It’s hard to truly qualify what “best sports day ever” might mean in the state of Wisconsin; after all, it would take only one championship to eclipse everything else on the calendar. For example, do you even remember or care if there were other sports going on July 20, 2021, when the Milwaukee Bucks won the franchise’s first NBA title in 50 years?
What we saw Sunday night probably can’t compete with that singular achievement, but with the Milwaukee Brewers clinching the National League Central Division title, the Green Bay Packers winning a thriller as time expired in San Francisco and the Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits concluding with a resounding victory by the United States, it was a pretty remarkable day all around for state sports.
If we consider multiple events on the same day, is there any day that can even compete? Oddly enough, there are a couple pretty good ones this year alone, but Sept. 26, 2021, might take the cake.
The 2021 collection
June 19 — The Bucks beat the Brooklyn Nets in a thrilling seventh game of the Eastern Conference semifinals, 115-111, with an overtime win that featured Kevin Durant’s toe on the line for what would otherwise have been a game-winning three-pointer. Instead, the score was tied, and the Bucks clawed it out. Fans driving home from watch parties after the euphoria of the moment still had time to hear Willy Adames hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning of the Brewers’ game in Colorado, turning a 5-4 deficit into a 6-5 win. Adames was just getting started, as were the Brewers. It was the second straight win for a stretch of 14 games in which the Brewers won 13.
July 17 — Three nights before the championship was secured, the Bucks beat the Suns in Phoenix, 123-119, in a game that will forever be remembered for the steal by Jrue Holiday and his alley-oop to Giannis Antetokounmpo on the other end. On the same evening, the Brewers beat the Cincinnati Reds in 11 innings, 7-4, scoring once in the 10th and three times in the 11th to prevail.
Sept. 11 — The Brewers’ first no-hitter in 34 years featured eight innings by Corbin Burnes and a 1-2-3 ninth from Josh Hader, leading Milwaukee to a 3-0 win over Cleveland. If that wasn’t enough, the Wisconsin Badgers then got back on the horse with a 34-7 win over Eastern Michigan under the lights at Camp Randall Stadium.
March 26, 1977 — This might be the one to top
It was the Saturday in which Marquette defeated UNC-Charlotte in an NCAA national semifinal in Atlanta, 51-49, with Jerome Whitehead’s buzzer-beating basket off a full-court pass from Butch Lee giving the Warriors the winning points. Whitehead finished with 21 points and 16 rebounds, and Marquette went on to defeat North Carolina on Monday night, 67-59, for the program’s lone NCAA championship.
That same Saturday, the Wisconsin men’s hockey team also won its second NCAA championship, scoring a 6-5 overtime win over Michigan. Steve Alley scored just 23 seconds into the extra session for the winning tally, leaving the No. 1-ranked Badgers with a 37-7-1 record. Goalie Julian Baretta was named the tournament’s most outstanding player. For good measure, the Bucks beat the Detroit Pistons, 128-108.
Oct. 9, 1982 — Postseason baseball and a rare rainy win for UW
It was The Mark Brouhard Game in the American League Championship Series, where the Brewers forced a fifth and deciding game against the California Angels thanks to a 9-5 win. With Ben Oglivie missing because of injury, unheralded backup outfielder Mark Brouhard singled, doubled and homered, driving in three runs and scoring four. Moose Haas held his own on the mound, and the Brewers lived to play another day; most remember how Game 5 went when Cecil Cooper’s single in the seventh helped the Brewers reach their first World Series.
Elsewhere, the Wisconsin football team won for the first time in Ohio Stadium since 1918, registering a 6-0 win at Ohio State in rainy, ugly weather. The Badgers had lost 23 straight games in the stadium and had been shut out in the previous three, losing 59-0, 42-0 and 56-0.
The 2011 collection
Feb. 6 — The Packers won the Super Bowl, so yeah, that makes for a pretty good day. But even better for UW fans, the Badgers men’s basketball team took down Michigan State, 82-56, with Jordan Taylor scoring 30 points (Wisconsin’s season ended in the Sweet 16). The Packers’ 31-25 win over Pittsburgh in Dallas, however, was certainly the main event.
Oct. 1 — The Brewers won Game 1 of the National League Division Series, 4-1, meaning they had a lead in a playoff series for the first time since 1982. On the same day, ESPN’s College GameDay was in Madison to preview the battle between No. 7 Wisconsin and No. 8 Nebraska, a game the Badgers won under the lights, 48-17, to move to 5-0.
Dec. 3 — Wisconsin’s football team won the inaugural Big Ten championship game over Michigan State, 42-39, piloted by the theatrics of quarterback Russell Wilson. On the same night, No. 16 Marquette beat No. 9 Wisconsin in basketball at the Kohl Center, 61-54. Both teams reached the Sweet 16 that year.
Does any other day stand out? JR Radcliffe can be reached at (262) 361-9141 or jradcliffe@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JRRadcliffe.
