Jinx may continue or end for Brewers

I don’t want to jinx the Milwaukee Brewers. I feel that if I write about them, they will fall from their rocky perch on top of the National League Central and finish 10 games behind the Chicago Cubs or the St. Louis Cardinals. Bad things always happen to teams I love. But writing about the team may save them.
My love affair with the Brewers began when I was 10 years old in 1984. I had never followed professional sports before this year; I don’t even remember the Brewers playing in the World Series just a few years prior. A bunch of boys in my class had started collecting Topps baseball sticker books, and I didn’t want to be excluded. So I got one too and convinced my mother to buy me stickers of baseball players for it.
I didn’t know any of the players or any of the teams in the book. I didn’t even know all of the abbreviations for some of the positions. But I knew I was going to like the Brewers. I had been to Milwaukee several times at that point in my life and I could relate to them since I was familiar with their city.
At first I started out by latching on to one player – Rollie Fingers, mainly because of his moustache. To this day I would give my right pinkie toe to grow his handlebar moustache. I think most guys would, though. It truly is a work of art.
Then I learned about three other legendary players – Robin Yount, Paul Molitor and Jim Gantner. Ganter was my favorite because he was a local product. A native of Eden, just outside Fond du Lac, and a University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh baseball standout, he may not have put up the numbers Yount and Molitor did in their Hall of Fame careers, but his grit and determination on the field more than made up for that.
That sticker book taught me a lot about other teams and players. Pete Rose was an early hero of mine. He was at the end of his career, but the book had a special section on him since he was the all-time hits leader. Despite the gambling issues later in his career, he belongs in Cooperstown, N.Y.
I got to experience my first Major League game in 1987, shortly after the Brewers completed a 13-game winning streak to open the season. Going to the game was completely unexpected. It was a Sunday and I had skipped Sunday School because I wasn’t feeling that great. I miraculously got better when my Sunday School teacher called to say my class was going to the Brewers game later in the day.
I remember the awe arriving at County Stadium, never having been in a place where more than 20,000 people congregated. The game was even better. Teddy Higuera took a no-hitter into the late innings of the game and Glenn Braggs made a phenomenal catch to prevent a home run. The Brewers won, although I don’t remember the score.
I’ve been to a dozen games since then, including one game where I had a press pass and got to walk on the field during pre-game warm-ups. The Brewers were playing St. Louis during Mark McGwire’s record-setting home run season and watching him up close take batting practice swings was as close to history as I’ll ever get.
The Brewers topping the standings in September is a new experience for me. Usually they collapse in August. So I’m crossing my fingers they’ll continue playing in October.
I’m still a Green Bay Packers fan, amd their Super Bowl win in 1997 will keep me satisfied for the rest of my life.
But not even making the playoffs since I started following them, the Brewers have driven me crazy. That’s why I feel I’ll jinx them by writing about them. Not writing about them may be the bigger jinx, though, so it can’t hurt anymore to do so. Blame me if they tank again. But don’t forget to thank me if they go all the way.