Why can't Wisconsin sports fans have nice things?

[HiAndTight]

And speaking of real heartbreak, Bart Starr has passed. What a life and a great man.

 

 

I'd just heard a "rep" for the Starr family talking about how he planned on attending the Packers Week 2(?) game in which they were going to honor someone or some team.

 

 

I don't know, if it was my Dad, I'd be thankful for every moment I got with him. But if it was me, to suffer those strokes, do all the painstaking work to come back and get healthy and then pass away. That's just that much tougher. It seemed like he was getting better.

 

That man is up there with Lombardi in Green Bay History. Not just for his play on the field, but because of the type of presence he had off of it and the things he did with regard to charity off of it.

[coolhandluke121]

This reminds me of complaining about stranding the most runners in a season. It's actually the best offenses that strand the most runners, for the simple reason that they get more people on base. Not saying Wisconsin teams are consistently among the best, but realistically you gotta accept that only one team can win a title in any given season. Should any team or its fans that came close consider the season a failure because they didn't go all the way? I don't think so. "Second place is first loser" is basically a parody of a dumb, annoying jock bro IMO, even though I know some people really believe it.

 

Also, all these teams showed up big many times just to get as far as they did. Look at how clutch the Brewers were in catching the Cubs last year, or how Aaron Rodgers guaranteed a playoff berth, or how Brett Favre said "bet against me", or how the Bucks came back against the Hornets in 2001 after losing game 5, or how these Bucks survived so many injuries and delivered a 60-win season and ECF berth after spinning their wheels in mediocrity for years. This really stinks of looking at the last thing they did, as opposed to judging the overall body of work.

 

I don't disagree that the way it happened was really disappointing, but does any team that loses such a high stakes match ever get any satisfaction from the way it happened?

[PeaveyFury]

This reminds me of complaining about stranding the most runners in a season. It's actually the best offenses that strand the most runners, for the simple reason that they get more people on base. Not saying Wisconsin teams are consistently among the best, but realistically you gotta accept that only one team can win a title in any given season. Should any team or its fans that came close consider the season a failure because they didn't go all the way? I don't think so. "Second place is first loser" is basically a parody of a dumb, annoying jock bro IMO, even though I know some people really believe it.

 

Also, all these teams showed up big many times just to get as far as they did. Look at how clutch the Brewers were in catching the Cubs last year, or how Aaron Rodgers guaranteed a playoff berth, or how Brett Favre said "bet against me", or how the Bucks came back against the Hornets in 2001 after losing game 5, or how these Bucks survived so many injuries and delivered a 60-win season and ECF berth after spinning their wheels in mediocrity for years. This really stinks of looking at the last thing they did, as opposed to judging the overall body of work.

 

I don't disagree that the way it happened was really disappointing, but does any team that loses such a high stakes match ever get any satisfaction from the way it happened?

 

I know we don't do +1's, but I would here. Yeah, everyone would rather win those games. But I'll be that if you sat down with Steelers fans or some other fanbase like that, they'd have a similar story about leaving a dynasty on the field or something.

 

Really, we are spoiled as sports fans. I guess I don't disagree with the desire and feeling that we need to win a couple more titles and perhaps should have won more, but we really are lucky overall.

[nodakfan17]

On the subject of Packers’ playoff heartbreaks:

 

They’ve certainly had their fair share, but some fans act like they’ve left a dynasty on the table. In the last 30 years, the Packers have arguably been the best team in the league four times - 1996, 1997, 2011, and 2014 (I’m not counting the 10-6 wild card team from 2010). Two championships in that span isn’t bad. It could easily be zero. But calling Packer fans spoiled also seems like a stretch.

 

 

Why wouldn't you count the team that won the Super Bowl?

 

Because the Atlanta Falcons were the no. 1 seed with a 13-3 record and then got punched in the mouth by a hot 10-6 wild card team. Other teams come up short too. It’s not just a Packer thing.

[MrTPlush]

Add the Hauser brothers to that list.

[paul253]

Uh.....are people forgetting the Wave????

 

Seriously though, don’t forget about the Dwayne Wade led MU team that beat that #1 overall Kentucky team only to be blown out by Kansas in the Final Four.

 

And the other MU team, too lazy to look it up, that laid an egg against Syracuse when they had the chance to make the Final Four.

 

What’s most disappointing is that a number of these teams were better than the teams they lost to. They 2011 Brewers and this years Bucks especially.

[young guns]

My only consolation is that you have to be good to have your heart ripped out. The loss to the Falcons wasn't as bad for me because we got destroyed. They were easily the better team and I was just happy to be there frankly. The one that stands out the most to me is the badgers. I have no clue if they will ever be there again let alone actually win one and to lose to Duke who is almost there every other year twists the knife.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

This reminds me of complaining about stranding the most runners in a season. It's actually the best offenses that strand the most runners, for the simple reason that they get more people on base. Not saying Wisconsin teams are consistently among the best, but realistically you gotta accept that only one team can win a title in any given season. Should any team or its fans that came close consider the season a failure because they didn't go all the way? I don't think so. "Second place is first loser" is basically a parody of a dumb, annoying jock bro IMO, even though I know some people really believe it.

 

Also, all these teams showed up big many times just to get as far as they did. Look at how clutch the Brewers were in catching the Cubs last year, or how Aaron Rodgers guaranteed a playoff berth, or how Brett Favre said "bet against me", or how the Bucks came back against the Hornets in 2001 after losing game 5, or how these Bucks survived so many injuries and delivered a 60-win season and ECF berth after spinning their wheels in mediocrity for years. This really stinks of looking at the last thing they did, as opposed to judging the overall body of work.

 

I don't disagree that the way it happened was really disappointing, but does any team that loses such a high stakes match ever get any satisfaction from the way it happened?

 

I know we don't do +1's, but I would here. Yeah, everyone would rather win those games. But I'll be that if you sat down with Steelers fans or some other fanbase like that, they'd have a similar story about leaving a dynasty on the field or something.

 

Really, we are spoiled as sports fans. I guess I don't disagree with the desire and feeling that we need to win a couple more titles and perhaps should have won more, but we really are lucky overall.

 

 

I personally haven't really been lamenting the teams. Just how they lose. I'd rather get blown out like the Packers did against the Falcons than do what they did in Seattle. I was over that Atlanta game by halftime. The Seahawks game had me in a funk for 2-3 weeks. I still haven't actually seen whats his name catch the TD in OT and I still don't really like talking about.

 

I'd rather get blown out. Someone on the Packers that season said the same thing. Think it was Sitton or Lang.

[homer]

My only consolation is that you have to be good to have your heart ripped out. The loss to the Falcons wasn't as bad for me because we got destroyed. They were easily the better team and I was just happy to be there frankly. The one that stands out the most to me is the badgers. I have no clue if they will ever be there again let alone actually win one and to lose to Duke who is almost there every other year twists the knife.

 

I think that one bothers me the most simply because the odds of Wisconsin ever making it to another championship game in my lifetime are incredibly slim.

[Pugger]

My only consolation is that you have to be good to have your heart ripped out. The loss to the Falcons wasn't as bad for me because we got destroyed. They were easily the better team and I was just happy to be there frankly. The one that stands out the most to me is the badgers. I have no clue if they will ever be there again let alone actually win one and to lose to Duke who is almost there every other year twists the knife.

 

I think that one bothers me the most simply because the odds of Wisconsin ever making it to another championship game in my lifetime are incredibly slim.

 

These 2 posts - all day long.

[rickh150]

I think we have very "nice things" compared to 20 or 30 years ago when the Brewers and Bucks, along with the Badgers in the 80's, were awful. Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things. We have had hopes with championships (Division/Conference/Conference Tournament), along with epic wins (Packers Super Bowl/Rose Bowl/NLDS Game 5, Final Fours) in many of our sports, just few ultimate last wins. This title should be titled "Disappointment" since so many of our teams had legit shots at a title game or title game win and just came up short.

[HiAndTight]

On the subject of Packers’ playoff heartbreaks:

 

They’ve certainly had their fair share, but some fans act like they’ve left a dynasty on the table. In the last 30 years, the Packers have arguably been the best team in the league four times - 1996, 1997, 2011, and 2014 (I’m not counting the 10-6 wild card team from 2010). Two championships in that span isn’t bad. It could easily be zero. But calling Packer fans spoiled also seems like a stretch.

 

 

Why wouldn't you count the team that won the Super Bowl?

 

Because the Atlanta Falcons were the no. 1 seed with a 13-3 record and then got punched in the mouth by a hot 10-6 wild card team. Other teams come up short too. It’s not just a Packer thing.

 

 

Well, first of all, if you're making a list of the teams that were arguably the best teams in the NFL that year, the team that wins the Super Bowl makes it for LITERALLY no other reason than they WON the Super Bowl.

 

But beyond that. You mentioned Atlanta. They blew the doors off Atlanta the second time they played them on the road. The first time they lost by 3 points after tying the game up late.

 

Also, based on SOS, of which the Packers had one of the toughest and point differential the Packers should have been a 12+ win team and the Packers were the 2nd best team in the regular season according to Pro-Football Focus. Not to mention that's in a season in which they were constantly beset by injuries to key players, leading to I think 15 or 16 guys going on IR.

 

 

Really hard to see how that team doesn't have an argument for being the best team in football.

 

 

You also left out the 13-3 2007 season in which they were a very read by Favre away from going to the Super Bowl(Favre had 3 guys wide open on that INT, including one that could have gone for about 40 after the catch and run if not more if he hadn't zeroed in on Driver).

That year they were considered the 4th best team on SOS and margin of victory.

 

Then there is the 2003 season, again, a season in which they were considered the 2nd best regular season team based on Schedule and Margin of victory. Another game threw away by Favre in a season in which Ahman Green ran for what at the time was one of the 4 or 5 best single-season rushing totals in NFL history and included the 4th and 26 game that allowed Philly to tie the game up and the 1st down INT that looked more like a punt to Brian Dawkins after the Packers had run for probably close to 250 yards on the ground that day(they also had the best OL in the NFL during that period).

 

 

And then without belaboring the point more, in both 2001 and 2002 the Packers could have arguably been considered the best team in the NFL. It took 7 Favre turnovers, 3 I believe going for TD's, 1 returned inside the 5 and then two more taking them out of scoring position to get beat by the Rams and the 2002 team again came back with a dominant rushing attack and a future HOF QB.

 

Finally, the 1998 team has to be in the discussion. If there was replay, the Packers don't have to suffer the Young to TO TD as Rice clearly-clearly fumbled on that late drive, but they were considred the 4th best regulars season team that year.

 

 

 

So without going year by year, that's another 5 or 6 years where you could easily argue they were the best team in the NFL or that they should have won the SB(again, especially including the year they actually DID win the Super Bowl).

[HiAndTight]

This reminds me of complaining about stranding the most runners in a season. It's actually the best offenses that strand the most runners, for the simple reason that they get more people on base. Not saying Wisconsin teams are consistently among the best, but realistically you gotta accept that only one team can win a title in any given season. Should any team or its fans that came close consider the season a failure because they didn't go all the way? I don't think so. "Second place is first loser" is basically a parody of a dumb, annoying jock bro IMO, even though I know some people really believe it.

 

Also, all these teams showed up big many times just to get as far as they did. Look at how clutch the Brewers were in catching the Cubs last year, or how Aaron Rodgers guaranteed a playoff berth, or how Brett Favre said "bet against me", or how the Bucks came back against the Hornets in 2001 after losing game 5, or how these Bucks survived so many injuries and delivered a 60-win season and ECF berth after spinning their wheels in mediocrity for years. This really stinks of looking at the last thing they did, as opposed to judging the overall body of work.

 

I don't disagree that the way it happened was really disappointing, but does any team that loses such a high stakes match ever get any satisfaction from the way it happened?

 

 

 

I'd agree with these except for the Packers. The Packers have really choked away a lot of chances and they've done so often times by simply making awful-awful mistakes. Not playing better or more talented teams, but by just throwing it away.

 

Favre vs the Eagles. They're dominating on the ground, it's 1st down in OT and he throws the ball up for grabs and there's some sort of mis-communication because Walker isn't within 12-15 yards when it falls into Dawkins hands and the game is over.

 

Favre vs the Rams the year before that, he throws 6 picks and fumbles(we turn the ball over 8 times total) and the defense was actually playing the Rams well. Of the 45 points the Rams scored, Favre put them directly in position to score 35 of them(3 actual pick 6's).

 

The Seattle game. Too many ways to go on that one.

 

 

Sure, you have to be good to get there, but that's the whole point. We all know we're not going to have this type of talent forever at QB for the Packers, so when they lose a game and they lose it because THEY screwed up, it makes it that much worse.

 

The NFCCG they got blown out by Atlanta, they had no secondary, so hard to get upset about that. But there have been 4 or 5 other times at least they COULD have won and gone to or won a Super Bowl but they lost it.

 

Even in the actual Super Bowl they lost. People forget, but with about 1:40 left in that game, before the 4th down was incomplete to Chumura, Favre threw a perfect strike down to about the 20 to Freeman and he just dropped the ball.

[adambr2]

Anyone else feeling this way yet? I know it's nice just to be able to experience big games, but I fully expect the Badgers to lose the B10 championship on a Hail Mary, or the Packers to lose in the playoffs on a last second fumble -- it's just the way I've been conditioned as a Wisconsin sports fan. Ugh.

[brwrsfan]

Yeah, I was just talking about this after the Brewers loss last night. It's not so much that they lose (though sometimes it is when you're expected to win like the 15-1 Packers), but it's more HOW the teams get knocked out. Seems like it's always a gut-wrenching, painful loss.

 

Brewers last night, Brewers lose game 7 at home last year, Brewers lose at home to the Cardinals.

Bucks go up 2-0, then lose 4 straight close games in what could easily have been a championship year

Badgers losses to Florida at the buzzer, KY on a desperate 3, Duke in the title game (lots of bad whistles), also lost to ND basically at the buzzer in the tournament as well

Packers....15-1 loss to the Giants, the Seattle game, the AZ playoff game, the Giants NFC title game

 

I'm sure there's more...just tough. I know the Packers have a SB or two in relatively recent years but nobody else does. It's great to be in these spots but at some point it would be nice to actually finish the job and win a title or two...

[tmwiese55]

You forget the litany of UW football one score losses from 2010-2017. Two basically hail mary type throws in back to back games in the Wilson year, things like that.

[homer]

Could be worse....we could be Viking fans. Really wish Paul Allen's voice was attached to all of these but alas he's only on the first one.

 

[homer]

And Wisconsin may not have the titles that other states do but since 2010 - 1 Super Bowl Victory and a few NFC Championship game appearances, 1 visit to NBA Eastern Conference Finals, 3 MLB playoff appearances, 2 Final Fours, 4 UW football teams finished in the top 10 post season poll.....we've had it pretty good the last decade.

[MrTPlush]

UW footballs loss to Ohio State in 2017 was pretty brutal.

[tmwiese55]

And Wisconsin may not have the titles that other states do but since 2010 - 1 Super Bowl Victory and a few NFC Championship game appearances, 1 visit to NBA Eastern Conference Finals, 3 MLB playoff appearances, 2 Final Fours, 4 UW football teams finished in the top 10 post season poll.....we've had it pretty good the last decade.

 

Yup, by having good teams making it into this situation it creates the opportunity for crushing losses. Better this than the late 80s early 90s type timeframe when literally every sport was terrible, including the Packers.

 

My friends and I who witnessed pretty much every crushing UW defeat in person used to say how it kind of could be better to just lose the games clearly and easily rather than the late close losses in weird ways. then 59-0 happened and we realized how wrong we were.

[brwrsfan]

I understand everything you're all saying...and yes, it's great to be consistently good and get to these spots. I just want to finally see a couple of them get over the hump. Just screams "always a bridesmaid to me"...one of these years. I hope.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

The Badgers will probably be the team that does it since they're the one I couldn't really care less about.

 

I think people are a bit high on the Packers but they're at least trending right finally, at least maybe, I think.

 

Hard to see the Bucks not winning the East. But this is Wisconsin we're talking about.

[MrTPlush]

The Badgers will probably be the team that does it since they're the one I couldn't really care less about.

 

I think people are a bit high on the Packers but they're at least trending right finally, at least maybe, I think.

 

Hard to see the Bucks not winning the East. But this is Wisconsin we're talking about.

 

I read this and thought, no, the Bucks....the team and league no one gives two craps about outside of the Milwaukee area.

[Samurai Bucky]

Could be worse....we could be Viking fans. Really wish Paul Allen's voice was attached to all of these but alas he's only on the first one.

 

I have a feeling some of those Vikings fans are also Twins fans.

 

[sarcasm]Not to mention all of the Gopher national championships in football... [/sarcasm]

[CheezWizHed]

Could be worse....we could be Viking fans. Really wish Paul Allen's voice was attached to all of these but alas he's only on the first one.

 

I have a feeling some of those Vikings fans are also Twins fans.

 

[sarcasm]Not to mention all of the Gopher national championships in football... [/sarcasm]

 

I live in MN and the fans here are certainly doom and gloom. It's not about the WS titles the Twins have won, it's the constant losses to the NYY. Oddly, they are more proud of the Vikings than they should be (to the point of one fan being completely clueless as to why I'd want to be a Packer fan over the Vikings...).