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I don't feel great this week. Here we go again, Tim. Goodbye, everybody. Welcome into the Winklerverse. I'm Bart Winkler.
I'm going to do somewhat of an evergreen sports podcast, one that you could listen to. The day that it is recorded. But I'm not breaking down box scores, and I'm not talking about hirings and firings, and I'm not. Talking about defensive coordinator press conferences. I heard a question.
On ESPN, Milwaukee's Willie and Tausch last week about. Other than the 1982 Brewers. Which team do we hold in the highest regard that did not? Win a championship? Which team do we hold in the highest regard that did not win a championship?
I think right away, a few come to mind. Whether it's Brewers, Bucks, maybe some Badgers, and I'm going to go through their respective seasons and histories and try to figure out at least what my top one might be. If you want to chime in as I do this live, you're more than welcome to do so. You can just leave a comment. Uh you can also uh join in on the live stream.
I know um For those live, it's first thing in the morning here. as we're getting rocking and rolling on what's going to be a great positive day. What's probably not evergreen is that I'm positive now. I'm a positive guy now. Too many people tell me I'm negative.
I don't see it, but. You know, perceptions, reality.
So. We'll get there. This is a positive topic. This is a positive topic. Which non-championship team do we hold in the highest?
Regard. Um The 1982 Brewers are the answer.
So we're going to disqualify them. The 1982 Brewers. I've taken on a... have taken on a Life of its own. Like the 1982 Brewers, I think we've convinced ourselves.
That they did win a championship. We've convinced ourselves. that that was our World Series. And if the Brewers never do win a World Series. They were the closest thing.
Two of them. Positively, I would say that they went seven games with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1982. Negatively, I would say they blew a 3-2 lead. They still had a parade.
The team still talks about them to this day. The fans still talk about them to this day. You know, at some point. We won't have anyone alive to celebrate that team. But I don't think that'll stop them.
I think they'll just bring like their kids and their grandkids, and we will still. In twenty eighty-two. There will be a celebration of the 1982 Milwaukee Brewers. With descendants. of that team.
Absolutely. Um there will be.
So the 1982 Brewers, this is before my time. I'm born in 84. I think I first found out about them Until you know i i i i try to think about like When did I find out about what came before me? When did thi when did this start? flooding me or my mind or when did I learn about it?
And I learned about baseball, probably got into baseball when I was four or five years old. Watching the Cubs on WGN, watching the Braves at night, supporting the Brewers. My first favorite team, like the team that I loved more than anything, was the 92 Brewers.
So they are probably going to be pretty high on my list. The 1992 Brewers. But when I first found about 1982, I was, I was, even as a kid, I think even as a kid, I was stunned. Like, they lost. Isn't the point to win?
They lost. What the heck? The 1987 Brewers, I have a. Frame behind me. This is the season that they started 13 and 0.
And then it was team streak. And I do remember this because this used to hang in my parents' basement. the thing that you always see on the Dan Shaney YouTube stream. It's the poster, and then it's got my dad put Sports Illustrated in here with different baseball cards of guys that were on the team. And I first saw that and I.
I think I remember. You know, I don't know. You get to a certain age. It's like, what do you actually remember? What memories were actually dreams?
What have you convinced yourself happened that didn't? But I feel like I remember being in my basement. And asking my dad. Dad, the 1987 Brewers, 13-0, how did they do in the playoffs? And then he said.
you know, sh hand on shoulder meme.
Son They actually didn't. They actually. They actually did pretty bad. They were. They were 91 and 71 and didn't make the playoffs.
Although I do think if they were in the West. They had a better record than maybe the Twins. At the time. But they did not make the playoffs. Anything before 1982, we can totally.
Rip off the board. 1981, the Brewers made it to the playoffs for the first time. You go to the World Series the next year, 1982, that's probably going to overshadow.
So 1982 Brewers is going to be. The answer. I do wonder if we're Getting far enough away from that though. Where The amount of people that We're alive. Or that were of an age to remember.
Are you going to still hang on to that? I don't know that, like. If I were to tell my kid at some point. About the 1982 Brewers. He probably doesn't.
Well, he's gonna he's not gonna I mean, now it's 40 years ago, some 45 years ago.
So I don't know that if you didn't live that or I think another reason the 1982 Brewers Have a big Claim to this question about which non-championship team do we hold in the highest regard. In Wisconsin, then they didn't make the playoffs for a long time after that.
So that was it. You made it in 81. You make it in 82. You don't make it again until 2008.
So, not only did they make a World Series. And you had a parade for them. They did not make the playoffs again. For another 26 years. Robert on Facebook.
says the 1979 Brewers team. That would be a team that finished 95 and 66.
So they played good baseball at the end of the 70s, but again, The pennant was just two teams to make it, which The history would be a lot different for the Brewers. If the baseball structure was the way it is. Um now they won 95 games. But finished eight games out of first. Yount said at FanFest some years ago, well, it'd be some years ago.
That's become a memory now, Brewers Fan Fest. That was probably the best Brewers team he ever played on.
So that's a good one. But again, that's kind of lost. Uh to the Annals Of history. Bruce says in 1987 on YouTube, my fourth-grade teacher was friends with Rob Deere.
So I basically thought that meant I was friends with him. Never mind, I never got to meet him. I love drive deer. And then he played like Rob Deere was just such a quintessential. late eighties baseball player.
You got some time in Detroit. With the Red Sox, I think he finished up. Or was there for a little bit?
So Yeah, there's a lot of great Brewers teams. And again. You had the AL and NL. You had four teams make the playoffs. That was it.
Four teams. There's a lot of Brewer seasons. Where they won enough games that would qualify them into the postseason.
Now, in 1978, they won 93 games. In 1979, they won 95 games. 86 and 80. The 81 season was shortened. And that's the first year they made it to the playoffs, of course.
But 95 and 82, they won 87 the next year. They won 91 and 87, as we talked about. And then we get to 1992. Which that was my first favorite team. With the Glenn Braggs and the Kevin Seitzer Orchestra and the.
Um that's what I call them. You know, those kind of guys. Oh, the sites might have been later. But Pat Listash, he still had Young Molliter. Pat Listash came up rookie of the year.
This was an incredible team. They won 92 games. They had a pennant race with the Blue Jays. The Blue Jays. Win the pennant, win the World Series.
I believe. And then Paul Molleter goes there.
So I hated The Blue Jays. I'm still not sure. 'Cause a lot of these memories too, when you're a kid, they might be more impactful. Like, I think if we get to the Bucs, when we get to the Bucs, the 2001 Bucs. might have more of an impact.
than some of these other teams for me because I was just I was younger. Pardon me, I'm live, so. I need Oh my god.
Sorry. I need tissue. I got I got uh I'll do this off camera. Beautiful. Mm-hmm.
Yeah. Little under the weather, my friends. But then he goes to the Blue Jays the next year, and I remember. I was At my house. My neighbors came over.
It was the All-Star game. It was my dad, another dad, me and another kid. And it was in Toronto, and we watched the Blue Jays line up, all seven of them, and there was Paul Molliter. And I was just heartbroken and furious. Years later, I did get to talk to Paul Molliter.
I may have told him that. I have to have. I may have told him that. That was when um Chuck was doing some stuff with 97-3 the game, and it was a big deal. It might have been the week.
It might have been his first week.
So we countered. By having Paul Molliter on.
Sorry, Freemes. Probably should have had him on when. We were together. I should probably have you on this right now. This is a good Freemason topic.
Uh, there's some other Bucks ones coming in. I just want to go through the brewers here.
So, for the brewers. 82 was not alive, so that's not going to be not my number one. Um Yeah, Glenn Briggs, when did he get on? I loved all those kind of guys. Those guys that were here for like a little bit They just, it just, I don't know.
Like, now it's like the Jonathan Scope. Like, I'm not going to remember him, but maybe there's some kid that finally remembers the Jonathan Scope Grand Slam, and that's his Glenn Braggs. I don't know. But yeah, the 92 team. Let me look at that roster.
Just as I'm uh Forgetting a little bit. The 92 roster. Jim Gantner loved him. Oh, we had John Jaha. John Jaha, who then turned into Turner Ward.
Kevin Seitzer's orchestra, I was right about that one. Oh, Franklin Stubbs was a guy. Bill Spires was a guy. Yeah, I loved all these guys. Teddy Higuero is not with that team anymore, but I loved him.
He was like my favorite dude. Oh, Ron Robinson, who looks like me. Wegman, Pleasack, Orosco, Navarro. Eldred, Basio, Ricky Bones. BJ Serhoff.
Daryl Hamilton. The late great. Dante Bachette. Greg Vaughan. Phil Gardner the skipper.
Yeah, that was a team.
Now's a team. Their big trade deadline acquisition was they traded Jeff Kunkel. to the Cubs for said Landrum. I don't know who those guys are. Blue Jays won 96 games that season, and the Brewers won 92, so they did not make the playoffs.
That one holds a really special part. In my heart, for sure. M Shark on YouTube says 2008 Brewers is up there. Cece Sabathia still talked about 90s, early 2000s weren't great, but loved Jeff Cirillo, obviously. And Greg Vaughan.
The 2008 Brewers. I think might be it for me. 2018, which we'll get to. Certainly has some say. But the 2008 Brewers That was my first experience of Brewers playoff baseball in my.
And probably many of your lifetimes. How many summers did you want? I mean, that was that 92 team, by the way, that 92 team. In the stretch from 82 to 2008. They won 83 games in 91, 92 and 92.
83 in 2000. Remember the year they went 500? In 2005? Like that was a huge accomplishment. And then they go 83 and 79.
you know, two games out just to have meaningful baseball in September. It was incredible. And then they got into the playoffs. In 2008, thanks to Um C C Sabathia. Essentially.
Dillard was on that team. Sheets. Supon, Turnbow. I mean, this is an era that. Bill Hall, Hardy Weeks, Fielder, they finally got theirs.
Some guy named Craig Council was on that team. I've never heard of him.
Sounds like a terrible person just based on the name. Uh Robert. Imagine if the Brewers had Sheffield in 92. They traded him that offseason. He almost won the triple crown.
In ninety-two. But the 2008 Brewers What I remember about that was, I was at my parents' house. I'd gone to school, moved back. Moved back with my parents for a little bit. And in 2008, we were watching that game.
At my house. Another buddy had to go. Home for some reason? Um which we then corralled him back. To celebrate, I had a friend who was using my basement restroom.
While the clinch happened.
So we call that the magic shitter. We call that the magic shitter for the rest of the time in that house. I used to listen to while out for walks or runs, Bob Euchre's call of. They've got the lead. And that's still a good uh Inside joke with one of my buddies.
But 2008 I'd never seen the Brewers make a playoff appearance. None of us had. It was finally happening. Oh yeah, Lance Nix. Gabe Kapler, Gabe Gross.
Were those trade deadline guys? Uh do I have the trades listed here? I don't think I do. First time in 26 years. Then they go to the NLDS, they make the playoffs.
In 2008, I still have. Uh I won't get it, no prop comedy today, but I have the sh the printout sheet. Because a friend and I bought the World Series tickets. or the whole sheet of tickets. He actually bought him, put him on his card, and I had no money, so I was going to pay him as they go.
And I ended up only just paying for the two home games.
So, thank you again, uh, Matt. I still appreciate that you did that. For me. And I don't know how I would have afforded it anyway. Part of the reason I moved back home, is what I claim: I moved home in 2008.
I left my TV job to move back home and try to reset. And I wanted to be closer to the Brewers because I lived in La Crosse. I was three hours away. I wanted to be closer to go to all the playoff games. I didn't have a job then.
I really thought I was going to go to all these playoff games. I thought I was going to a World Series game. And then They lost to the Phillies. That game, I still remember saying Dodgers 2, Cubs 0, walking out of the ballpark. And that game was so loud.
Dave Bush strikes out the side, so loud. In 2008. And then the next day was a Sunday, they played the Phillies.
Soup was on that team. The next day, they played the Phillies and they gave out Thunder Six. And the whole stadium smelled like hangover. Like it was a playoff win on a Saturday. kept the playoffs alive.
And then me and my buddy sat outfield, and we were trying to, we weren't going to leave until they kicked us out because we were trying to be one of those sad reaction fan shots. That they always show. But those were good memories.
So the 2008 Brewers. Um I I hold If I have to vote, I would put them over 80 or 92. 92 was special. It was me as a kid, but I kind of felt like. That was just me, maybe my dad a little bit, maybe my grandpa.
But I didn't have like a group of people to celebrate it with as I did. When I was a bit Um older. And then you would get into some other Brewers team.
So 2011 was fun. That was the Diamondback.
So now we won our first playoff series. Since um 2000. Or it's 1982. And then, obviously, losing the NLCS to the Cardinals. I went to one of those NLCS games.
They lost like 11 or 3 or something. Pooh Hulse hit a couple bombs. Uh like right away. It was terrible. Sup pitched a hell of a game.
Yeah, Neddy Yost. Uh for sure. Big thanks to our sponsor, BetterHelp, for partnering with us for this important conversation about mental health. This is Steve Smith here, former NFL wide receiver and host of the 89 Show on YouTube.
So, having a counselor and working with BetterHelp gives you an opportunity to really start to unpack, but people don't understand when you unpack things, you also open up a box that you're not always sure what's inside.
So, I think that's why seeing a professional is extremely important. If you need someone to open up to, visit BetterHelp. That's betterh.com/slash 89 to get started. All right, and then the Brewers.
So 2011's in there. Then you then they sucked. 2018. The 2018 Milwaukee Brewers. Man, oh man.
They won the NLDS against the Rockies, swept them. Went to one of those games with my goodest of buddies, Paul Limig. And then the NLCS against the Dodgers.
Now, this was a team. that I had covered Intently. And I humble brag. Was on the field after they clinched in St. Louis.
Was on the field after they clinched game 163 in Wrigley. Did not cover the rest of the playoffs. I think Freemes and Joe got those duties. They went out to LA. And I went to Florida for 2018.
I was watching one of those games in the backseat of my parents' car as they picked me up from the airport. And I did. That's when I called in and. Told Tim and Billy. Um Too many people were calling in and being happy.
And I said, no, no, no, no, no, no. You got to take these opportunities while you can. And that's the furthest they've been since game seven. In that NLCS.
So I think 2011. Kind of gets overshadowed. by the two surrounding it. 2008 and 2018. 2018, and everybody said, oh, if they go to the World Series, the Red Sox are going to beat them.
And I didn't. Think that was the case. Chris Taylor's catch, man. Chris Taylor's catch. That Woodruff hits that home run.
You think, okay, we're going to the World Series. There were way too many times in that series where you thought to yourself, Wow. We are going to the world. Series. By the way, some of the on-field video that I have is on my YouTube.
The video of being Either in the clubhouse or on the field. If you search the YouTube, you can check out just the video that I was able to shoot on my phone or in the locker room. Oh, I think it's cool.
So you can check that out at any time. And then since then, you'd go 19, they lost COVID year, okay, 2021.
Now it's all disappointments.
So I don't know that again, this is what I said, but There are these Brewers series and seasons. Where we think of them so fondly. Because they came up short. Brewers and Bucs came up short. These are teams that came up short.
So we hold him in a high regard. The Packers teams choked. The Packers teams invented way to lose. I don't know of a Packer team that I would say. Right now, I don't know.
I might say. I might say the Ray Rhodes year where they won their final four games. I don't know. All these other teams, I think about them, 20-11, 15-1, it just pisses me off. This team's pissed me off.
Oh, Bruce is a good one. The 89 Packers. That went 10 and 6 didn't make the playoffs. Linde Infante was coach of the year. Maybe.
Maybe that that's a good one. That could be it. Uh I vaguely remember Some of that. But for the Brewers, I guess what I would say, and then last year, you know, they beat the Cubs. Got smoked by the Dodgers, so that's not going to be up there.
For me, I think for the Brewers. It's going to be two thousand and eight. 2008. 2018's gotta. I don't know, man.
2018, like I was physically there. My body was on the field. But 2008, I'm 26 years old. or 24 years old. twenty four years old.
And The first time my favorite baseball team made the playoffs was then. After two dozen years of life. Chad says On YouTube. 2018 WSSP coverage was the golden era of Milwaukee Sports Talk. We nailed that thing, man.
We nailed that thing. I'm very proud of that work. From the shows itself. And also, what I was able to contribute, where I'm just walking around the locker room. My goal was to just get audio, but they're live.
I got a phone. I'm handing the phone to David Stearns. He's talking to Tim and Billy. I'm handing the phone to Council. He's talking to Tim and Billy.
I got players. On the line. Um I get BA to talk on a Remote box, BA, after calling the game. He's on the field. Talking with me, talking with Tim Billy back at the ranch.
It was great. That's got to be. Is that I have it. Is it online anywhere? Oh, it was so fun.
I did a Show from The Odyssey building in St. Louis after staying up with other beat reporters for the crew. Having some beers at the one bar that was open that night. Ah, man. That was so fun.
Oh, I also left. That's when I drove home with Wagner. And I left a bare underwear at the hotel. Yeah. Yeah.
So that would be the brewers. I'll get to the Bucks next. All of my podcast, I want to thank again Happy Place Hemp, Happy Place Hemp, promo code is Bart. 25% off each and every order at happyplacehemp.com. Again, promo code is Bart.
I've had their creams. The CBDs helped me when I thought I had gout or whatever that was. I don't know if I could rub it up my nose. I think I'm just a little stuffed up. Kid was sick.
I'm sick. It's that time of the year, maybe allergies. I think I'm allergic to something in the air. I know I'm allergic to cats. One episode coming up, I'll rub a cat on my face so you can see what happens.
It's pretty intense. I did it once in college, drunk. I said, I'm not allergic. I rubbed a cat all over my face and then. I had two giant pool ball welts.
where my eyes were supposed to be. It was uh It was insane. I think I did hook up with someone that night. No, definitely not. Definitely not.
A, it was college. B, I looked like me. The 2027 Brewers are going to be mine. That's Robert, the Brewers team that does not exist. And we'll say, oh, they could win a championship.
We'll see what happens with the lockout. At that time.
So, Brewers, for me, I'm going to go with 2008. Oh, I got to go 2018, though. I'll have to sleep on that. This is not a definitive, we're just talking through it. We're just talking through it.
Again. What is definitive? 25% off. Happy PlaceM.com promo code BART. Yeah.
All right, let's look at the box. The Bucs have an easy one. The Bucs have an easy one. two thousand and one. You could say the Bucs right away.
Now, here's something about the Bucs that I find very interesting. And I don't know the reason why.
So let's talk about it. Were there Bucks fans in the 1980s? Were there Bucs fans in the 1980s? Did these people exist? Where are they?
The 1980s Bucs. Never get talked about the way they should be. Almost like a Runner-up kind of dynasty.
Now you had the Pistons and the Bulls, you know, Jordan and They'd run into some of these teams. But the 1980 bucks. Let me, if you're on the video, I'm going to share the Wikipedia screen.
So you can see it just the list of seasons here. Look at all these seasons. In seventy-nine eighty. They win 49 games. They lose game seven in the conference semis to the Sonics.
The next year they win 60 games. They run rough shot through the central first all the time. Second in the conference. Losing to the Sixers then in 82. Losing to the Sixers in 83.
I mean, the Bucks and Brewers were good at the same time. It must have been great living here. Losing to the Celtics in 84. Losing to the Sixers in 85. These are conference finals or semifinals appearance.
Celtics beat him again in the conference finals in 86. Celtics beat him again in 87. And then towards the end of the 80s, you know, they're winning games in the 40s, not the 50s or 60s, and still getting bounced relatively early in the playoffs with Del Harris and Don Nelson as the coaches. Um But that whole eighties decade, they made the playoffs every year. They made the playoffs every year.
They had a winning record every year. They had multiple years. They won more than 55 games. And they are just not talked about. in the way that you would think that they would be.
Now, the banners are held high. A lot of the guys that were on those 80s bucks teams. Their numbers have been retired. That's like the way to connect. Anybody to anything.
And for the longest time, having McLaughlin on the coverage was a good way to think about Bucks' history, too. But the 1980s, Bucs, just a forgotten decade. A basketball. Maybe I'll write a book about them. I could write a book.
I'm bored as shit. Uh I could write a book. Is that the first time I swore? I'm just trying to be clean on this one. Yeah.
Those 1980s Bucs teams, man. Paul says on Facebook 60 years of serious fandom. And the 80s Bucks are still my favorites. I just don't hear too many people say that. M Shark says they never beat someone they weren't supposed to, and they were too good for too long in that stretch.
Gotta be bad for a while and then good. to be memorable for people. Yeah, that I talk about that all the time. You kind of get complacent with the winning, and those 80s bucks. You know, maybe it's kind of 2010s Packers.
Or it's like, okay, when does the season start?
Okay. They're going to lose in the playoffs again.
Okay, another good regular season, but for what? That could be it. Again, I don't know. I didn't You know, I didn't. I didn't live NBA as a kid like I lived.
Um, baseball. Oh, I loved baseball. I still do. But baseball was, I did the same kind of shit my kids doing, not twice. All right, now we're PG.
Doing the standings. I had standings too. I was putting standings, I was putting post-it notes on my fridge. Ben says, wish I could have seen the 80s Bucks to know. Are you a subscriber, Ben?
Thanks, if that's what that means.
Okay, so Apparently. I can get like this bonus. If I start a subscription club. But I don't have anything to offer anybody.
So I did put like just the donation club for $3.99 a month.
So if anyone is ever like, hey, how can I support that's a way? Or the sponsors, of course. But uh I have nothing to give you. It literally says this is a donation club. I have nothing to give you.
Okay. Paul says people forget how good the competition was back. In the eighties. Yeah, we can get the Marquette Ben. 2003, the Dwayne Wade Marquette.
Teams. The Marquette teams. They did reach through. They reached through to me because they had Travis Diener. From Fond du Lac.
So that's how they reached through to me. I was never really a Marquette guy. But that was the team, yeah, the final four run. Uh for sure. Grego says, an additional one-time happy place hemp, check into it.
Yeah, promo code bar 25% off. Pac-Fan on YouTube, guessing you don't hear about the 80s Bucs teams because they were hardly on TV. Yeah. You know, the the T V rights back then, far what they are now. And it was hard to follow them as much.
I'll tell you, growing up in Fond du Lac, which is an hour away from Milwaukee. But as a kid As a kid. I didn't see a lot of these either teams on TV. The NBA games that Really? And I okay, so I trash, but WGN I had, so I probably watch more Bulls games than Bucs.
But I'm gonna be a Bucks fan. Even with Jordan. Even with Jordan, I could have easily said I'm a Bulls fan. How come people don't do that? How come people don't do that?
Well, they were on TV and they were good. There should be more Bulls fans. There should be more Packers Bulls fans than Packers Cubs fans. The Brewers weren't on TV as much, but they were still on TV like on home Sundays. That's something.
If we subscribe, bring back drunk bart pods. Oof, I got a lot of work to do about myself before we start getting drunk on the internet again. or in general.
So Depends. If you pay for the rehab, I could do a drunk episode. I'll get a rehab sponsor. Yeah. I get her all and I'll do shows from rehab.
But isn't part of rehab to cut you off on everything? Yeah, that's why we're at THC house now, folks.
Well, not house. My kid's not. Doing it.
So, the 80s bucks, I would like to know more about. And I think it's kind of a failure on my behalf that I haven't. Learn more. about them.
So the 80s Bucs teams. Really are not going to come up on too many people's lists. You're either going to remember them fondly and you went to a bunch of games. Or you're going to be like, I don't want to say the same answer as everybody else. I'm going to come up with 80s bucks.
Then, of course, I grew up with the 90s Bucks, and they sucked ass. And I remember the first time that they made the playoffs. In 1998. Against the Pacers. It felt Similar.
As how 2008 would feel, because I don't really remember much about the 90-91 playoffs, if any, where they got swept by the Sixers. In kindergarten, I I I don't know much about that. But in 98, 99, you know, I'm in junior high. And that was the strike season.
So, another team that makes it back to the playoffs in the strike season. I think the Packers did that too. What's with all these teams making the playoffs after long. You got to have a strike season to get one of our teams in. They lost to the Pacers.
It was either that or the next year. That I was at my friend Doug's house. For a game. 'Cause they had like a 4.30 Thursday game on TNT. And I remember that.
There's going to be the answer that a lot of us say, and with good reason. You had the big three: Ray, Sam, and Big Dog. The 2001 bucks. They beat the magic as they should have. That conference semifinals with the Hornets.
That was game seven on a weekend, maybe a Sunday. I don't remember. But that got a lot more dicey. Than we thought maybe it should have. And then they should have won the conference finals against the Sixers.
They should have won the conference finals against the Sixers. I think if you're going to look at NBA history and look at what was the most likely series that were fixed, This is a top five one. Kings have their claim. Timberwolves have their claim. We have our claim.
And I'm just saying what was likely to be fixed. But I'm pretty sure it was. They got AI in there against the Lakers. And everybody said that about us too. Oh, he would have got swept by the Lakers.
We don't know that. You don't know that. The next year, not making the playoffs. When you don't make the playoffs the year after a year like that, then it almost like it's disappointing in the moment, but then the legacy of that team almost rises because it was a little blip. You know, 2008 Brewers.
They made the playoffs and then didn't again for a long time.
So it's just like a little blip, like a little mirage. In the desert. But the 01 Bucks. Are going to be a team for a lot of people. They made the playoffs a couple of times.
In the 2000s. you know, with 40 wins, seven seed, eight seed. The 2010 bucks. You know, Brandon Jennings, that is a good. Suggestion I remember, you know, Bradley Center is at one of those games.
Bango flipped off the. The thing, oh, that was bulgut. Jennings was in 2013, and you had the heat when you got swept by the heat. But he said Bucks and six, it's for the culture. They lost to LeBron, obviously.
Uh Jim Boylan had taken over. But that one Even though they lost, like. Because of what happened to set up later, it's an important part of the buck's tail. For sure. I think we remember the playoff series.
I don't think we remember the teams. as much. That's that's the thing too. Giannis' first playoff appearance. They make it against the Raptors.
That was fun. I think the 2018, 19 bucks. They beat the Celtics in the playoffs and then they lost to the Raptors. The twenty twenty bucks. A lot of people have been putting that in the comments, calling them the COVID bucks.
Because they were 56 and 17. They were rolling. And Wicket will always tell you, I talked to Wicked and he said. What's going to stop this team from making the playoffs? And at the time, I told him coronavirus 19.
Because I was watching what was happening and Italy and China. Uh I saw all these videos online of Just And I thought, how does this not come here? But I also said it like, you know.
Well, COVID, you know, COVID. And then it did. Because then the Bucs were not the same. They went to the bubble, they were distracted. And then they lost to the heat.
In a series where I did a video just running down the street because they won a game. I was just happy to win a game. at that point. And then they won the finals the next year.
So that kind of overshadows it too. Sure, they could have won two in a row. I mean. Without these, without there's a there's a There's not many, but there is a multiverse somewhere where the Bucs win like three or four titles in a row. And we have to just be thankful that we got the one.
None of these recent teams are going to go in that.
So I think the Bucs, the answer is 2001 with the Bucs. And then do you rate that ahead of the Brewers or whatever? There should be more people talking about the 80s. But there but there's just there's there's not. There's not.
M Shark says you could do cocaine instead. Yeah. I've never done it. Does it be your first time? Could I get a cocaine sponsor?
Bruce says, I love this show's concept because it leads to, remember that guy quips? Like Blue Edwards and Brad Lowhouse. Yeah, hopefully, again, this is one of the rare podcasts that is somewhat evergreen in sports talk. It doesn't really happen. I also didn't have anything to talk about specifically to today.
And then I posted something online and people started and I thought, hey, let's talk about this. This is a good one. That's a good one. M. Shark also says, I believe the Bucs beat the Lakers both times in that season.
Roberts. Uh YouTube. I'm 41. My biggest memory of the 90s Bucks is getting mad that a game would be on, and I couldn't watch a Simpsons rerun. Yeah, an 18 and 24.
So we had it great in Fond du Lac. We were between Milwaukee and Green Bay.
So we got both sets of local channels.
So you could watch the Green Bay news. If the Milwaukee news was too scary. But you also got the affiliates.
So At five, five thirty, six, and six thirty. I had an episode of Simpsons available to me from the two different markets at all times on those like. Channel 18 and 24s, the independent ones, which again then became CW or UPN or WB or My Network or whatever. But they were like independent, and they would have those Bucks games and some Brewers games. And then.
And then, like, kind of what WMLW is now. just the channel that's out there locally, but It means Milwaukee. That I know. But yeah, I got to watch Simpsons. We just sat in the back room and watched two hours of Simpsons every day.
That was a huge. thing of my development. As my parents, we all ate dinner at the same time as my family, but my parents had TV trays watching the news. Big Peter Jennings fans, I I R C. They were the ABC.
I think we were in ABC house. 'Cause uh my mom also watched All My Children. Mike says on Twitter, core memory listening in 2019, hearing Chuck make fun of Mounties. During the Raptors series. Yeah, that was fun.
Then we had that guy, Alan Carter. That's on YouTube, too. Where he came into our studio and just shit on Milwaukee. It's like, why are you here? We got pitches like it's one of Canadia's Canadia.
It's one of Canada's top newsmen, Alan Carter. I thought he was a celebrity. And then he came in with like a whole camera crew and like production assistants. Yeah. Was that after I watched Save by the Bell?
Yeah, Save by the Bell would have been on TBS at like three, four o'clock. Save by the Bell was an after-school show. Fresh Prince is usually what I dipped into after school. Um Sometimes I watch PBS, like Reading Rainbow or... The one with the school bus, the magic school bus.
Arthur Wishbone. We were a PBS house as well. Craig on YouTube, the 2015 Badgers basketball team that beat an undefeated Kentucky team in the Final Four. and should have beat Duke in the championship. I'll get to the Badgers in a second.
I want to gloss over the Packers. When I asked this question. I'm forty minutes in here. And we haven't really discussed the Packers. And that's the point.
Cause when you ask this question in Wisconsin. And again, hat tip to Willie and Tausch. Which non-championship team do we hold in highest regard? What is a Packers team that you hold in high regard? that did not win a title.
Because a lot of those teams I'm mad at. You blew it. You choked. You failed. You didn't come up short.
You didn't run out of steam. You weren't even a fun story. You were expected to make the playoffs. Expected to make a Super Bowl. And you didn't.
So let me look at the Packers because some people, the ones that have been mentioned. I don't know. And I'm sure somebody can say, oh, back in, you know, 63 or. The 82 against strike year. 89.
I would get 89. 89, they went 10 and 6. This was before their big success. This was the year they drafted Tony Mandrich. They had.
Domakowski is the quarterback. And They won. They won seven of their last nine. And they won games like close. They beat Detroit in overtime.
They beat the Bears by a point. They beat the Niners by four. They beat the Vikings by one. They beat the Buccaneers by one. And then they wrapped up that season.
Beating the cowboys. Not making the playoffs. They were 10 and 6. And this would be another team that the instant replay game was that year. This would be another team.
That In today's Bloated playoffs would have made it. They were 10 and 6. I think Washington was 10 and 6. Detroit might have been 10 and 6. But there were other teams that were 10-6, and so the Packers didn't get a wild card.
Again, as a kid, I'm the 87 Brewers. Start 13-0, don't make the postseason. The Packers win 10 games. Don't make the postseason. What do we got to do around here?
Maybe some of the early fav. Games I had somebody mentioned The first time they won. A playoff game. when they won against Detroit, eventually lost to the Cowboys. But of course, fav hits sharp.
And then that signaled what could be.
So that could be a good one. Then, the years leading up to the Super Bowl, they lost to the Cowboys every time. And that left a big stain. Not that. The Cowboys weren't better.
They were. So the Packers didn't choke, but it was the Cowboys, Cowboys, Cowboys, so much so that some people. You know, we're a little bummed that the Cowboys lost in the playoffs because if we won the Super Bowl, we wanted to go through Dallas to do it. 96, they win a Super Bowl. 97, they lose a Super Bowl.
Nobody holds that in high regard. They were 14-point favorites. Again, Ray Rhodes, I mentioned 99. They go 8 and 8. Mm-hmm.
I believe they won their last four games. No, they they lost three of their last four games.
Okay. They were seven and five and then lost three in a row. Never mind. But I remember the Cardinals game because we watched it at my grandpa's celebrating Christmas a week later after New Year's. And there was like a very small chance that they could make the postseason.
I think that's when you can find the clip they were going back and forth with. The Panthers Where they needed so many points, but then like the Cowboys won later that night or something. They had a chance. They still had a chance, even after losing three in a row to make the playoffs. And they did not.
And then what other Packers season would you even mention? I can tell you the year, and you can think of the game right away: 2001 Rams, five through six picks. 2002 Falcons. Vic beat us at home. 2003, Eagles, fourth and 26.
2004 Vikings. Oh, Randy Moss mooned us. 2007. Giants. Lost in overtime.
NFC Championship. 13 and 3 that year. Cardinals.
Okay, now we got Aaron Rodgers.
Okay, maybe that's like what Aaron Rodgers could be, but they lost an overtime on a fumble. They win in 2010. They go 15-1 the next year. No, they're not on the list. They lost to the Giants.
They choked. Then they lose to the Niners on the road in 2012, Kaepernick. Kaepernick again in 2013, 2014. I don't need to mention. 2015, Janice Aberdeer is overtime, fell up short.
2016, Ladarius Gunter, number one cornerback on Julio Jones. 2019, losing the NFC championship to the Niners because Matt LaFleur doesn't know how to travel. Losing the game you should have won at home to the Buccaneers and Tom Brady 2020. Losing to the, these are all 10, 11 win, 13 win years, Niners again. Niners again.
Eagles. Cheers. What are these Hacker, there's there's Unless it's 89 or maybe 93. There's no Packer team on here from the last 30 years that is a part of this conversation.
So it's very 80s bucks like where you expect Maybe not greatness, but You know, you're good enough to win a division, make the postseason, but you never do anything with it. The Green Bay Packers having not been to a Super Bowl in 2015. Since 2020, in 16 years, despite the amount of success they've had, is It's not just bad luck. You gotta take.
Some serious Ineffectiveness and inability to get the job done. And that's what the Packers have.
So none of these Packers teams. should be anywhere near. This list. Greg on YouTube says Is the difference with the Packers, it's one game and not a series? Yeah, that could be a part of it.
They could be a part of it. Um And so maybe it's those teams that didn't make a playoffs like 89. Bruce says, as an 11-year-old, that instant replay game was the most exciting Packers game in my life up to that point. Yeah. He also says if the Packers don't beat the Steelers in the Super Bowl, how do you think we regard that team, overachievers or underachievers, given they only got in because of that run in the final weeks?
So there's a version of history where the Packers have not won a Super Bowl since 1996. And what what is that like? What is that? Like That's insane. The Bucs, if they don't win in 2021, okay, Bucs suck, cursed.
The Brewers have never won, so we don't have to worry about that. I know it's hard, and you can't take it for granted, but man. Man, that would be nuts. Uh some of the other teams in the state. I think for Wisconsin Badgers football.
I don't know. It depends how you want to do this list. Because the 93 Badgers that went 10, 10, and 1, they won a Rose Bowl.
So they won like A championship and the Rose Bowl then. was a lot different. Then what it's now. It's even different.
Now it's just part of the playoffs. But even when it was the BCS and there was just one game in the Rose Bowl. was another game you could still win. It was it was It was Huge. It was way different.
I had a 94 Rose Bull Champions poster on my wall basically my whole childhood. And I remember watching that game, and that was like the first. Yeah. So the 93 Badgers winning a Rose Bowl in my life up to that point. Was the biggest win I've ever seen from any of my teams.
For sure. was the biggest win. But then they finished fifth or sixth in the polls.
So I don't know. They didn't win a championship. They won the Rose Bowl.
So, yeah, I think you would count that. They're held in high regard. Barry Alvarez won a couple more Rose Bowls and really is living on the 93 one. That's all, folks. Geez.
That I can't blame on the cold. I would think of the Russell Wilson year. What was that, 2011? But they had losses. They lost to Kirk Cousins.
And then there was that stretch they lost three Rose Bulls in a row, which everybody freaked out about. The Paul Christ year, they won the Orange Bowl. They beat Miami. But they were in that championship game against Ohio State. But the Badgers one, the Badgers one is going to be.
The Badgers, Luke Fickle won, had a winning record three years ago. I mean, uh right now that counts. But the Badgers, it's got to be 93 with the 94 Rose Bowl. If You don't count that as. a championship, which I don't think We should.
Badgers basketball They were a runner-up. In 2015, they beat the undefeated Kentucky Wildcats. And The ball. went off Justice Winslow's fingers and they said it did not. There's all these teams that could have won.
Like, if replay then was what it was now, if the playoffs then were what they were now, you'd probably have some more winners among the bunch here in Wisconsin. Sports history. Fun fact, too, people forget, I forget, Stan Van Gundy coached this team in 1994-95. Greg Gard's been the coach for Over a decade. Oh, the 2020 Badgers, ESPN said they simulated a championship in the.
Badgers would have won COVID.
So maybe we count that one.
So Badgers, that one. Marquette, they had their run. I think Milwaukee, the Panthers, anytime they make a postseason, The NCAA tournament, you could put them in there. Jeter did it in 14 I remember watching them get Wax, I think it was. Playing soccer that night.
Or no, I watched him win the Horizon. We're playing soccer at uh E line. But they went to the Sweet 16 in 04-05 with Bruce Pearl. And they were able to, Jeter was able to take them to the round of 32 the next year. And I told Bart Lundy this, and he knows.
Milwaukee when the Milwaukee Panthers Are in the NCAA tournament. For that brief amount of time. This entire town. Is a Panthers town. You might go to a couple of games, you might follow them.
Lundy's doing a good job with the program. But when they made the tournament, like Everyone's in. Everyone's in and everyone's like, oh, I'm an alumni now. I'm not an alumni. I act like an alumni.
I had two brothers that go there. And I do their media day every year. But I'm proud of them. They're right down the street from me.
So them getting into a postseason. And if the NCAA is going to expand, maybe good, okay, but they're probably just going to give more 11 and 11 Texas teams. a spot than they would a 21 win Milwaukee team. Uh, here's another one: Ed McCance. How about that?
Yes. What else do we got here? Chad on YouTube, excuse me, Packers are in a category all on their own.
So many postseason failures under the Favre Rogers era. McCarthy Kuntkin is defensive coordinator right during the Rodgers era. M. Shark, back to you. The feeling of winning the rose bolt was as close to a national championship feeling.
Now we'll never have that feeling. Zero shot at ever winning a football championship. Just to almost get into the playoffs a few years ago was. Chad, if Holmgren doesn't get big-headed and stays in Green Bay, it's a good assumption Favre gets a couple more cracks at the Lombardi. If Rodgers and McCarthy with the Steelers.
Have a nice run. Do we count that one? Yeah. As sports fans.
So, those would be the ones that I would nominate. I'm going to go to Twitter. I put this up on Twitter and see. What else uh People For this comment. Uh let's see here.
What else have people said? Yusuf says 97 Packers is the correct answer. No way. They lost the Super Bowl. Drew, I think it's the 2008 Brewers.
We all remember the legendary CeCe Sabathio run. We forget, we got our shit rocked by the Phillies. I rarely hear about the 11 or 18 brewers mentioned as much as 08. Even though they were both better. SparkEye says Rose Bowl.
Matt says, none. The 82 Brewers are on such a different level that it's not even worth coming up with number two. They're worshipped and idolized. All others are viewed as failures. I think through this.
We found out not really. Ryan Horvat says: COVID Admirals squad would have won the cup, but had to forfeit their seasons for a stupid fake cold. Hashtag thanks, Fauci, hashtag libs. Big unit. Ryan says 2015 Badger hoops is the right answer.
V. Sean O'Connell says it's the 89 cardiac pack. That was such a fun season. Tony in Texas and Big Ron know what I'm talking about. Cone rollers got the 2018 Brewers.
Kyle says 2000 Marquette and 19 or 2003 Marquette and 1998 Badgers football, 1998 Badgers football. Another Rose Bull run come to mind. And then a lot of ones that we have Um Gone over. Kenosha Kid says 93 Badgers from nowhere to roses, 93 Packers finally thought this team could win. 78 Brewers first winning season, 69 wins to 93.
So again, the Badger one. The Badger one is interesting 'cause they had a win at the end of the season. Which was perceived, they won a Rose Bowl championship. And it felt like a championship.
So you could Mention that. And in the moment, that was the most fun because it ended with a win. But now looking back. On living for 40 years, experiencing them, and say, which team do I hold in the highest regard? Would not be the 82 Brewers, not alive for that.
I would have to go with Because I'm going to eliminate because the Badgers in the moment felt great. And I was younger.
Some of these wins along the way felt great. But then the the failure of that really hurt. Yeah. So I think the 2008 Brewers are the team that I would have. The 2018 team had a better run, but in 2008, We got to experience.
Cece Sabathia every five, maybe four, maybe three days. And that was a journey. And then we got into the playoffs. And they showed the, what was it? Mets Marlins or Cubs.
We played the Cubs, so Metz Marlins on the Jumbotron. For me, the team that I hold in the highest regard. All this time later would be the 2008 Brewers, breaking a 24-year stretch and riding along with CeCe Sabathia. at the time. Um A lot of these other ones are very good suggestions.
But that's probably the one I would go with. And I really do think 94 Badgers. Because that was like the first joy I ever knew was possible. Or, like, oh, a team could be good. But they didn't win at all, but they did have a win.
at the end there.
So, interesting topic. Take it to the bar. Talk with your friends. Continue to leave comments, share if you would be so inclined. And thanks for bonding a little bit here.
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