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Meet Catrell Maclin, the Timberwolves’ superfan who keeps popping up on TV

dane mizutani, pioneer press
·3 min read

You’ve almost surely seen him on TV throughout the Timberwolves’ playoff run.

The man dressed up like a wolf, rocking a lime green shirt, carrying around the remnants of a broomstick. He has popped up in background seemingly at random, whether it be the national broadcast on TNT, or the local broadcast on Bally Sports North.

Who the heck is this guy? Meet Catrell Maclin, the Timberwolves superfan who has garnered a cult following around the Twin Cities.

He grew up on the outskirts of Memphis, Tenn., and while he still lives in the surrounding area, his love for the Timberwolves has existed since the early 2000s. As much as he adored Kevin Garnett for the fierceness with which he played the game, Maclin was especially fond of Wally Szczerbiak, well, because he was a sharpshooter himself during his playing days.

The fandom has followed Maclin ever since to the point that he took it upon himself to give the Timberwolves a boost once they reached the playoffs. He said he wanted to bring the homecourt advantage on the road, so with the Timberwolves leading the Phoenix Suns 2-0 in the first round, Maclin hopped on a plane with a specific outfit already planned for the occasion.

The ensemble features a wolf head, wolf paws, and a wolf tail that he bought on Amazon, paired with an unmistakable lime green shirt, and a Timberwolves flag that he drapes over his back.

“I was driving around town a couple of hours before tipoff to make sure I had everything,” Maclin said. “It all came together about 15 minutes before the game.”

Literally. Though he already felt pretty good about his look as he walked into Footprint Center in Phoenix, Maclin truly believed the Timberwolves were going to sweep the Suns, and he wanted everybody around him to know it. The broomstick made too much sense.

“I had a conversation with a custodian at arena,” Maclin said. “I bugged the hell out of him for like an hour. I got there a little early so I was walking around like, ‘Hey man. Can I borrow that broomstick?’ He was like, ‘Nah. I can’t do it.’ ”

Nothing was going to stop Maclin in that moment. He continued to pester the custodian, and with tipoff nearing he finally broke.

“He pointed over his shoulder and said, ‘That closet is always open. You didn’t hear it from me,’ ” Maclin said. “I poke poked my head in there and there was a broomstick. I unscrewed the pole and I borrowed it. That was it.”

The legend was born as soon as the camera found him. He has become something of an unofficial mascot since then, bringing the homecourt advantage on the road once again this week, with the Timberwolves playing the Denver Nuggets in the second round.

“You know, when it comes to getting dressed up, and yelling, and talking trash, it’s super fun to me because that’s how I grew up,” Maclin said. “I was always the youngest kid out of all my cousins, so the back and forth was always something that came naturally for me.”

He has endeared himself to an entire fan base in the process.

“It’s so much fun for me,” Maclin said. “Then getting to cheer for a squad like the Timberwolves that can back it up makes it even better.”

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