GREEN BAY, Wis. — Less than 24 hours after capturing the first World Series title in franchise history, the Milwaukee Brewers brought the celebration north to Lambeau Field on Thursday night, hoisting their championship trophy before thousands of roaring football fans.
Several Brewers players appeared on the field between the first and second quarters of the Green Bay Packers’ matchup against the Carolina Panthers. Welcomed by a thunderous ovation, players paraded the trophy along the turf, and some, including outfielder Sal Frelick, capped the moment by leaping into the stands for traditional Lambeau Leaps, according to Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report.
From St. Petersburg to Green Bay
The surprise visit followed a whirlwind travel schedule for the newly crowned champions. Milwaukee clinched the Fall Classic on Wednesday night with a 4-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 5 at Tropicana Field, closing out a postseason run that ended a 58-year title drought.
Before the team arrived in Green Bay, Frelick spoke with ESPN’s “SportsCenter” from the team bus headed north from Milwaukee. “It’s been crazy. Not a lot of sleep, late night last night, early bus to the airport this morning. Just got back here to Milwaukee and now we’re headed up north,” Frelick told the network while showing teammates, including pitcher Jacob Misiorowski, who carried the trophy along for the ride.
The celebratory atmosphere carried into the stadium, though Carolina running back Chuba Hubbard attempted to quiet the crowd on the first snap of the second quarter. Hubbard scored on a one-yard touchdown run to give Carolina a brief lead and celebrated with his own leap into the end-zone stands. The Packers eventually rallied to secure a 27-19 victory, Yahoo Sports reported.
A Historic Postseason Run
The title capped an extraordinary campaign for the small-market club, which established a franchise record with 103 regular-season victories, Bleacher Report noted. Milwaukee defeated the San Diego Padres in five games in the division series, swept the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series, and defeated Tampa Bay in five games to win the crown. Catcher William Contreras earned World Series Most Valuable Player honors after batting .381 with four runs batted in during the series.
Founded in 1969 as the Seattle Pilots before relocating to Wisconsin the following year, the franchise had made only one previous World Series trip, losing in seven games to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1982.
Mike Serbalik, the Brewers’ national supervisor of scouting who watched Wednesday’s victory from behind the dugout, noted that roughly half of the 40,489 spectators in Florida were visiting Milwaukee fans, while thousands more packed American Family Field back home for a sold-out watch party.
“It’s kind of surreal at this moment,” Serbalik told the Times-Union. “You root for it, you stress with it and, then, you wake up and you’re like, ‘Oh, you are World Series champions.’ It feels great now.”
Celebrations Continue in Milwaukee
The festivities in Green Bay were merely the opening act of an extended statewide party. Public schools in Milwaukee canceled classes Friday so students and families could attend the city’s first World Series victory parade through downtown.
While Wisconsin sports enthusiasts continue to celebrate the historic breakthrough, the sport faces looming uncertainty in the weeks ahead. Major League Baseball faces an expiring collective bargaining agreement and a potential lockout scheduled for Dec. 2, creating an uncertain offseason for the newly crowned champions.
