It was almost 12 years ago to the day that I sat alone inside a rented Chevy Malibu and stared at Xcel Energy Center for more than an hour.

I had just touched down in Minnesota for a brand new life in the Twin Cities, and instead of driving to the condo I purchased only a week before, I for some bizarre reason drove to the Wild’s arena in St. Paul and … freaked out.

I was afraid. Not confident. On the verge of panic.

Born in New York, raised in South Florida, I knew basically nobody in Minnesota other than the editors who interviewed me a few weeks before and Brian Skrudland’s old agent. Hand on the Bible, if you asked me the one team I paid least attention to in the NHL, it would have undoubtedly been the Wild. And I was petrified that passionate, educated Minnesotans who lived and breathed hockey would never respect or accept reading about the sport they cherished from somebody who was not “one of us.”

All I kept thinking, “What the heck did you get yourself into, Mike?”

I wanted to call the Star Tribune and beg out. I wanted to call the Sun-Sentinel and beg for my comfy job back.

I’m so glad I didn’t.

The concerns about being accepted are now gone. I know that because of the people yelling “Russo Radio!” at me on the streets. And the dozen of Twitter parody accounts set up by Wild fans. Minnesota hockey fans treat me like one of their own, the ultimate satisfaction for someone who felt like an outsider a dozen years ago.

I’ve been investigating all day on @Russostrib ‘s destination…Haven’t hit a dead end, but having trouble piecing together the final clue.. pic.twitter.com/RVcVCkawnu — Russo’s Slacks (@RussosSlacks) August 30, 2017

Moving to Minnesota was the best decision I ever made. It’s truly a privilege to be a hockey writer here, which is why I’m so excited to announce/confirm the worst kept secret going for more than a week: I’ll continue covering the Wild and National Hockey League by joining The Athletic’s incredible stable of hockey writers and editors.

When I surprised the State of Hockey last week with my out-of-the-blue announcement that I was leaving the Star Tribune, there were many who feared (hoped?) I was leaving town.

Some figured I was finally fulfilling my dream of being a barista at the local Starbucks, joining Trampled by Turtles to play the jug, landing a part in Super Troopers III or moving to Vegas to deal blackjack and play craps.

All very reasonable guesses.

Jokes were plentiful. Dallas Stars coach Ken Hitchcock called and said, “So we finally drove you out of the Star Tribune, tell me we drove you out of hockey.” Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon couldn’t believe “I Patrick Roy’ed the Strib” by quitting so close to the season (trust me, I feel tremendously guilty about that).

But many put two and two together and realized I just may be beginning the Minnesota vertical of The Athletic.

It excited me to discover how many in the Twin Cities were already craving what this great site has to offer.

Since launching in Chicago last year, the Athletic has hired some of the greatest sportswriters. For an affordable subscription price, fans get a reinvention of their local sports section. If you’re a Wild fan but also love the Chicago Cubs and say, the Golden State Warriors and Toronto Maple Leafs, you can click those teams and read about them. Big college hoops fans? Same thing. It’s all part of the same subscription.

The coolest part for the most rabid sports fans is if, say, you’re a big Wild fan but also want to read what respected national names like Pierre LeBrun, Ken Rosenthal, Seth Davis are writing, you can read them too. All in the same spot.

What’s more, the site is as clean as a freshly Zamboni’ed sheet of ice.

No ads, no annoying popups. Click on a story, and it’s right there without having to navigate through the muck.

While markets like Chicago, Cleveland (includes the Columbus Blue Jackets), Detroit, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Toronto and others are already up and running with coverage on every pro team, the Wild will be the first in Minnesota. The Athletic ultimately plans to hire beat writers for the Wolves, Vikings and Twins along with a presence in college sports. Especially hockey.

I’m also very excited to let you know that if you love analytics, you won’t have to read me try to explain them intelligently. Somebody else will (more on that later this week).

So, as you can tell, my emotions today are a lot different than they were 12 years ago when I was scared and unsure about what’s next as I sat alone in that Chevy Malibu.

Very little will change except for where you’ll find my articles, features, columns, insight and trademarked “MEATY BLOGS.” I’ll still travel. I’ll still do the podcast and the radio and the TV.

Russo’s written rants have a new home but he’ll still be all over your television and radio.

I’ll still be covering the Wild like a blanket. I’ll still be tweeting so many times during a game, Doug MacLean will threaten to unfollow me. My account has been renamed to @RussoHockey because some really nice person scooped up @Russoathletic a few days ago (@RussoUnAthletic would be funnier and more accurate anyway).

I’ll still get to cover the big events, the playoffs, the Stanley Cup Final (maybe the Wild will be there one of these years so The Athletic can kill two birds with one stone), the NHL Draft – while covering the league from a broader perspective shrinking newspaper space didn’t always allow.

And I’ll continue to build great relationships with you, the reader, by continuing our fun, personal interaction. I plan to do monthly mailbags, we’ll even have subscriber events and get-togethers.

My objective remains the same as my previous 22 years covering the NHL: That fans know I’ll work hard and with passion and personality so The Athletic becomes the one-stop shop for all things Wild and hockey news.

But now, I’ll be able to do it without the restraints of a newspaper deadline.

For the first time in my career, I’ll get to actually watch the third period of a hockey game instead of having my head down, pounding the keyboard and missing key happenings because I have to file a story “at the gun.”

I won’t have to constantly look at my watch in the postgame locker room. That should improve the quality of my writing, meaning more analytical postgame columns that’ll provide an inside look rather than “gamers” overrun by play-by-play from a game you’ve already watched.

Trust me, I’ve always considered myself a newspaper man. I started as a paperboy at 11 years old. I grew up in the business, and I’ll always love that medium and the two papers I came from. I’m specifically leaving an incredible paper with unparalleled brand identity, stability, talent and audience size. I’ll always be indebted to the Star Tribune for getting me to where I am today.

But at some point, there needed to be a next step for me, and this is it. I flew out to San Francisco in late August to meet with Athletic co-founders Alex Mather and Adam Hansmann. After getting to meet these guys and looking them square in the eye, I was absolutely sold. I eagerly wanted to join this team, one hockey writers I respect — Craig Custance, James Mirtle, Aaron Portzline, Arpon Basu and Scott Powers — keep raving about.

On Tuesday, The Athletic announced awesome writers to cover all seven Canadian NHL teams this season. Today, I’m honored to join on the same day my St. Louis brethren, Jeremy Rutherford, is also locked and loaded.

My goal now? To continue to work my hardest to provide Wild and hockey diehards with the best coverage humanly possible. I know it’ll take a little change in behavior from you.

It took me years to realize it was worth paying for a music streaming service, and I know many of you are not used to paying for local sports coverage beyond your newspaper subscription.

But trust me when I say I’ll try my darnedest to make it worth your while.

So, please stick with me, hop on board during this next chapter and enjoy the ride by subscribing here.