Who are the Brewers Rivals?

[sportprof101]

Hello Brewers Fans,

 

With the help of message board members beginning in 2014, we—the students and professors of the Know Rivalry Project—began answering this question and others related to rivalry in the MLB. Please help us update and expand our results to ensure that the Milwaukee Brewers are included by taking 9 minutes to complete our newest survey:

 

https://umassamherst.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3FdJ8eN2EgFCfCB?mbsrc=krdir&grpID=1368

 

We want to start the rivalry conversation here. Fan data helps us to better understand rivalries that exist between teams, players, and fans.

 

Our previous results have been featured in numerous sports media outlets, as well as the Wall Street Journal and New York Times. You can view those results, links to media coverage, and learn more about us at our KnowRivalry.com website BUT we'd prefer you didn't until you completed the survey via the link above... we don't want to influence your opinions provided in the survey.

 

We use the Qualtrics online survey software for data collection. This academic research has been approved by two US universities' Institutional Review Boards (IRB) and it poses no risks to respondents. You'll find more information on the disclosure agreement that is required to start the survey. Thank you for helping us to include the Milwaukee Brewers by participating and please share this with any other fans that may also help.

 

Jonah, Student Researcher, Northern Kentucky University

Dr. Joe Cobbs, Northern Kentucky University

Dr. David Tyler, University of Massachusetts—Amherst

[jerichoholicninja]

"Not the Cubs."

 

- Cole Hamels

[RightFieldCoder]

Winning baseball

[roadcrew3]

Curious what people's response to this is. Allocating 100 points across rivals, I went with:

 

Cubs - 50 (obvious)

Cards - 35 (obvious)

Dodgers - 15 (due to recent NLCS and last years WC)

 

Reds/Pirates don't seem to fit as our teams haven't been competitive during the same windows. I also don't view the Twins as anything other than a close geographical opponent.

[Underachiever]

Cubs-Cards battling for 1 and 1a, everyone else way off in the distance.

[dlk9s]

Contact percentage.

[JimH5]

Cubs 33

Cards 33

Pirates 17

Reds 17

[Warning Track Power]

Cardinals - 40

Cubs - 40

Reds - 10

Pirates - 10

 

Since 1998, there has simply been nothing truly hateable about the Reds and Pirates. Cardinals should be head and shoulders #1 IMO. If they were from Chicago and the Cubs were from St. Louis, I think we would look at the Cubs in a similar vein to the Reds and Pirates.

[mtrebs]

For me, it’s 100% Cubs, solely because of the fans that come to Milwaukee. They make going to home Brewers games unenjoyable. I don’t feel that way at home games against the Cardinals. I’d have rather the Cardinals win 10 World Series in a row than the Cubs win in 2016.

[CheezWizHed]

#1: Cubs (50) - Both from the competitiveness of the teams, big games, and "fan fighting"

#2: Cardinals (35) - I'd say the rivalry died a bit with Matheny leaving, but still competitiveness and big games. Not as much fan vs. fan.

 

Then I'd say the Twins as much as the Pirates or Reds (5 each). Just from the AL history and proximity. Granted, I've lived most of my life on the west side of WI and now MN.

[Jopal78]

Doesn’t a rivalry have to go both ways? Living in Chicago for most of my life, Cub fans don’t give a crap about the Brewers.

 

Honestly, their rivalries are probably still the White Sox and Twins because they still have played more seasons in the A.L. than N.L. and we’re irrelevant from a competition standpoint for half their seasons in the N.L.

[brooks_quichenick]

Doesn’t a rivalry have to go both ways? Living in Chicago for most of my life, Cub fans don’t give a crap about the Brewers.

 

As someone who’s also lived in Chicago most of my life, I can say you are extremely wrong here. Obviously the Cards are public enemy #1 for Cubs fans, but they absolutely do care about what the Brewers are doing, regardless of what Cole Hamels has to say.

[Jopal78]

Doesn’t a rivalry have to go both ways? Living in Chicago for most of my life, Cub fans don’t give a crap about the Brewers.

 

As someone who’s also lived in Chicago most of my life, I can say you are extremely wrong here. Obviously the Cards are public enemy #1 for Cubs fans, but they absolutely do care about what the Brewers are doing, regardless of what Cole Hamels has to say.

 

Nope. Cubs-Cardinals is biggest rivalry by far, with the Mets a distant 2. Hell, the Brewers aren’t even marquee priced tickets unless it’s a summer weekend game. Just because it’s cheaper and more time efficient for North Suburbanites to drive up to Milwaukee to see the Cubs play than driving into the city doesn’t make it a rivalry.

[FVBrewerFan]

Twins are a very distant third.

[clancyphile]

For me, if I were to allocate points on the focus of evil in MLB as a Brewers fan, it would be as follows

 

Cardinals - 45

Cubs - 35

Dodgers - 10

Yankees - 5 over free agent signings

Nationals - 3 over 2019 Wild Card

Phillies - 1 over 2008 playoffs

Red Sox - 1 for generally being insufferable since 2004

[brooks_quichenick]

Doesn’t a rivalry have to go both ways? Living in Chicago for most of my life, Cub fans don’t give a crap about the Brewers.

 

As someone who’s also lived in Chicago most of my life, I can say you are extremely wrong here. Obviously the Cards are public enemy #1 for Cubs fans, but they absolutely do care about what the Brewers are doing, regardless of what Cole Hamels has to say.

 

Nope. Cubs-Cardinals is biggest rivalry by far, with the Mets a distant 2. Hell, the Brewers aren’t even marquee priced tickets unless it’s a summer weekend game. Just because it’s cheaper and more time efficient for North Suburbanites to drive up to Milwaukee to see the Cubs play than driving into the city doesn’t make it a rivalry.

 

You’re waaaaaay off the mark here.

[mtrebs]

Doesn’t a rivalry have to go both ways? Living in Chicago for most of my life, Cub fans don’t give a crap about the Brewers.

 

Honestly, their rivalries are probably still the White Sox and Twins because they still have played more seasons in the A.L. than N.L. and we’re irrelevant from a competition standpoint for half their seasons in the N.L.

 

The White Sox and Twins? The Brewers have been in the NL for 25 years. Other than the allure of playing “local” AL teams, there’s about a 0% rivalry here, at least compared to the Cardinals and Cubs.

[Eye Black]

Count me as someone who would go Cubs (50%), Cardinals (40%), and Twins (10%).

 

I would concede the fact that Cubs and Cardinals fans they view each other as top rivals, so that isn’t ideal from a Brewers perspective if you’re looking to have a true rivalry.

 

I am a little surprised how few people list the Twins as a rival. Maybe it’s because I’ve had close friends who were Twins fans, but Brewers-Twins games are always some of my favorite to attend. I don’t think of it as a rivalry in the sense of “I hate this team”, but more so a rivalry between fan bases across the border from one another.

[xisxisxis]

Nope. Cubs-Cardinals is biggest rivalry by far, with the Mets a distant 2. Hell, the Brewers aren’t even marquee priced tickets unless it’s a summer weekend game. Just because it’s cheaper and more time efficient for North Suburbanites to drive up to Milwaukee to see the Cubs play than driving into the city doesn’t make it a rivalry.

 

You’re waaaaaay off the mark here.

Is it possible you both are wrong?

 

SBNation did a poll/article last year asking the question of Cubs fans, Who is the Cubs biggest rivalry? The results:

 

Cardinals = 90%

Brewers = 7%

 

Is 7% caring? Is that the percentage of Cubs fans going to AmFam-alama-ding-dong Field who got driving tickets during their trip? They didn’t ask an questions about intensity of the rivalry so i guess there’s the tiniest of possibilities that the 90% who voted cardinals are only slightly anti-cardinal, while the 7% who voted Brewers the rivalry consumes their souls and every concious minute such that they walk around mumbling, bah bah bah brewers...

[Jopal78]

Doesn’t a rivalry have to go both ways? Living in Chicago for most of my life, Cub fans don’t give a crap about the Brewers.

 

Honestly, their rivalries are probably still the White Sox and Twins because they still have played more seasons in the A.L. than N.L. and we’re irrelevant from a competition standpoint for half their seasons in the N.L.

 

The White Sox and Twins? The Brewers have been in the NL for 25 years. Other than the allure of playing “local” AL teams, there’s about a 0% rivalry here, at least compared to the Cardinals and Cubs.

 

The Brewers and White Sox rivalry was real. Joey Albert Belle giving Fernando Vina a forearm shiver coming into 2nd base breaking Vina’s nose type of real.

 

The Brewers really don’t have that type of true rival now because those things have to go both ways; where there is some extra energy when the teams play each other which in turn juices up the fans.

 

The Brewers had rivalries with the Sox and Twins. When they moved to the NL in ‘98 they were a joke for the first decade in the Senior Circuit. It’s hard to create a rivalry when one team isn’t competitive. The Brewers still don’t have that type of rivalry like they did in the late 80’s and 90’s with the Sox

[timpep]

Yeah I remember the white Sox rivalry pretty fondly. I feel like we straight up fought them a few times.

 

Nothing quite like that in the NL yet imo.

[mtrebs]

Doesn’t a rivalry have to go both ways? Living in Chicago for most of my life, Cub fans don’t give a crap about the Brewers.

 

Honestly, their rivalries are probably still the White Sox and Twins because they still have played more seasons in the A.L. than N.L. and we’re irrelevant from a competition standpoint for half their seasons in the N.L.

 

The White Sox and Twins? The Brewers have been in the NL for 25 years. Other than the allure of playing “local” AL teams, there’s about a 0% rivalry here, at least compared to the Cardinals and Cubs.

 

The Brewers and White Sox rivalry was real. Joey Albert Belle giving Fernando Vina a forearm shiver coming into 2nd base breaking Vina’s nose type of real.

 

The Brewers really don’t have that type of true rival now because those things have to go both ways; where there is some extra energy when the teams play each other which in turn juices up the fans.

 

The Brewers had rivalries with the Sox and Twins. When they moved to the NL in ‘98 they were a joke for the first decade in the Senior Circuit. It’s hard to create a rivalry when one team isn’t competitive. The Brewers still don’t have that type of rivalry like they did in the late 80’s and 90’s with the Sox

 

Yes, I’m not saying they weren’t the rivals when the Brewers were in the AL. But in the last 25 years that rivalry has diminished significantly. Ad the allure of only playing the White Sox every few years at home, and the experience is more “neat” than what I consider rivalry.

 

As for the Twins, I probably cut that rivalry a bit short. I don’t have any ties to the western part of the state, so to me there is no rivalry there anymore.

[MrTPlush]

Umm yah...Cubs definitely find the Brewers to be a pretty big rival. Most Cubs fans probably don’t even live in Chicago, they live in the suburbs. Many live in northern IL and even into Wisconsin. That Game 163 really poured some salt onto the wound to ramp up the rivalry a bit.

[homer]

I think the Cubs fans hate the Cardinals way more than the Brewers. I'd put it at 75/25

[MrTPlush]

I think the Cubs fans hate the Cardinals way more than the Brewers. I'd put it at 75/25

 

I don’t think a single person has argued against that at all. Someone was trying to claim the Cubs don’t care about the Brewers at all. I think that’s pretty much impossible after they got whacked, at home, in front of a large contingency of Brewer fans in a Game 163.

 

Even the post trying to prove the Cubs fans don’t consider the Brewers a rival because only 7% think the Brewers are their BIGGEST rival. That’s biggest. If 7% think that then I bet a good chunk of the rest still consider the Brewers a big rival.