If I had a nickel for every time that I have heard, “Act like you’ve been there before,” in the last 48 hours, well you know the rest…
I have, admittedly, gone all-in with Milwaukee Brewers excitement. All of us have, and I get why that might be irritating to the 26 on the outside, looking in. Trust me, I get it. I really get it. All of us Milwaukee fans do. We’re usually right there with you!
Both on and off the air, I have flown my True Blue Brew Crew flag from every corner of my existence, shouted from every rooftop that I can scale (not an easy task with a snapped Achilles), high-fived every hand within my reach, and asked every human within earshot, “Have you caught the fever?” … to the annoyance of many of you, especially you Cubs and Cardinals types, from whom I have heard a lot over the last two days. From face-to-face encounters, to my texts, to my e-mail, to my DMs, to comment sections on any and every social platform, your feedback has been woven from the same thread: “Act like you’ve been there before.”
I would love to.
I would love nothing more than to be able to take our NLCS berth and toss it in the corner with all of the other pennants for which I have battled from the stands. I would revel in the stress of trying to figure out where to hang this year’s banner from an already swollen rafter. I would kill to be able to compare the taste of this season’s Division Series champagne against the champagne celebrations of my past. I would relish the opportunity to act like I have been there before … but I haven’t. We haven’t. At least not very often.
Four times. Four. Four times in my team’s existence, in my existence as a human, have we been on the doorstep of the World Series. And of those four, I really only remember three of those instances. The one that dances only in my foggy recollections? Yeah, that’s the only time we tasted the spoils of the promised land (and were promptly kicked out). There is a fan turning 43 years old today who has NEVER seen the Brewers in the World Series, and there isn’t a fan alive, nor dead for that matter, who has seen them win one. Not one.
My reaction, and that of Brewers fans everywhere, is a testament to many things, not the least of which is this: we get it. We understand how difficult it is to win, especially in Milwaukee. We understand that we have to grind harder, scout better, play cleaner, outperform our contracts every year just to make the second season. This NLCS is, in every way, a snapshot of MLB’s glaring imbalance – the haves vs. the have nots. In a bizarre twist of irony, a Brewers victory over the Dodgers would serve to keep that lopsided model firmly entrenched. It’s a competitive self-mutilation of sorts, all but guaranteeing that the Crew (and those like them) would have to mount yet another improbable, unfathomable, against-all-odds run to compete for it all in 2026 (and beyond).
We recognize the fleeting nature of success. We have no clue what it’s like to be so spoiled by triumph that our mirror no longer reflects the child within us. And we wouldn’t have it any other way.
To those coming at us for our overwhelming exuberance: You were once like us, for sports is a cyclical journey. I’m sorry that you’ve lost it, and I pray that we never do, ‘cause it sure is fun … and as Crash Davis said, “Relax. Let’s have some fun out here! This game’s fun, OK?!” (NSFW language follows):
Here we go, Brewers, here we go (CLAP-CLAP)!
[YouTube: Marica]
