FanHouse

FanHouse is posting the top five current athletes for America's top 25 cities with the following criteria: 1) Who would a Twin Cities fan say is his/her favorite athlete? 2) Would the player's name (or face) be familiar to locals who don't follow sports?

Find your city's top five: ATL | BOS | CHA | CHI | CIN | CLE | DAL | DC | DEN | DET | HOU | IND | LA | MIA | MIL | MIN | NO | NY | SF | PHI | PHO | PIT | SD | SEA | STL

I had to work to get a Vikings player on this list, even though the Purple are clearly still No. 1 among the diehards here (despite gains made recently by the Twins). It should tell you something about the franchise's recent turn that A) It was a struggle and B) The player has yet to play a down yet. With that said, it's a pretty solid top five when you can't even find room for a defending league MVP or a hockey player in a puck-loving state.

5. Adrian Peterson -- Instantly became the Vikings' most recognizable player when the RB was drafted No. 7 overall. People here are so in love with his potential that it's ridiculous. But it's probably wise to let the fans salivate for now. He's a legitimate reason to be excited about the offense; that didn't exist last year.

4. Johan Santana -- This is where it gets tricky. The Twins are stacked with top-end players. Three of them made this list. Missing the cut is 2006 AL MVP Justin Morneau (though if you read the New York papers, you might think Derek Jeter won). As Chris Rock once apparently said at a New York comedy club, according to a reliable source, "Exactly. Who the (bleep) is Justin Morneau." He's just not big enough outside of Minnesota and Canada. Santana, a two-time Cy Young award winner, has nationwide credibility. Even if folks here take him for granted sometimes and pile on a little when he starts slow, they ultimately can't get enough Johan.
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3. Joe Mauer -- He is jokingly referred to as Baby Jesus in these parts. He grew up in St. Paul. The ladies seem to like him (including former Miss USA Chelsea Cooley at one point). He won a batting title. And even though Mauer didn't have the same impact Morneau had last year, he is better-known on a larger scale and loved by almost all here.

2. Kevin Garnett -- Quick! Put this list out before KG gets traded. The fans here seem to be split on the Big Ticket's future. Close to half could never imagine him leaving. Close to half want him traded for his own sake so he might win a championship someday. That's pretty good love for a player. (Oh, and there is a crazy five percent that think he's the problem. While he does have some inconsistencies and fourth-quarter disappearances on his resume, Garnett is about 250th on a list of the Wolves' downfalls).

1. Torii Hunter -- Another tough call. But Hunter is the best talker on the team and has raised his national profile significantly in recent years. Another barometer: I've been to a handful of Yankees/Twins games, both as a media member and a casual fan, both in the regular season and the playoffs, and the one guy Yankees fans always fear, admire, covet and know is Hunter. Twins fans might grimace sometimes at his bad at bats (which are fewer and further between this year), but overall he is still the face and voice of the most successful franchise this area has had over the past five years.

Honorable Mentions: Justin Morneau ... Marian Gaborik ... Matt Birk ... and in terms of just pure fan love: Derek Boogaard (Wild), Boof Bonser (Twins) and any University of Minnesota hockey player who either overachieves or doesn't turn pro when he has the chance.

Editor's Note: Michael Rand writes for the Star Tribune and blogs at Randball, where he actually interviewed the dude from C+C Music Factory. He also lives in Minnesota, which, for the purposes of this post, gives him "cred." We thank him for his contribution to FanHouse.