MLB Playoffs 2011: 5 Reasons To Not Root for Milwaukee Brewers

The National League Championship Series has had its fair share of drama, excitement and sensational performances. Currently tied at two games apiece, the battle between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Milwaukee Brewers is only going to get more intense as the stakes increase. After all, winner advances to the World Series. 

For casual fans who are just tuning into the postseason, the Milwaukee Brewers are a young and surprising team, with many reasons to root for them. 

But sometimes baseball fans who follow the playoffs don’t necessarily cheer for a specific team—especially if their own favorite no longer is in the running. In fact, many opt pick an allegiance based on who they dislike the least, choosing instead to root against a particular team. 

That said, here are five reasons not to root for the Milwaukee Brewers this postseason.

Relatively Unknown Team

Aside from All-Stars Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun, and the Chad Ochocinco of baseball, Nyjer Morgan, the Milwaukee Brewers are a motley Brew Crew of players who are generally unknown outside of baseball. Most recognizable names by baseball fans are ones who have joined to the team in recent years and had already established themselves with their prior teams, e.g., Zack Greinke, Francisco Rodriguez and Craig Counsell. 

The fact remains, that despite Milwaukee’s recent success—two postseason appearances in the past three years—the Brewers unfortunately get lost in the National League Central shuffle. With six teams competing for the division title on top of national media attention, it’d difficult to give the Brewers the respect that they truly deserve. 

But in general, casual baseball fans want to root for the superstars, the teams laden with historical glory. 

The Milwaukee Brewers, though they do have a luminary in Fielder, are not in the same galaxy as the venerable St. Louis Cardinals, a franchise that has existed for over a century. Furthermore, whomever the Brewers throw out there, the Cardinals can counter with superior names: Chris Carpenter is a former Cy Young Award winner, too, and trumps the Brewers’ Greinke. Matt Holliday is far more recognized having played for three separate teams already in his career.

No matter how great Fielder is, Albert Pujols begins and ends all conversations of greatest National League first basemen. And even at manager, Tony LaRussa, as one of the greats of all time, is leaps and bounds more recognized than Milwaukee’s Ron Roenicke. 

While the Brewers are not patsies in their own right, they do not have a marquee roster that uninformed baseball fans would turn to.

Nyjer Morgan

There is one name on the Brewers who has been making a name for himself during these playoffs. Or, names for himself. 

Nyjer Morgan, aka Tony Plush, aka T Plush, aka Tony Hush, Tony Tombstone, Tony Gumble, has quickly established himself as a clutch, charismatic and cocksure player who’s got a lot of, well, personality(ies). To be sure, he has superseded all of his teammates in the process, becoming the most recognizable figures from his theatrics on the field to his antics in the dugout and clubhouse. 

Morgan is to the MLB as Chad Ochocinco is to the NFL, as Ron Artest is to the NBA—random. Their outgoing, ostentatious outbursts are often a bit overboard. But to a level of endearment. The media and fans ultimately buy into the schizophrenic interaction, embracing the complete randomness, which furthers their celebrity outside of their performance on the field (or court). 

Part of the Morgans' game plan is, admittedly, to get under the skin of the opponent. It’s that brash manner in which he plays the game that irritates other teams but is welcomed by his teammates, who jump at the chance to defend his excitement. However, it’s players like that who develop a negative following, as much as they do a positive one. Especially from the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately department. 

Though Morgan has generated a lot of buzz during these playoffs with his timely hitting and zealous enthusiasm, many fans furrow at his spotlight animation when reaching base, or his overly confrontational and disrespectful behavior toward the opposition. 

Morgan’s bravado exemplifies the “love to hate” mentality. Some fans adore his outspokenness. 

Others simply want him—and all of his alter egos—to just shut the heck up.

They Are Cocky

The Brew Crew as a whole certainly are a free-spirited team, inebriated off of self-confidence and, above all, talent. And who could blame them, really? That braggadocio is born from winning the National League Central, even though few experts picked them to do so (in fact, only 11 of ESPN’s 45 baseball analysts believed they’d make the postseason).

So what’s wrong with a little swagger? 

But there’s a line that is drawn dividing swagger and cockiness, and sometimes a player or team’s confidence is perceived as arrogant. 

Many old-school baseball fans cannot commit themselves to the self-aggrandizing antics of today’s players. The premeditated collaborations, the deliberating home run trots, the Beast Mode, the strikeout celebrations. There are several reasons to be irked by the Milwaukee Brewers. 

If you want to see the Brew Crew put up and shut up, then you probably want them to lose. The thing is, some team will have to beat them in order for that to happen. And as of now, not many opponents have been able to keep the Brewers quiet.

Miller Park Entertainment

In general, the Brewers’ stadium, Miller Park, is a great place to watch a ballgame. For the past 10 years, Miller Park has been a serviceable home, with its convertible roof and nearly 42,000-seat capacity. It seems like a beautiful place to catch a baseball game. 

It’s the other stadium activities, which are intended to maintain fans’ attention during mid-innings, that sort of make the experience appear annoying.

As a non-attendee, it’s a seemingly nauseating tradition to have mascot Bernie the Brewer make his way down the slide after every Brewer home run, culminating in a dive into the Kalahari Splash Zone. Yes, it’s part of the fun. But it does seem a bit overboard on some occasions. Especially if the Brewers are up by six runs in the eighth inning. It just seems a little overplayed to see Bernie do his routine for the sake of it. 

The Sausage Race is equally obnoxious. As most people are aware, Miller Park has a race during the sixth inning of mascots dressed in sausage costumes. Funny at times, but in general unnecessary, because nobody actually cares who wins. Inevitably, some viewer is hoping for one of the meat links to take a spill, and that’s not something that should be wished upon any person. 

But that’s what this form of entertainment boils down to. If it’s not truly important, everyone wants something bad to happen.

The Green Bay Packers Already Won This Year

The state of Wisconsin is industrious, loyal and full of blue-collar spirit. It has the 20th-largest population in the U.S., but occasionally gets forgotten being so far up north. Even as a strapping example of the Midwest, Wisconsin and the city of Milwaukee do not get enough credit for their place in the fabric of America. 

And as far as sports go, Milwaukee itself doesn't garner much recognition either, with only two sports franchises—the Brewers and the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks—neither of which has won a modern-day championship. 

But that doesn’t seem to impact Wisconsinites, who thoroughly and whole-heartedly give all their attention to the NFL’s Green Bay Packers. Cheeseheads are in full force throughout the state, and for good reason—the Packers have won 15 league championships dating back to 1929. Most recently, Green Bay won a Super Bowl title this year!

Enough is enough. 

For most team sports fans, they do not want to see two major championships go to the same area in the same year. No Boston Red Sox-Celtics-Bruins-Patriots titles. No Dallas Cowboys-Mavericks titles. And the Badger State is no different. 

Wisconsin has had their success already this year; the Green Bay Packers are one of the best teams in football today. 

Let’s just leave it at that.