10K Takes Iowa Wild

Iowa Wild Games Are ELECTRIC

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Last weekend, the 10K Takes crew was lucky enough to get invited to an electric series between the Iowa Wild and Grand Rapids Griffins (Red Wings affiliate). While Des Moines, Iowa isn’t top 5 on my Spring Break destination lists, they have a hell of an atmosphere for minor league sports.

Pre-Game Drink Deals

While I’ve already documented how to properly pregame in St.Paul, there’s only one awesome spot to pre-game in Iowa’s state capital. It’s a place that has hundreds of thirsty fans waiting outside an hour before puck drop. It’s the arena itself.

Driving by, you would think it’s Black Friday, or a line full of degenerates waiting to sprint to hole 16 at TPC Scottsdale. But instead, all of these people are waiting to get into an American Hockey League Game. And I think a huge part of that isn’t that the team is on track to win the Calder Cup, it’s because they serve 2-for-1 beers and $3 shots of fireball. While most stadiums charge an arm and a leg to get you buckled, the Wells Fargo Arena ensures you don’t wake up the next day deathly afraid to check your bank account.

Iowa Wild Players

According to the Athletic, the Minnesota Wild currently have the #1 prospect pool in the league. With future Minnesota Wild stars Jesper Wallstedt, Marco Rossi, Sammy Walker, and many more playing. You can ensure that the list of minor league superstars is going to put on an absolute SHOW.

And best of all, they lean in and honor their personalities. Before this weekend, I had never heard of Joe Hicketts. But thanks to the Iowa Wild, I will always remember watching this absolute beauty who’s missing his entire front row of teeth:

Sports Betting

This blog was never supposed to be your typical travel review, it’s extremely biased. And it’s no secret that we can’t legally sports gamble in Minnesota. But you certainly can do it in Iowa. Out of the 3 days we spent there, we (admittedly) found ourselves yelling in a sports book at least once a day

Being at the game gave me a small taste of what it will be like once it’s legal in Minnesota. I saw some guy in the last row of the stadium sweating out a college basketball bet on his phone while the Iowa Wild were winning in the 1st. And Sammy Stats from 10K Bets and I found ourselves yelling at the TV behind the arena bar because the SCSU Women’s Team wasn’t covering -16.5 in the 2nd quarter.

And while the Iowa Wild blew a 3-1 lead with 7 minutes left in the 3rd, losing Sammy Stats $50 on the ML, it was a blast to see how much fun you could have at a live sporting event while betting on it.

So if you are looking to get rowdy at a minor league sporting event (You have 3 to choose from in Des Moines). I recommend you get down to Iowa and catch a game. And if you play your cards right, they might even let you sit on the bench during warmups like us (Wearing protection of course):