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June 30, 2004

"Brew-haha in the Backyard"

The shame ... the overwhelming shame! Click for larger image

Minnesota sports fans have many, many painful memories to remind them how hard it is to cheer for our beloved teams. The 1998 NFC Championship game, the 2002 ALCS, and more recently the "Disaster in the Desert" all immediately come to mind. Sadly, I must now add my own shameful memory to this lineage of disgrace: The "Brew-haha in the Backyard." You see, in my own backyard is a microcosm of the Minnesota-Wisconsin state border. On the west side of the backyard you have me, a proud fan of all teams Minnesota all my life, from the Gophers, to the T-Wolves, to the Twins, to the Vikings. However, on the east side of the backyard lives Cheesehead Craig who grew up in Wisconsin, attended the University of Wisconsin, and bleeds Brewers blue in the summer and Packer green in the winter. As you might imagine, we stare at each other from across our yards, and we'll wave politely, we'll maybe even provoke each other with some light-hearted banter. But deep down inside both of us is a passion, no, an overwhelming desire to see the other's favorite teams go down in glorious defeat. For me, there is nothing better than seeing the Brewers and the Packers lose, especially at the hands of the Twins and Vikings.

So, as you probably know, two weeks ago the Twins played the Brewers at Miller Park. Craig and I decided to actually travel to Milwaukee to see the games. Feeling a little cocky, and looking back at the Twins usual dominance of the Brewers at Miller Park, I made some bold predictions concerning what I felt would be the scores of the games we would see. Such is my blind love for Minnesota sports teams! Surely with me there at the games they would win! So, we made a wager. If the Twins won 2 out of 3 at Miller Park Craig would mow my yard, and if the Brewers won the series I would mow his. The post above documents this ill-fated bet.

The Brewers won the first game on Friday, but my faith in the Twins didn't waver. Coming off a three game sweep of the Expos, the Twins were due for a let down. Winning the next two games would be easy. The game on Saturday started out with a lot of promise. The Twins jumped out to a 6-0 lead which was capped off by a Joe Mauer home run. Then I made a fateful mistake which surely angered the baseball gods, I told Craig that I like my grass cut about "yay high" and I showed him about 2 1/2 inches between my index finger and my thumb. Yes, I counted my chickens before they hatched. Then the hammer dropped. The Brewers stormed back and took the lead on a monstrous Geoff Jenkins home run off of the 80 year old Terry Mullholland. Yikes! What made it even worse is that Geoff Jenkins is the spitting image of Brett Favre. I swear I can't escape from that guy!

Oh, my aching back! Click for larger image

Needless to say, Craig then demonstrated to me how high he likes his lawn, and the rest, as they say, is history. Last night I made good on the bet and mowed Craig's lawn (aka "Little Wisconsin"). The picture above shows my shame at having lost to a cheesehead, mowing his lawn as he points and laughs. The picture to the left shows Craig taking a nap as I struggle to finish off his root infested lawn. How can I claim back my dignity? As you might imagine, I am thankful the horror is over.

In all seriousness, though, I am thankful to have a neighbor like Craig. We have a great time together. And while I might wish he were a fan of Minnesota sports, his blathering about Wisconsin sports teams has added a little bit of spice to my life and created a unique relationship for both of us. The fact that he is a Packer fan, coupled with the disgrace he put me through mowing his lawn, will make the Vikings NFC North crown this year that much better. Ah, victory will be sweet. Oh yes, another wager is in the works.

Posted by snackeru at June 30, 2004 07:30 AM | Sports | Twins | TrackBack popup

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Comments

Shane, you did a fine job mowing my lawn. I certainly appreciate it. In case it's not noticable to those looking at the pictures. I'm wearing a Brewer shirt and hat, just to rub it in. Shane keeps wanting to wager against me, and I almost feel bad as to making him pay up when he loses against me. Almost.

Posted by: Cheesehead Craig at June 30, 2004 02:35 PM

Yeah, mowing your lawn wasn't too bad. Frankly, it was almost like mowing my own. That's what you get when you share a yard I guess. And I don't want your pity. One day I will bask in the glory of a winning bet. I have no doubt.

Posted by: Shane at June 30, 2004 03:56 PM