Brewers-Rays: World Series Nightmare?

The 2008 Major League Baseball playoffs began yesterday, this time without the usual suspects.  The absence of the New York Yankees is no doubt much to MLB commissioner Bud Selig's chagrin.

Everyone knows this money machine brings in revenue and fan appeal from both sides of the aisle.  Without the Yankees' presence, it's similar to being invited to the prom by the popular girl, only to find out she's left by the time you arrive.

Sure, these playoffs have plenty of other big markets, like both Los Angeles-based teams, the Angels and the Dodgers, composing the league's second biggest market. The playoffs also include both of Chicago's teams, which make up the third biggest market.

Heck, we've even got Philadelphia, MLB's fourth largest market, and Boston, which is loved by some—and even revered by many.

The only difference is that we've also got what baseball executives like Bud Selig have to consider their nightmare option.

There is a chance, albeit a small (like their market size) one, that the Milwaukee Brewers of the National League could eventually meet the Tampa Bay (don't call them "Devil") Rays from the American League on baseball's biggest stage.

Everyone knows each team’s history. The Rays have nearly none to speak of, having only been around for 10 forgettable years.

The Brewers haven't been to the playoffs since 1982—that's 26 years, which is before many fans were born. Modern day baseball fans have only known this franchise as a cellar-dweller. That is, until recent (read: very recent) years.

Both teams generally finish in the lower third overall in gate attendance.  That changed when the Brew Crew got a midseason injection of exactly one CC of Sabathia right before the All-Star Break.   This was a very uncharacteristic and shrewd trade with the Cleveland Indians.

As a result, Milwaukee's gate attendance has gone up exponentially to the tune of their finishing ninth overall with 3,068,458 rabid (don't call me bandwagon) fans coming through the turnstiles this season.  One only has to look at this source to see where Milwaukee has historically ranked until recent outlier years.

Tampa Bay, on the other hand, finished 26th in the league in overall attendance this year despite winning the AL East, easily the toughest in all of baseball, for the first time ever. 1,811,986 fans entered "The Trop," which also happened to be their highest gate total since their inaugural 1998 season, when the Rays drew 2,506,293 fans.

What accounts for this?

While some may blame fan apathy, others say winning takes time to get used to after years of regret. (How hard is it to get used to winning when your team is atop the standings, no matter how weird that might look?  Just enjoy it and ride it out.)

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