 6 of the 1991 World Series. I had lobbied hard with our managers for photojournalist Nancy Soo Hoo and me not to be assigned to a specific story that night and be allowed to "roam" until we found something big.
We soon struck gold. We were the only news crew waiting, with our camera rolling, at a VIP entrance to the Dome when actress Jane Fonda and her then-husband, Atlanta Braves owner Ted Turner, showed up.
At the time, there had been criticism and even protests by Native Americans about the Braves fans doing a "tomahawk chop" to show their support for the team.
In the middle of the controversy, Jane Fonda said she would stop doing the "chop" but was then seen doing what some people thought was "the chop" in support of the Braves. As she and Turner entered the Dome, I asked Fonda about the "chop." She agreed to demonstrate for me, on camera, her hand motion supporting the team, insisting it was not a chop.
Fonda described it as more of a "patty cake" motion. I also asked her if she planned to ask her husband to consider changing the name of the team since many Native American protesters were also offended by it. She basically said it was up to Ted what he called his team. (Eighteen years later, Fonda and Turner have moved on with their lives and the Atlanta team is still called the Braves.)
Fonda's hand demonstration and interview got picked up nationally. It was fun looking at the video today (which I hadn't viewed in about 18 years!). I was kind of surprised to see me sort of push Turner out of the way to get to his wife! You can check it out here.
