Mike Turner’s love of foosball began in his hometown of Colorado Springs, CO.  Growing up, foosball was extremely popular, but its popularity soon faded.  Turner now wants to be at the forefront of a resurgence of interest in the sport.  He’s doing all that he can to make foosball popular again.    

Training Begins

After a long absence away from the sport, Turner turned his attention back to foosball almost two years ago when he decided on a career change, Turner decided to return to foosball.  He started driving trucks for PCiRoads in St. Michael and now drives them for C.S. McCrossan in Maple Grove, two MN companies that do work building roads.  The work is seasonal and he now has winters off.  Winter in Minnesota can sometimes be long and cold, so Turner had plenty of time to spend indoors. 

“The first year, I grew my hair out and started learning to play the guitar sitting in my basement,” Turner said. “I wanted to be Jimmy Buffett” 

He never achieved that kind of fame, but he did learn a few songs.  Ultimately, he knew that wasn’t going to be his thing, but he was still thinking of foosball.  He turned to a friend and asked if he knew of any foosball tournaments he could sign up for.  Tournaments were popular when he lived in Colorado Springs.  His friend got back to him and told him about an upcoming tournament in Columbia Heights, MN.  Turner got signed up.

“From the second I went down to that first tournament and got my butt handed to me, I was like, I’m going to learn.  I’ve got the time, I’m going to learn how to play,” he said. 

Turner soon bought a Tornado Table and began practicing.  After a few weeks, he learned that he bought a mid-level table and decided to buy a new T300 Tornado table, the top of the line.  He practiced and soon came up with a vision to bring competitive foosball to Big Lake.  

That vision turned into “Foos in the Buff” hosted weekly at The Buff in Big Lake.  Turner assembled a team of pro/expert and amateur players who have chosen to spend time honing their skills.  They train with each other to achieve their best.  They play pick up games on Tuesdays after 6 p.m. and regular draw your partner tournaments on Fridays at 7:30 p.m.  There is also youth training on Sundays at 1 p.m. 

Turner has also begun working with Big Lake Community Education to offer a foosball training class which begins March 30.  Youth participants receive free entry into the MN State Foosball Championships occurring on May 2-4 of this year when the class is over. 

Tournament play

Turner and some of the people he’s been training with will be playing in tournaments throughout the year organized by the World Foosball Tour.   He recently participated at a WFT event held at South Dakota State in Sioux Falls, SD on Feb. 21-23.  He hopes that through word of mouth, more people will become more interested in foosball.  He’s already seen increased interest in the number of people participating at the Buff’s Friday tournaments – 26 contestants in one weekend. 

Turner continues to train 2-4 hours a day.  His goal is to become an expert and maybe win his division at the WFT tournament on May 2 in Otsego, MN.