Serious question about the Brewers and their place in Wisconsin

[Madtown Bomber]

Today is the home opener and spring is in the air. The Brewers are 2-1 and starting a 3 game series that they should dominate in reality. But then here comes word that Brett Favre has released a statement stating that he is retired, which we already know. The following causes local programming, radio and tv, to halt to discuss the Green Bay Packers and Brett Favre. I turn on WTMJ and Peter King is on talking about statement made by Sam Farmer about the possible return of Favre. I turn on 540 ESPN and they have on Jason Wilde. Turn on WSSP and they are talking to some Packers guy I have never heard of. Turn on Fox 6 in Milwaukee and they have Tom Pippens sitting there talking about how hard it is for a competitor like Favre to stay retired. WISN 12 in Milwaukee is interviewing tailgaters about Favre. On opening day, a day that lives in the lore of all Milwaukee'ns but the day is ruined by the same old story and this unfortantly always happens. The Brewers seem to be ok playing backseat to the Packers as they extended with WTMJ yesterday with the clause the Packers trump all Brewers/Bucks/Badgers items even if the Brewers make the playoffs.

My question is this, is there ever going to be a time or a place where the Brewers will ever trump anything Packers related or is it just a Brett Favre thing? I am a huge Packers fan but do the Packers always trump everything? Anybody else as annoyed as me?

[GoudaBrew]

My question is this, is there ever going to be a time or a place where the Brewers will ever trump anything Packers related or is it just a Brett Favre thing? I am a huge Packers fan but do the Packers always trump everything? Anybody else as annoyed as me?

No, probably not. The Packers are one of the most storied franchises in all of sports. I have no problem with them playing second fiddle to the Pack.

 

[BrewCrewForever]

As a fan of both teams, but bigger Brewers fan just because I like baseball more. I don't believe the Brewers no matter what will ever trump the Packers in this state. They are 2nd place and may come close, but Packers rule all in this state. It is just the way it is. And as for the Favre stuff, it was a stupid made up article by the LA Times. In my opinion someone just wanted to get there name out there nationally whoever the writer was. It actually upsets me that some rumor like that would start at anytime, but especially today when the Brewers open at home and all eyes should be on them.

[dadofandrew]

Well, a bit off topic, but when Favre is a memory, a lot of the silliness will go away. I think it is safe to say the Packers are historically more popular, if you'd have the Packers going through a drought at the same time the Crew was winning, that could change, temporarily at least.

 

Let's be blunt, football is a much better fit for a casual fan, much like Nascar is...a very small time commitment, you only need to know a couple players (or the driver), and so on. Add to it the worship of Brett, they get an extraordinary amount of coverage because even your 85 year-old neighbor has an opinion about it.

[Madtown Bomber]

My question is this, is there ever going to be a time or a place where the Brewers will ever trump anything Packers related or is it just a Brett Favre thing? I am a huge Packers fan but do the Packers always trump everything? Anybody else as annoyed as me?

No, probably not. The Packers are one of the most storied franchises in all of sports. I have no problem with them playing second fiddle to the Pack.

 

 

even on opening day?

[djoctagone]

i was extremely ticked when the mark chmura sexual assault story broke years ago on opening day.

[tristarscoop]

I'm not condoning it by any stretch of the imagination, since I think the amount of coverage the retirement received was ridiculous on a grand scale, but you have to know that if they didn't cover it, they'd be lambasted for not having done so. I think it's a Catch-22 - at least for the TV stations. Talk radio, maybe not so much. I'm not sure how people have anything more to say about the situation and I for one have been dying for something new - I was so happy for March Madness and now Opening Day.

 

Remember too that the TV stations are businesses, as much as people tend to forget. They need the viewers and the advertising dollars. If say Channel 4 is covering the Favre "story" but 6, 12 and 58 aren't, those three could be losing out on viewers. If one does it, they all have to or risk being the one "out" of the story.

[bork]

I think it was close in the late 70's and early 80's when the Brewers were contenders and the Packers stunk. The Brewers may have even had the edge. But I don't think it will ever get back to that point.

[nodakfan17]

You guys think you have it bad? This morning on the local sports talk radio station in Green Bay, a gentleman called in to ask who the Brewers' backup catcher was and if they had any catching prospects in the system. The host had to fumble through a media guide just to find Rivera's name and couldn't come up with a single minor league catcher besides Eric Munson.

 

I believe that there is a small chance that the Brewers could pass the Packers in relevance, but it would have to be the result of a sustained period of high quality, championship baseball.

[Madtown Bomber]

My take is that this is a non-story and this is the supposed best day on the baseball schedule and we are talking about Brett Favre. I understand his importance in Wisconsin and I get that people love the Packers but is any day sacred? If anyday I thought would be free of Packers it would be today.

[GoudaBrew]

My take is that this is a non-story and this is the supposed best day on the baseball schedule and we are talking about Brett Favre. I understand his importance in Wisconsin and I get that people love the Packers but is any day sacred? If anyday I thought would be free of Packers it would be today.

Yeah, but what are we supposed to do? Ignore the giant pink elephant in the room? If a national tragedy happened on July 4th, would we just sweep it under the rug until the 5th for the sake of Independence Day (a bit of an extreme, I know).

 

[Madtown Bomber]

My take is that this is a non-story and this is the supposed best day on the baseball schedule and we are talking about Brett Favre. I understand his importance in Wisconsin and I get that people love the Packers but is any day sacred? If anyday I thought would be free of Packers it would be today.

Yeah, but what are we supposed to do? Ignore the giant pink elephant in the room? If a national tragedy happened on July 4th, would we just sweep it under the rug until the 5th for the sake of Independence Day (a bit of an extreme, I know).

 

 

That is a story though. A retired Brett Favre is still retired is really something to break programming over? Even Brett Favre said there was no truth to a story that was obviously made up in the first place.

[jazzytrav]

This is highly unlike me, but I'm gonna call conspiracy on this one. These apparent NFL sources that leaked out the information about Favre probably have the same goal as the rest of the NFL...to make people talk football year-round. What better way to do that than to "leak" information about someone as popular as Brett Favre right when baseball starts? I think the whole thing smells.

 

Edit: I also hate to make this argument, but it seems you're contributing to the Brett Favre talk by talking about how angry you are about the Brett Favre talk. Just a thought.

[Mr QL]

No. Never. Packers will always be #1 for Wisconsin. Just the way it is. I do think the Brewers have leg up on the other competition. The Bucks are really the odd man out.

[joepepsi]

I'm not a football fan. I followed college football in younger days, and I enjoyed watching the Packers' playoff run this year. I even enjoyed the Super Bowl this year--it's been probably 15 years since I last watched it. Basically I think football is a stupid sport. Most coaches on any level seem to fit the profile of someone who'd belong to an underground fascist or Neo-Nazi movement. Players have strong representation in the rogue, ruffian, and rapists demographics of society. Fans seem to see the game as a metaphor for "sticking it to the man" after a hard week at work.

 

I think the last bit is key to why it's the most popular sport in the US. Emotionally speaking, football wears it's heart on its sleeve. It's incredibly simple to watch and understand. Basically it's a controlled fight with some amazing acrobatic games of catch thrown in, peppered with fist pumping, cathartic emotion. I've had to accept the fact that for most everyone, football is fun to watch. The opportunity for something exciting to happen every play is overwhelming.

 

As someone who didn't live in Wisconsin until I was an adult, I've learned to accept that football, specifically the Packers, will always be more important than anything else. Except for maybe killing deer.

[GoudaBrew]

That is a story though. A retired Brett Favre is still retired is really something to break programming over? Even Brett Favre said there was no truth to a story that was obviously made up in the first place.

Yeah I see your point. If this "story" had broken today, I could see all the attention; but since it's already been confirmed as false, it's time to move on to the Brewers.

 

[Tbadder]

 

dadofandrew wrote:

Let's be blunt, football is a much better fit for a casual fan, much like Nascar is...a very small time commitment, you only need to know a couple players (or the driver), and so on. Add to it the worship of Brett, they get an extraordinary amount of coverage because even your 85 year-old neighbor has an opinion about it.

Wow! I think this is brilliant. I've been searching for years for an explanation for football's popularity for years.

 

I stopped following football about 5/6 years ago. Farve wrecked it for me--his lack of respect for the game, his cowboy mentality. Jordan did the same to me for basketball, turned it into a street game, etc. The accolades for Brett just made it worse, raised to godhood, a person couldn't even criticze him in mixed company.

 

True story: I was at a sports bar one afternoon for a Packer game. Huge crowd, lots of fun, probably a little too much to drink all around, but nothing too bad. Well, after pointing out that Farve had pretty much single-handly thrown away a game with his inability to make decisions that didn't involve throwing the ball wherever, I went into the parking lot and my car had been keyed something awful. It said #4 Farve.

 

In a state like this the Brewers will never be anything but second fiddle.

[jazzytrav]

I went into the parking lot and my car had been keyed something awful. It said #4 Farve

Did they even misspell his name?

[Tbadder]

I went into the parking lot and my car had been keyed something awful. It said #4 Farve

Did they even misspell his name?

LOL! Yeah, come to think of it they did! Just like me I guess.

[bullox]

I went into the parking lot and my car had been keyed something awful. It said #4 Farve.

Someone you knew keyed your car? How else would they know it was your car in the parking lot?

 

[jeffy]

As someone who didn't live in Wisconsin until I was an adult, I've learned to accept that football, specifically the Packers, will always be more important than anything else. Except for maybe killing deer.

Yes, this is one thing that I lost when I became a Brewer fan after living in WI for 10 years (I was previously a Cub fan). It would be nice if Milwaukee were a place where baseball comes first or at least if it meant more to more people. But at least now it is much better than a few years ago...people who had never mentioned baseball before, randomly brought up the Brewers during last season.

 

I think many in the state would consider me a girlie man, as I don't hunt, fish, watch NASCAR, or drive a truck/SUV and am only a casual Packer fan.

http://forum.mazda6club.com/style_emoticons/default/76.gif

[BrewCrewForever]

---

Yes, this is one thing that I lost when I became a Brewer fan after living in WI for 10 years (I was previously a Cub fan). It would be nice if Milwaukee were a place where baseball comes first or at least if it meant more to more people. But at least now it is much better than a few years ago...people who had never mentioned baseball before, randomly brought up the Brewers during last season.

 

I think many in the state would consider me a girlie man, as I don't hunt, fish, watch NASCAR, or drive a truck/SUV and am only a casual Packer fan.

http://forum.mazda6club.com/style_emoticons/default/76.gif

Well I have lived here my entire life. And I would have to say I to am a girlie man since the only thing that you mentioned above that I do is be a Packers fan. I don't hunt, fish, watch NASCAR or drive anything close to a truck/SUV.

 

[logan82]

jeffyscott wrote:

I think many in the state would consider me a girlie man, as I don't hunt, fish, watch NASCAR, or drive a truck/SUV and am only a casual Packer fan.

I fish, at least once a year and I hate the Packers. You never insult Favre around people you don't know very well. Heck I have even had my friends get really angry at me for saying bad things about Favre. Of course I said something along the lines of Favre should go back on the vicodin and beer because he wasa better player when he was using drugs. They also ge angry when I say that Favre isn't one of the best 5 QB's of all time. No this state is football crazy. That will never change. I have to agree that part of it is one game a week makes it pretty easy for casual fans to follow and have an intelligent opinion on.

[joepepsi]

I too am a girlie man. My favorite local pub is Packer and NASCAR crazy so every Sunday afternoon, there no jukebox and they turn up the TV. Ugh. I always ask Lori the bartender if we can turn to a Lifetime Movie. People get upset. Fortunately the bar also has a huge number of Brewer fans. So, I've learned to give the footballers and Nascarers their time, since they like to watch the Brewers too. Truthfully, I think Wisconsin is a great baseball state, especially compared to some place like, oh, I don't know, Minnesota. Or Iowa, where I grew up.

 

As for fishing. I wish I did do that. I like eating good fresh walleye and perch.

[danzig6767]

In certain cities and certain states and certain areas of the country, different sports are always going to be the most popular. In Wisconsin, it's Packers football that dominates. This is no just a Wisconsin thing though, there are plenty of other places in the country where pro football is king. In the south, college football and NASCAR dominates.

 

With that said, don't underestimate the excitement for the Brewers in the Milwaukee County area. Just because some talk radio stations are still talking about the Packers doesn't mean the excitement for this Brewers season is low. Sports talk radio will talk Packers year round because there is interest, that doesn't have to mean though that local sports fans aren't amped about the Brewers, they are. We drew almost three million fans to Miller Park last year and i'd bet attendance is higher this season.

 

If you want to look for an ignored franchise in Milwaukee by the media and fans, it's the Bucks, apathy has set in strong.