Another Almost for the Badgers

Almost made you love me
Almost made you cry
Almost made you happy, baby
Didn't I didn't I
You almost had me thinkin'
You were turned around
But everybody knows
Almost doesn't count

Almost heard you saying
You were finally free
What was always missing for you, baby
You'd found it in me
But you can't get to heaven
Half off the ground
Everybody knows
Almost doesn't count

I can't keep on lovin' you
One foot outside the door
I hear a funny hesitation
Of a heart that's never really sure
Can't keep on tryin'
If you're looking for more
Than all that I could give you
Than what you came here for

Gonna find me somebody
Not afraid to let go
Want a no doubt be there kind of man
You came real close
But everytime you built me up
You only let me down
And everybody knows
Almost doesn't count

Maybe you'll be sorry
Maybe you'll be cold
Maybe you'll come runnin' back, baby
From the cruel cruel world
Almost convince me
You're gonna stick around
But everybody knows
Almost doesn't count

So maybe I'll be here
Maybe I'll see ya around
That's the way it goes
Almost doesn't count

Just when you thought the Badgers were destined for mediocrity

.....they go and win at Ohio State.

This one was a surprise. The Badgers Bball team won in Columbus, doing what the football team could not. This was a big win, the first for Wisconsin over a top 10 team on the road since 1980 (that one is surprising), and it keeps them in the top 4 of the Big Ten. Now don't get me wrong, the most likely scenario is that Wisconsin is an average team this year. We have seen that with 2 losses to Iowa and a bad loss to Michigan, but aside from those, the rest of our losses have been close ones to Top 10 teams. We can still hold hope of pulling off some UCONN-esque run or maybe more fittingly, a run similar to the 2000 Badger team.

Lots of positives to take from Sunday's win:
- Jordan Taylor shot over 50% from the field
- Ryan Evans and Jared Berggren have continued to usually be consistent 2nd and 3rd scorers.
- Balance - with the off the bench spark from Rob Wilson in recent games, 5 players scored 7 points or more.
- Poise in crunch time
- Doing the things we usually do well - went 9-11 from the free throw line and only turned the ball over 7 times
- Defending the big man - Wisconsin has struggled this season against Sullinger and Draymon Green, but on Sunday they held Sullinger to 8 points, the second lowest of his Big Ten career.

On the flip side of those positives:
- With that said balance - 5 players scoring 7 or more - those 5 players were the only players to score for Wisconsin and only 6 players took shots.
- Mike Bruesewitz - Apparently effort and fearlessness is not enough sometimes, even for a Bo Ryan team. Bruesewitz is under sized, and with the improved play of Ryan Evans, he's seeing a lot more time on the bench.
- Ben Brust - his hot start has cooled down, as he scored 0 points in 4 of his last 7 games, only scoring 10 points once in that span, but that is not unexpected for a player seeing such a large increase in minutes from the previous season.

All and all, a fun win, one that allows us Badger fans to maintain a slight glimmer of hope for a special season as March approaches.

Badgers

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Badgers Basketball Report

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Cheers.

Champions! or maybe not

The World Cup and the potential for a strong USA run got me thinking about the likelihood that teams I support win a championship. I've chronicled in my Wisconsin Sports Woes entry about the torture that we often endure being a Wisconsin sports fan. In my life time, we've had a grand total of one true championship. I'm not counting division or conference or bowl wins here, I'm talking about a bonafide World or National Championship.
My thinking got me a bit sad, as the likelihood of an oncoming plethora of championships looks pretty bleak. Anyways, I've decided to take a closer look at my teams prospects of winning a championship.

1. Packers - The Packers are obviously number one, the far frontrunner of most likely to win a championship in my lifetime. They could win next year. They could win 3 times in the next five years. They have a great QB, an awesome receiving corps, and a strong young (for the most part) defense. But, even with greats like Favre and White, the Pack only won 1 Superbowl. The playoffs are tough, and the best team does not always end up champion.
Last Championship: 1997
Odds of winning a Championship in my lifetime: 97%

2. Bucks - I don't want you thinking I am on the Bucks bandwagon here. I don't think they have a team that can really compete with the best right now. It's just that basketball in many ways is a fickle game. Things change greatly from year to year. You only have 5 players on the court at a time. A few strong draft picks can totally change your fortunes. Look at the Spurs. They are a similar market to Bucks. They don't have tons of money, but a few draft picks, a strong coach, and a couple great foreigners have totally turned their franchise around.
What might be going against the Bucks, though, is that in the NBA, you truly have to be the best team. No "hot now" or "peaking at the right time" team will win 4-straight 7-game series.
Last Championship: 1971
Odds of Winning a Championship in my lifetime: 8%

3. Wisconsin Football - This one might surprise people. Winning a college football National Championship is hard, but I think the Badgers have all the right ingredients, and in the perfect storm, they could win it all. What are these ingredients you ask? A relatively strong program, killer home field advantage, play in a strong BCS conference, play an increasingly unique brand of football. Call me crazy, but I think they can do it. If the Badgers, as a Big 10 team go undefeated, there is no way the BCS can keep them out of the national championship game. They could do this if they build a strong team and play the right teams at Camp Randall. Get to the National Championship game, and they play a brand of football that the likes of Florida and Texas and teams like that are not used to playing. Just look at the Miami game last year. Again, maybe I am dreaming, but in the right circumstances, I like it.
Last Championship: Never
Odds of Winning a Championship in my lifetime: 3%

4. US Soccer - Team USA is what got my thinking about this list. Most agree the US is getting better at soccer, with the great draw and a potential for a break out tournament, you start dreaming. The problem is, the World Cup is only every 4 years. If it was every year, the US would be ahead of the Badgers and the Bucks, but the World Cup is tough. Spain, who were the favorites going in had to beat Chile, Paraguay, Portugal, Germany, and the Netherlands. Tough stuff. The USA will continue to improve, but will that be enough to be genuine contenders?
Last Championship: Never
Odds of Winning a Championship in my Lifetime: 2%

5. Wisconsin Basketball - The Badgers are a great program, but I don't think they are good enough to win it all. Bo Ryan is a great regular season coach, developing players, getting the most out of his team, but they are just not good enough in the post-season. Their flaws show clearly. With their style of play, they will always be good or very good, but never great. In college basketball, you need freak athletes. You need blue-chippers. Wisconsin just does not get them.
Last Championship: 1941
Odds of Winning a Championship in my lifetime: 1%

6. Everton - For Everton, I only consider the Premier League Title or Champions League title a true championship. The League Cup or FA Cup, though greatly desired, does not really count in these terms. Everton are a good team, but everything in football is currently going against them. There is more money, more foreign investment, more foreign players and Everton cannot compete. The can field a strong side, but the best players will leave to get more money and more opportunities. Since 1995, only 3 teams have won the Premier League. That is a pretty wild stat. To compete Everton need a new stadium and new investors, but even that, does not guarantee success.
Last Championship: 1987
Odds of Winning in my lifetime: Less that 1%

7. Brewers - Baseball. It's unfair. A few teams prey on the rest. Remember when we waited 26 years to make the playoffs and then lost in the first round? We were so thrilled just to make it there. Yes, then did nothing the next two years, and much of the success the playoff year was due to a free agent here half the year. Do you think the Rays won't begin shipping off players after this year? If you don't, you are incorrect. Plus Milwaukee is no Tampa. Maybe I've just been jaded by years of disappointment, but I don't think the Brewers stand a chance.
Last Championship: Never
Odds of winning in my lifetime: much less than 1%


Maybe I have unrealistic expectations, but even these 2 or 3 championships in my lifetime will be much more fulfilling than being a Lakers or Yankees fan.

Sports Thoughts

Not sure how to start this post.
Wow
Damn
Shit
What?

Of course I am talking about the Packers game yesterday. It was a pretty amazing game. We just ended up on the wrong side of it. We'll have to add this one to the Wisconsin Sports Despair post. It could've been perfect. It was a weird game. Did the Packers blitz once? What happened to the defense? Rodgers hasn't forced a pass like that all season, yet he does on the first play. Some great emotional highs at the end - Rackers missing the kick, winning the coin toss, but then it was all over. So much went wrong but we still had a chance to win. 1st Play of overtime, man. That was it. Should've won it.
Also, apparently Fitzgerald can just knock Woodson down as much as he wants and Cardinals can hit Rodgers helmet first in the head (second play of overtime) and grab his facemask (last play of overtime). But, like I said, we still had a chance, and that's all you can ask for.
A Sad night in Green Bay. But next year we will win the Super Bowl. I am confident in that. Young team, starting to hit stride. I can't even think of a need that must be addressed in the off season - I guess offensive line and special teams.
Only reason left to watch the playoffs? To see Favre lose.
I guess I will root for the Saints and Chargers.

Great Badgers Basketball game Saturday beating the undefeated Purdue. Wisconsin pretty much handled Purdue in the second half. Jordan Taylor was the man again. Jason Bohannon actually stepped up. He made 3 pointers and a few drives! We won even when Leuer was off his game. And Nankivil barely played for the second straight game. Ryan Evans must've been feeling confident after getting a shout-out from Big Dunc, as he contributed well all game.
This team is really a contender for the Big 10. They have a great inside and outside game. I thought that lack of frontcourt depth could really hurt them, but winning with Leuer having such a poor game was great to see. The key as I said, is Jordan Taylor's ability to play the point and let Hughes be the off guard.
This game not only icreased my hope for this season, but the future as well. The young kids played well, and can a Bo Ryan team really ever be bad?


I also realized a change in my sporting preferences, or moreso my dedication to teams. Badger basketball has really been moving up the list. Speaking of lists, here's the list, in order, or teams I an most interested in, or teams I most root for.

1. Everton - English football. I guess waking up early almost every Saturday or Sunday proves my dedication. Everton's winning or losing can actually effect my mood. They haven't won a trophy since I've been a fan, but something about my personality makes me like them even more because of that.
2. Badger Basketball - My love for Badger basketball has increased pretty steadily since I left campus. Something about Bo Ryan basketball is great too watch. I've found myself changing around my schedule so I can watch games. And I watch the entire game, no channel flipping. It is great!
3. Packers - I am a huge Packers fan, but games are long. I've found myself missing a few and often flip through channels during games to watch movies like 10 Things I Hate About You and The Sum of All Fears. My dedication is not where it used to be.
4. Brewers - I am definitely not a fair weather Brewer fan. If I do not see the game or listen to it, I definitely look for the score. I still root for the Brewers no matter how far out of the playoff chase they are. There are 162 games, so it's good to always know that the Brewers will be playing, but it's a bad thing because if you miss one game, it doesn't really matter
5. Badgers Football - I probably only saw about half the games this year. College football is too long. Games take over 3.5 hours. And we always play at 11:00am. I might be classified as a fair weather Badger football fan because I am excited about next year.
6. Southampton - Southampton is the city I studied in while in England. I saw many games and have a personal tie to the team. The have moved down two divisions since I left, so there is no conflict with Everton.
7. Bucks - I like the Bucks and root for them, but really don't care much. Sometimes I don't even know that they played. I would rather watch Man vs. Food than a close 4th quarter of a Bucks game.

Late Night College B-Ball

Short work week, not too much to do. Why not stay up late and watch the Wisconsin-Arizona basketball game? Tip off was 11:00 central time and despite the Wisconsin win, I wish I would have just went to bed. The was a foul fest, ending 65-61 in s hours and 30 minutes. Due to all the fouls you really couldn't learn anything about Wisconsin. I was hoping to come here and write about their prospects of making the Big Dance for 12 straight seasons, but it's hard to say. Maybe tonight vs Gonzaga will show us something.
A few notes:
- Wisconsin has a couple more big white guys (surprise)in the ilk of Joe Krabbenhoft
- Redshirt Freshman Ryan Evans has a stellar flat-top and is pretty athletic.
- nobody but Hughes can create their own shot, so a lot of our position at the end of the season will be determined by him
- Jason Bohannan pretty much can't do anything but shoot.
- I think Jordan Taylor will be better than Hughes

In the end, I believe Wisconsin will make the NCAA tournament again this year for two reasons.
1. Bo Ryan
2. The Big Ten is strong this year 6 teams in the top 25. This will give Wisconsin plenty of opportunities for a "signature" victory, plus the play Gonzaga and Cincinnati/Maryland in Hawaii and Duke and Marquette at home.


Update - A few more observations after last night's loss to Gonzaga. The Zags won handily.
- I was being to nice to Jason Bohannan yesterday. He just isn't good enough.
- Tim Jarmusz is not good enough to be a starter on this average team. I would go three guards- Hughes, Bohannan, Taylor - with Nankivil and Leuer.
- I said Taylor will be better than Hughes, I forgot to proceed it with "This Year"

Things I want to experience again for the first time

I had a friend in Montana who said multiple times that if he had a time machine he would go back in time and watch Back to the Future again without knowing what happens. That is a strong call-out. Then a while later I happened on this article from the AV Club of the Onion pretty much asking what would you like to be able to see or hear again for the first time. That is a pretty simple, but complicated question and really got me thinking. Here are things I wish I could experience again for the first time without any knowledge of them. I took the route of how could I make these things better, rather than what were my best experiences. Make sense?
Here we go.
Packers' Super Bowl run - It's not that I didn't appreciate this, it's just that I was only in 7th grade and probably would have enjoyed it more being a bit older.
The Wonder Years - I was just a bit to young for this. I watched it, but wasn't really mature enough to get everything or identify totally with Kevin.
Jaws - lots of these movies will be classic ones from my youth that I watched over and over again, still great every time I watch them, but I can't even imagine what the first time would've been like, not knowing how things were gonna play out
Ghostbusters - Ditto
Star Wars - again, watched it so many times, don't really know what the first time would be like
Planet of the Apes - "The movie or the planet?" Epic.
Badgers Rose Bowls and Final Four Run - this is more of the case of "I wish I was in college when..." I can't image how awesome it would be.
Fantastic Four (pretty much the entire John Byrne run) -
I can't imagine what it would be like reading these issues once a month as they came out. By the time I got to them they were already part of FF legend. Plus, getting them later it was harder to get the better issues, so I had to read them out of order. Specifically issues 242-244, 236, 285, and 267. I already knew the major shocks by the time I read them.
Seinfeld- I was just too young to get much of the sexual and relationship humor, but that made seeing reruns much more enjoyable. Kind of similar to the Simpsons, but as I said before, the best episodes were great when I first saw them, when I saw them in syndication, and when I saw them on the DVDs.
Cider House Rules and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - I would've liked to read these books without seeing the movie first, a couple of many more like that
Harry Potter - I read the first one in high school but then didn't pick them back up until summer of 07 after seeing the 4th movie.
And I had already seen the 2nd movie, so I skipped that book. And by the time I was really getting into the meat of the series, that last book was already out, Dumbledore was out of the closet, and a few other things were already known. But I am happy to say that I was never one of the people camping out overnight and dressing up as a wizard or something.

And here is a list of things I would like to experience again for the first time, but not change anything about it.
Lost - I have had the pleasure of watching LOST both on DVD and waiting week to week. Both are good, but I think the anticipation might make it better.
Survivor- Ok, I'm thinking back to season 1 and 2 and some other good ones in the middle. Again, watching week to week is great, knowing you were part of something special




The Office - I never got into the Office until Season 3 when it was at its best. I was still learning about the characters in their funniest, best moments. Plus I can see occasional old episodes which are new to me.
Jurassic Park - I was probably 10 when this came out, pretty much the perfect age. Loved it and still love it

Independence Day - Vastly underrated, saw it when I was 12 I think, perfect.
Breaking Away - Yes.


There is my list of thing I would like to experience again for the first time. Adding your own thoughts/things you want to experience again is greatly encouraged.

11 Straight Years?

The Wisconsin Badger Basketball team has made the NCAA tournament 10 straight years. That is pretty good, but will they make it 11? That is a big question now. As of today, I would say Wisconsin is a solid bubble team.

They can go either way.

At the beginning of the year, I would have put them in the tournament in a heartbeat. I expected them to be the 3rd best team in the Big 10 after Michigan State and Purdue. The started out fine, but then hit a horrible stretch. A few weeks ago, it definitely looked like they would be NIT bound this year, but they have recently righted themselves.

So will they make it?

I say yes.

There remaining schedule has Indiana twice, Michigan at home, and at Minnesota and Michigan State. If they win at Michigan State or Minnesota, they will be a lock. If not, they will remain on the bubble until the conference tournament.

It helps that they have the 4th toughest schedule this year and that the Big 10 is better this year.I was worried for a bit, but things are looking up. I see one NCAA tourney win.

Wisconsin Sports Despair

I can across a Sports Illustrated Article the other day about the disappointment of sports fans in Philadelphia. Apparently they have gone 100 seasons (professional sports only) without a championship. Check it out - Philly Futility
Their last championship was 1983. But that got me thinking about Milwaukee sports heartbreaks. The Brewers haven't made the playoffs since I've been alive. The last professional championship was 1971, but of course, we do not have 4 teams like Philly. I then expanded my sports heartbreaks the whole State of Wisconsin and started to get pretty depressed. I am one of those people who remembers the loses much more vividly than the wins. So I've put together my own list of Wisconsin Sports Heartbreaks. I'll concentrate mostly on the last dozen years, you know the things I actually remember. Enjoy.


21. Just Short- This is definitely a Milwaukee special here. George Webb is a popular area 24-hour diner. They have had an on-going promotion where they predict the Brewers will win 12 straight. Nobody knew what would happen until the Brewers won 13 straight in 1987 and everyone got free burgers! Wow. So in 2003, in the midst of another horrible season, the Brewers put together 10 straight wins. The city was abuzz anticipating free burgers. But, the streak was ended by the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Damn.
Heart broken. Stomach Empty.


20. Ray Allen Trade- Ray Allen, Milwaukee fan favorite gets traded for Gary Payton in 2003. This was the last ditch effort to take advantage of a good team. Gary Payton ended up playing about 20 games and led the Bucks to a first round playoff lose. The team has never recovered from the lose of Ray.


19. Robert "Tractor" Traylor- This one is mostly hindsight, but even at the time, you had to know Tractor Traylor wasn't going to be a great NBA player. I mean, he's fat. But who knew Dirk Nowitski was going to be so great? Just imagine the team with Dirk, Big Dawg, Sam Cassell, and Ray. Wow. Big Four.


18. 1981 Brewers - This is one I mostly heard about from my Mom. It has to do with the strike split season in 1981. Apparently the Brewers had by far the best record in the second half of the season and the better overall record, but had to play the Yankees in a playoff because the won the first half of the season. The Brewers lost of course and didn't make the playoffs until the next year. Sounds about right.

17. The Last Piece of the Puzzle- The year is 2001. The Bucks are coming off a heartbreaking conference Championship loss to the Sixers, but also a super promising year. Their solution to overcome the hump - Anthony Mason. I admit it, I was pretty stoked at the time, thought he would be the inside presence we needed. Boy, was I wrong. He came in fat, and stayed fat, slow, and lazy all season. He totally disrupted the flow of our game.
So how did Mason help out the Bucks? 2002, didn't even make the playoffs.


16. Packers home playoff loss- I've always hated the Vikings more than any team. They have been the Packers' biggest rival since I've been a fan, mostly due to the even match-ups between the two. But I guess I wasn't really into the Packer's this season. It was a tough loss, but I barely remember the game. Mostly I remember the Randy Moss Moon. Man. 15. Best Team Never to Make it to a Final? - Apparently, the Milwaukee Bucks were a force to be reckoned with in the 80's. They went to the playoffs every year of the 1980's winning 7 straight division titles, but never made it to the finals. They lost to Seattle in 7 games in '80, Philly in 7 games in '81, Philly in 6 in '82, Philly in 5 in the '83 conference finals, Boston in the '84 conference finals, Philly again in 85, Boston again in the '86 conference finals, and then Boston in 7 games in 87.
Man, always the brides maid, but I would definitely take Conference final Appearance for the Bucks in the next few years.

14. The Lambeau Mystique? - The Green Bay Packers had NEVER lost a home playoff game. 8-0 at home on the year. Brett Favre had never lost under 30 degrees. It was January and snowing against the dome-team Atlanta Falcons. Things were looking good. But looks were far from the truth. At nights end, the Packer's streaks were done. A 27-7 loss. Wow, there goes the Lambeau mystique. And Green Bay has never really captured it back.
But Atlanta's amazing quarterback is currently sitting in jail after running dog-fighting rings, so I guess I'll take the loss.


13. Brewers Management - Let's face it, the 1990's were a rough decade for the Brewers, and that may be an understatement. Much if it was due to horrible personal moves. Bud Selig baby. Wow, he was bad. I'm sure every team can look back on the bad moves they made, but for the Brewers, it just seems astonishing. Here's just a few of them.
Break out years after leaving the Brewers - John Jaha, Dante Bichette, B.J. Surhoff, Paul Moliter, Gary Sheffield, even Troy O'Leary.
Horrible pick-ups - Jeffery Hammonds, Chuckie Carr, Marquis Grissom, Glendon Rusch, Henry Blanco, Gerald Williams.
And I am sure many, many more.

12. Pacers Series Losses - 1999 and 2000. This was a fun time for the Bucks. There was really the sense of improvement and the feeling that something big would soon happen. I remember George Karl getting standing ovations. Unfortunately, both of these years we ran into the top seeded Indiana Pacers. Both series were good fights, especially the second one, with Indiana winning the deciding game 5 with a late 3 pointer from Travis Best. Man, Travis Best. But the play of the Bucks even made Reggie Miller cordial, saying "The better team lost the series."

11. Badgers Start 9-0. - This was a big one for me, but might not be remembered as well by most people. It was my junior of college, my first year living off campus. We lived right on Dayton Street. Lots of great pre-game parties (beer bongs, quarters, Beirut, a great pre-game CD). Look at our support below. (That's a nice looking B) Just an awesome time/place. Plus, the Badgers, who weren't supposed to be great that year, started out an incredible 9-0. They were ranked 4th in the country. There was talk about a national championship. We squeaked out a win at Arizona. Beat Ohio State convincingly at the Horse Shoe and Scott Starks amazing sack/fumble recovery TD over Kyle Orton and Purdue. But it all came viciously crashing down in the 10th game. At Michigan State we got crushed 49-14. A particular Michigan St, goal stance at the end of the first half sticks out in my brain. And a week later, we still had a chance to get to the Rose Bowl, but again were crushed, this time 30-7 against Iowa. The great season ended with an Outback Bowl loss to Georgia.
What could have been.

10. TO catch- I can still see TO's crying ass face after his last second TD catch from Steve Young in the Packer's 1998 wild-card loss to the 49ers. He wasn't well known back then, but I've hated him ever since. Many have joined the hate-wagon since. Jerry Rice's fumble helped bring back instant reply. Mike Holgren's last game. All and all a tough day.

9. Losses to the Cowboys - Green Bay Packer losses to the Dallas Cowboys were just a given part of my childhood. 3 times in the playoffs including one Conference Championship. Three regular season loses including the damn Jason Garrett Thanksgiving game. I hate the Cowboys still.

8. Brewers losing seasons- Another given in my childhood/high school years - the Brewers would suck. Yes, no doubt about it. Losing season 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004. Wow, that's a lot. I went to countless games at County Stadium and then Miller Park and listened to Bob Uecker pretty much every night. Many loses. Many, many loses. Trivia, what Brewer is pictured below?



7. '07 Collapse - That being said, I also remember that pretty much every year since 2002 was going to be "the year" for the Brewers. '06 was a bust, but '07 had to be it. I even made it to opening day. The excitement in Brew City was palpable, 24-10 best record in the league. But this is still fresh in the memory of you all I'm sure. Ben Sheets injury, horrible streak by Capuano, JJ Hardy drop in production, pretty much a bad 2nd half of the season. Taken over by the dreaded Chicago Cubs. So close, yet....


6. Badger Basketball -
I'm confident in saying the The Wisconsin Badger Basketball program is among the elite in the country. There is no doubt about it. Look at this decade. Awesome. But they are just not good enough to compete in March. This makes me very sad and angry. Just look at the last two years. Ever since my senior year 2006 I was talking up 2007 as the Year for the Badgers- Tucker, Taylor, Butch - pretty much telling everyone I know about them. I was feeling a Championship. We even got the #1 ranking. But a falter down the stretch we ended with a 2 seed and lost to UNLV in the second round. Such a disappointment. Then this past year was the opposite, no expectations. But a great season including a Big Ten outright championship and a Big Ten Tournament Championship, got hopes high again. I was feeling Final Four. It was looking good after dominating Beasley and Kansas St., but again we were brought up only to be let down hard, getting killed by Davidson. This one still hurts. Also, it made me realize that Bo Ryan and Wisconsin will never win a Championship or even go to the Final Four. We just don't have the athletes.
I still bleed Wisconsin Red, though!

5. Braves Leave Milwaukee - This should probably be number one, but it was so long ago. My parents still talk about it to this day. The Braves left Milwaukee in 1965 and the city did not have a professional sports team for a while. Yes, a big lose for the city. Hank Aaron breaks the record in an "A" hat instead of an "M". I can't image a team living. Sorry Seattle.


4. Big Dog Miss- 2001 conference finals, it's all knotted up 2 games apiece. Game 5 in Philadelphia is a back and forth affair. Eric Snow played with a fractured ankle. Bucks were down 1 Derrick Mckie misses two free throw. Glenn Robinson has a 12-foot jumper from the baseline with a second left. It's his shot.... looks good... Buck will control the series...rims out...damn.
Yes, this was the chance for the Bucks to go to the Championship. Will it happen again in my life time?

3. 2008 NFC Championship - This one still upsets me. At home against the Giants. We play pretty badly, still have a chance to win, blow it all. You know the story. I drank a lot that night, good thing I didn't have to work the next day.

2. 4th and 26- This one really makes me want to use the Lords name in vain. I'm serious. Look at that picture.
I can't talk about it. 4th and 26 has it's own wikipedia entry check that
Fuck.


1. Superbowl XXXII Loss - Man this one still hurts ten years later. Good thing I couldn't drink at the time. Haha. It's still a punch in the stomach. Man. I hate seeing Elway's horse-ass-face and his "incredible" first down run. It was so unbelievable at the time. Even when Holmgren let them score, even when it was fourth down, even after the pass to Chumura hit the ground, I still thought the Pack was going to win. Man. I still can't believe it.






There you go sports fans. It's great to be a Wisconsin sports fan, I'm not gonna lie. We talk about Super Bowl XXXI, 1982, 1977, Ron Dayne in the Rose Bowl, 1971, even 1957. I love it. It's a hard love to have, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. All these tragedies make the triumphs even sweeter. It's not just sports. It's life.