I hadn't walked and shopped the mall at Minneapolis-Saint Paul Airport in over two years. My two departures in early December and early January were at 9 am. Many stores were closed. MSP is a wonderful airport to shop. It's one of the best stateside. A few days ago, I left the Twin Cities with a flight out of MSP slated for 11:45 am. With a later departure time, I could shop. Yay! I walked past this store that had Minnesota sports team merchandise. There was no sign indicating the store's name. Weird. What made me walk into the store was seeing Minnesota Wild t-shirts and sweatshirts. I don't exactly need any. I like my small collection that I wear in rotation. However, considering that my main purpose flying into MSP is to attend Wild hockey games, it makes sense that I'd be drawn to Wild apparel. A nice man greeted me. I liked that he didn't ask me if I was looking for anything. That question irks me. I don't know yet. He said that if I had any questions, I could ask him. I thanked him and he let me be. This store has all Minnesota sports team and their merchandise, including the Twins, Vikings, Timberwolves, and Gophers. I loved everything that I saw. What I ended up buying was a pretty blue water bottle that holds a litre of liquid. It has a wide mouth and the design is a nice reminder of Minnesota that I have an affection for. The man helped me with my purchase. There is a small surcharge on top of how much the item costs. It's to help out merchants. I didn't mind it at all. I want this store to continue being here. I paid with a credit card. It all went well. He asked me if I wanted a bag. I said yes. I was going to place it in my backpack and you never know what could happen. I thanked him and left. What was bugging me later was that I had no idea what this store's name was. My receipt said Sports. Geez, that's original! I did a search on MSP's directory of stores. Nothing. I actually ended up sending a text message to MSP airport's chat feature on its site. I even included a photo. I got a quick response from Rhona, who advised that it was Sports MN. It occurred to me when I was on the plane, flying back to Toronto, that this store was formerly called Adrenaline. I used to frequent it over two years ago, but some time has elapsed since I stepped into this store. I'm guessing that it rebranded itself. I'm glad that I stopped by and got a practical souvenir for myself before boarding my flight home. It's a cool store that had a sale happening on some items. I love my water bottle. It's cheerful and sturdy. (107) read more

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