Meet the diehard Wild fan keeping the ‘X’ alive in his front yard
While it has been rebranded as Grand Casino Arena, it’s going to be a long time before most Minnesotans can get themselves to think of the Wild’s home rink in downtown St. Paul as anything other than “The X. ” That includes diehard Wild fan Jon Dusing, who recently bought the iconic “X” that used to sit atop the Xcel Energy Center, and is doing his part to keep memories of the old building alive.
“I wasn’t sure exactly what I’d do with it,” said Dusing, a Wild season ticket holder, who grew up in Iowa and has spent the past 20 years living in Minnesota. “It all became clear to me once it got closer to the playoffs. ” Though the sale of the “X” has been public for about a month and a half since it was auctioned off by the Minnesota Wild Foundation —as well as the winning bid of more than $20,000 — the new owner of the single letter hadn’t been widely revealed to the masses.
Until the 44-year-old Dusing put out a viral social media post over the weekend that currently has more than 320,000 views. The video started with him standing alongside the “X” in the front yard of his home in Lino Lakes. He then walked out of the frame and revealed what was going to happen every time the Wild scored a goal in their first round series with the Dallas Stars.
It’s an impressive spectacle put together by Dusing himself that features the “X” being lit up in red and the background lighting up green. There’s a goal horn and a goal light to go along with smoke and pyrotechnics. There’s even the Wild’s goal song — “Shout” by The Isley Brothers — blaring over the loud speakers to pull everything together.
All available at the push of a button. “I programmed it all so it runs from my phone,” said Dusing, the CEO of Fanmaker , a media company that makes software for various sports teams. “There’s nothing more fun than pushing a button and having fire go off in the front yard.