The morning of December 13, 1994 dawned clear and cold in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. However, this did not deter people from descending in droves upon the streets of the southern suburb of Bloomington, near the Mall of America. That morning, the building officially known as the Metropolitan Sports Center was to be razed with 1,000 pounds of high explosives. The fans that surrounded the place affectionately knew it as the Met Center.

Met Center was the home of the Minnesota North Stars NHL hockey team since it's completion in 1967. It hosted two Stanley Cup playoffs, 1981 (loss to New York Islanders) and 1991 (loss to Pittsburgh). It was voted as the best hockey arena in North America time and again. Whenever the Winnipeg Jets or the Chicago Blackhawks came to town, the place shook to the foundation. Also during that time, the Met hosted just about every major touring act that came through the Twin Cities. Noteworthy performers include Elvis (twice), Neil Diamond, and the Rolling Stones. Some said that it's design was inspiring of the Parthenon. However, Norm Green moved the North Stars to Dallas after the 1994 season, and that left no use for the old Met.

On this cold December morning, the Met had been stripped down to a mere shell of it's former self. There were large holes knocked in the roof and exterior to allow for displaced air to vent out. It was surrounded by chain link fence. Large signs hung from the walls proclaiming it's demolition.

As for me, I had routed myself out of bed at 6:15 AM to get a decent spot to see the implosion. I found a spot on the roof of the west parking ramp of the Mall of America. When I arrived at about 7:15 AM for the 9:00 blast, the roof of the ramp looked more like a pre-game tailgate party then it did an implosion crowd. As you might figure, everyone (except me) seemed to have a camera with a telephoto lens on it. There were also lots of North Stars jerseys. One guy had brats cooking on his grill. And, of course, cold beer (They didn't need ice, as it was only 13 degrees Fahrenheit outside). I was also near where one of the Twin Cities TV stations, and their longtime sports guy, were set up to do a live broadcast come demolition time.

Well, 9:00 finally came around. We all crowded the edge of the parking garage waiting for the blast to come. The blast started with the roof charges spewing black jets of smoke into the air. Then, the explosives in the guts of the building went off, with the concussions vibrating the parking ramp we were standing on, and the BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM sequence of the explosions sounding like gunshots, and the building was enveloped in dust. The crowd on the parking ramp roared its approval.