A fan can always hope that their team will find their way into championship games year after year, but if we are being honest with ourselves, it's really hard, and often championships or the World Series are once-in-a-lifetime experiences. The Milwaukee Brewers are only in their second World Series ever, and having never won the top prize in the MLB, the state of Wisconsin is at a fever pitch with Brewers excitement.
This has put the Wisconsin Badgers in a weird spot. Not for one game but for two... both ranked games. And it's not just a matter of "split screen," as the Brewers are hosting the first two games of the series. This will force many Wisconsin fans to choose between the Brewers and the Badgers.
The best that the Badgers can do is promise "updates" for fans in attendance at their games. However, here are the two dilemmas:
Wisconsin volleyball vs. No. 21 Washington Huskies
The Badgers are hosting a ranked matchup with the No. 21 Washington Huskies. The first serve comes at 8 pm CT. This is about an hour after the first pitch of World Series Game 1 for the Milwaukee Brewers. So, the Badgers will probably be starting somewhere around the third inning. That's not ideal, especially when Wisconsin can use as full a crowd as possible.
It's hard to tell how much this will affect the Wisconsin volleyball fans, but you have to think it will affect some. There will be plenty who would rather stay home to split-screen or maybe even just attend the Brewers World Series Game 1.
Wisconsin football vs. No. 16 USC Trojans
The second-ranked game of the weekend for Wisconsin athletics is the next day, when Wisconsin football takes on the No. 16 USC Trojans. Once again, this game is at home; Camp Randall is hoping for a big crowd, while the Brewers game is happening a little over an hour away.
The Badgers kick off at 6:30 pm CT on NBC. World Series Game 2's first pitch comes at 7pm CT on Fox. Once again, the best option for many fans will be to split-screen and stay home. The problem for the Badgers is that it's another game in which Wisconsin needs crowd energy and excitement in the game. The home field advantage for Camp Randall is important.
There's no way it won't be affected at least a little bit, and yet it's something that Wisconsin can't do anything about.
The Milwaukee Bucks changed their game time to make sure it didn't interfere with the Brewers, but the Badgers don't have that luxury. According to an article by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, UW's deputy athletic director, Michael Pinta, said, "While we wish our contests didn't fall at the same time as the World Series, unfortunately these are set by the Big Ten Conference and out of our control."
The best option for Wisconsin right now is to hope fans find a way to still make it to their games, turn out, and cheer on the Badgers. The only thing they can really offer is to keep the fans that come updated with the Brewers.
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