Pop culture time capsule: How the Flip Saunders era with the Timberwolves reminds us of Soundgarden
Posted on November 12th, 2008 – 11:55 AMBy Michael Rand
This is the latest installment of Pop Culture Time Capsule, during which we take two totally different subjects — one from the world of music, movies, etc., and one from sports — and attempt to link them. Today’s subjects: the Flip Saunders era with the Timberwolves and Soundgarden.
1. Hindsight: Soundgarden was never your favorite band, and Flip was never the best coach of the best team. But when you look back on it, you get the same feeling: hey, they were pretty good. Do you realize the Wolves made the playoffs eight consecutive years? Yeah, they lost in the first round the first seven times, but just getting there looks so much better in retrospect. They reached an apex that was very good but not great (2003-04). Likewise, you look back at Soundgarden’s catalog: Black Hole Sun, Spoonman, Pretty Noose, Outshined, Rusty Cage, etc., and one word comes to mind: solid. The body of work in both cases added up to more than the sum of any individual game, season, song or CD.
2. Humble beginnings: Soundgarden struggled through an early metal influence before finding its niche as a dark but instrumental grunge band. Saunders worked his way up through the ranks, starting his coaching career at Golden Valley Lutheran College.
3. Never feeling cheated: Here’s the big one. Watching Saunders coach, you didn’t always agree with his philosophies, but you never felt like he was cheating you. He tried to wring every point out of every game and get every ounce of possible effort out of every situation. That is something to admire. Soundgarden wrote songs the same way. There were no throwaways. None of them might be in your top 50 songs of all-time, but they all felt like they were constructed with reason, purpose and effort.
4. The breakup: Soundgarden disbanded in 1997 over creative differences that are certain to arise when a band has been together for so long (13 years). Lead singer Chris Cornell wanted to go a softer direction; other band mates wanted to cling to the grunge/guitar roots. Lead guitarist Kim Thayil was quoted as saying, “It was pretty obvious from everybody’s general attitude over the course of the previous half year that there was some dissatisfaction.” That quote could pretty much sum up the 2004-05 Timberwolves season. Kevin McHale wanted the team to get tougher. Cassell and Sprewell were pests. It all fell apart, and Saunders became the scapegoat. Things have been great since then.
5. Post-breakup success that never quite felt right: Saunders went to Detroit and was good but not great with a talented, veteran team. He always seemed out of place with the Pistons. Cornell had solo success and some acclaim with the band Audioslave, where he teamed with veterans from Rage Against The Machine.
6. Reunion? Would make sense in some ways, in both cases, but in the end probably isn’t the right answer.
15 Responses to "Pop culture time capsule: How the Flip Saunders era with the Timberwolves reminds us of Soundgarden"
Michael: would you say, then, that the post-Saunders Wolves Fell On Black Days?
“Lead singer Chris Cornell wanted to go a softer direction; other band mates wanted to cling to the grunge/guitar roots.”
I went on an actual date with a 23 year old the other day. She had her ipod playing in her car and a pop song came on that sounded like Chris Cornell. I said “is this [redacted] Chris Cornell??” She said “yeah, wow, you actually know newer music for a 27 year old.” I said, “he was much better in Soundgarden and Audioslave.” She says, “never heard of them.” Won’t be calling her back anytime soon.
Joker
If Audioslave is outdated I’m glad I’m not single. Did that [redacted] Pink song come up next and stick in your head for the next 4 hours?
Joker, I’m glad to hear you’re now accepting dates with 20 year olds! The High Schoolers were starting to talk.
I have many fond memories of both Flip-era Wolves and Soundgarden (still in my top 10 favorite bands; KG striking the “Jesus Christ Pose” at half-court after hitting a game winner, Gary Trent and Tom Hammonds pushing people around like “Slaves and Bulldozers”.
Even though most pundits gave the Wolves “Zero Chance” of ever winning it all, they did play “Tighter and Tighter” each year. Flip was a proud and stoic coach; more often than not he had “Nothing To Say” and paid “No Attention” to the naysayers.
Things weren’t all good; I can clearly remember Anthony Peeler launching an ill-advised “Overfloater” time and time again. And Rasho Nesterovic seemed to be “Searching With His Good Eye Closed” in the paint most of the time, not to mention Dean Garrett “Drawing Flies” at the end of the bench.
The dissolution of our own dream team came when Sprewell’s need to feed his family caused him to disappear into the “Superunknown”. Alas, the era ended as a “Limo Wreck”, but those years were certainly better than the “New Damage” we’ve been forced to watch in recent years.
I went on an actual date with a 23 year old the other day.
Much preferred to the fictional dates that most of us go on with 23 year olds.
Don’t forget this phase of Chris Cornell’s career
I’m goin’ hungrrryyyyyyy (goin’ hungryeeeaaaaahhhhh)
I was listening to Spoonman as I started reading this post… creepy
Badmotorfinger destroys, to this day.
Too bad Chris Cornell nowdays sounds like he performed throat surgery on himself with a beltsander.
If you’re like me (old), you fondly remember Flower off of Ultramega OK. I’m pretty sure I have this on cassette somewhere.
I’d say more, but Matlock is coming on now.
Stu, I prefer the older stuff up through Badmotorfinger more than their later stuff, which was more or less Chris Cornell Presents the Chris Cornell Show Starring Chris Cornell.
RB will love that I met Chris Cornell’s neice at a Fargo party circa 2002. Turns out she went to NDSU and was from Montana. Six degrees is always more memorable in real life than playing the board game.
JakeJustin, is the regular church gym game still happening this winter? It turns out that I’m going to have to be in the cities on a few different Monday nights in Dec. Perhaps we could renew an old rivalry…
“Six degrees is always more memorable in real life than playing the board game.”
Aint that the truth.
Rocket–no Monday hoops this year. The church that we were playing at finally realized that there were 25 dudes throwing their bodies around in a reckless, and more importantly, uninsured fashion. One of the guys was looking into a cheap group insurance plan but I doubt anything will come of it. I’ve been playing at some open gyms up in the northern burbs to keep the blood pumping.
But as far as renewing a rivalry goes, are you implying that our rivalry ceased to exist? For your sake, I hope you still wake up every day knowing that an even fatter, sweatier and far more hirsute power forward is still walking the earth.
