“Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire, it has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope, where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than governments in breaking down racial barriers. It laughs in the face of all types of discrimination” That quote is courtesy of Nelson Mandela. I’ve held off a full week since the win to get my emotions in check, but this is a difficult thing to come down from. I love that quote. I love sports. I’m a coach. Former athlete. Sports (mainly playing them) have helped me through some tough times. Don’t get me wrong, I have absolutely nothing to complain about in my life. But I had EXTREME social anxiety in high school. Sports helped me overcome that. Playing sports allowed me to make friends when I probably wouldn’t have. Sports have helped me grow and mature as an adult. They’ve helped me be a better teacher, which after all is my main job. And I know for a fact I’ve coached kids whose only outlet was sports. Kids that only had one thing to look forward to, or to stay out of trouble, or just a second home. Unbreakable bonds formed over sports. Communication skills improved over sports. The list goes on. And every so often I’m reminded how pointless sports are. How they don’t matter. How they’re a waste. And perhaps there’s some truth to that. But sports can matter too, and this quote is a great reminder how, as per usual, the truth is often somewhere in the middle. But for us Wisconsinites… sports matter right now.
Never, in a million years, did I ever think the Brewers would make the World Series, let alone win it. Death, taxes, and the Milwaukee Brewers disappointing me every year in the fall, were the only certainties in my life. There’s no salary cap in baseball. The rules aren’t fair. There’s zero equity. The limiting factors to success in the other three sports are front office competence, player scouting and development, and a little bit of luck. The MLB has a fourth limiting factor… money. Milwaukee is the smallest MLB market. Our owner isn’t a mega billionaire. It wasn’t even fathomable to me that we could win in October. I guess this is just a long way of me hammering home the concept that I did not think we would ever be here. And yet here we are.
And I couldn’t be happier. I had a few tears when the Bucks won in 2021. I had more than a few this time around. I enjoy baseball more than basketball, but the Brewers have had a monumentally larger hill to climb on the path to a championship than the Bucks have ever had, and that means something. I’ve also mentioned before that baseball is a sport that imitates this blog. Slow down and enjoy the ride. 162 games it took just to make the postseason. Then another 13 to become champs. It’s the sporting equivalent of life is too short to take the fast way. If you’re not that into sports, it might be hard to conceptualize what this means. But bringing it back to Nelson Mandela, “it has the power to unite people in a way that little else does”. EVERYONE in the state of Wisconsin that isn’t a transplant has been united by this. Do you have any idea how cool that is? Roughly 5 million people in this state have been in a pure state of nirvana since last week. 1/6 of our state, population-wise, attended the parade. Everyone I’ve come across since last week has had the biggest smile on their face. Even casual sports fans, or non fans, think this is awesome. We’ve always been united in our hate for Illinois, but now we have this too. No one can take this away from us. This October will remain the best October of my entire life, and I’m sure many others will feel that way too.
But to see what this win truly means, and why sports truly matter, pay attention to the local stories. The national media glazing us has been absolutely wonderful, as it rarely happens. But the local news showed a man in his 80’s, crying in his recliner as he was overwhelmed with joy. I saw a video of a dad and a young son with tears of joy as they got to witness the historic moment live from Miller Park (not calling it AmFam, IYKYK). I saw strangers embracing themselves in that final moment of game 5 like it was the end of a war. I’m reminded of my Uncle Joe, who had season tickets despite living in Green Bay, and unfortunately passed away last year, just one year shy of witnessing this miracle. No one was a bigger fan than him. I think about my dad, who waited nearly 70 years for this. If I think the 40 years I had to wait is long, I cannot imagine having to wait 70. My love of sports comes from him, and I’m happy he got to see this (and two of them in person). And I think about Bob Uecker, and how close he was to seeing us get this. The feel good stories that come from this, and the few sad moments as well, do not happen without sports. Sports matter. And for a brief moment in time, The Milwaukee Brewers have given us, all of us, something to distract us from life right now. They’ve given us a joy that little else in this world can satiate. It’s temporary, and it’s fleeting, but man, what a time to be alive.
