The Milwaukee Brewers, the only Major League Baseball team in the state of Wisconsin, are going to the World Series for the first time in 44 years.

As a Wisconsin resident, I am invested, but stay with me here, non-Wisconsites. This team is a compelling one, for reasons that extend beyond what might be noted in Sports Illustrated, and they can offer us a chance for timely theological reflection.

For some background, the city of Milwaukee holds up the 1982 Brewers as Wisconsin royalty. For four and a half decades, they have been seen as the pinnacle of Brewers baseball. Every child in the state grows up knowing the names Robin Yount and Paul Molitor, and everyone who lived in the Milwaukee area in the ’80s can tell you stories about those glory days. And it is here that I disclose that the famed team did not actually win the World Series 1982. They just went. The Brewers have never won a World Series championship.

This underdog feel is part of what makes this year’s team all the more appealing. There are no overpaid superstars. We have a couple of veterans like the newly appointed team captain Christian Yelich. We have two rookies in the starting lineup, both of whom have made significant contributions in the postseason. And, of course, we also ride on the back of Jacob Misiorowski (“The Miz”), our 24-year-old pitching phenom who can throw a baseball 105 mph. 

It is also worth noting that the Brewers had to go through the reigning World Series Champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers, to get to the World Series. The Dodgers’ payroll is three times that of the Brewers, and they swept the Brewers in the same series last year. Everyone I know agrees, and has all season, that this 2026 Milwaukee Brewers team is just different—and special.

The character of the team is really driven by the manager, Pat Murphy. He is a humble man who does not take himself too seriously, but at the same time has incredible knowledge of baseball. He knows when to come to an interview eating a “pocket pancake” (exactly what it sounds like), but he also has impeccable instincts about what kind of pep talk a struggling player might need. 

Murph does not lord his authority over his players, but he is more like a father who is incredibly proud of his boys. The culture he cultivates is one founded in teamwork. This squad is often heard lifting each other up and referencing being accountable to one another. It is a super fun team to watch. Combine all of that with a viral “Milwaukee Brewers” song by a Milwaukee artist and an enthusiastic fan community, and this city is buzzing. 

Why do I share all of this? 

I am a Theology professor at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wis. I teach a variety of classes, from ones on Ignatian discernment and the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius to ones on the history and significance of the Second Vatican Council. I was also 3 years old the last time the Brewers were in the World Series. 

This year, my best friend and I split a postseason ticket package because neither of us, working in ministry and education, could afford the package alone. We have been having so much fun rooting for our hometown team. Honestly, the whole city feels lighter. It feels like people are being nicer, more social and even more patient with one another. I see less road rage when driving and fewer annoyed looks in the grocery store lines. People are optimistic and hope-filled. Strangers are greeting strangers with a “Go Brew Crew!” It is like all of Wisconsin is just in a good mood. As my students might say, “good vibes.”

I had a ticket for Game 2 of the National League Championship Series. This game was scheduled for 4:00 p.m. on a Monday. I happen to teach a class that was scheduled to conclude at 3:15 p.m. that day, called “Family, Church, and Society.” It focuses on the family as the domestic church but also expands into the role of family in the larger society. The apostolic exhortation “Amoris Laetitia” has been the focus of the first half of the semester. We have spent a lot of time talking about the dignity of the human person, passing on faith and the obligation we have to all of our brothers and sisters. 

The day of the playoff game, everyone encouraged me to cancel my class. The students were especially enthusiastic about this idea. They encouraged me to leave early, tailgate and enjoy myself. 

I will admit this was tempting. I had not witnessed a playoff baseball game in a long time, but I had a strong instinct not to cancel the class. They had a midterm exam the next week, and I had not yet covered one of the documents that they were going to be tested on. So I told the students we were going to have class, and I was going to lecture on Pope Francis’ third encyclical, “Fratelli Tutti.” 

Father Jerry Herda, Catholic chaplain for the Milwaukee Brewers, with mascots Bernie Brewer and Barrelman. (Photo courtesy of author.)

This is a beautiful encyclical, built upon the foundation of the parable of the good Samaritan. It asks the question, “Who is my neighbor?” It describes the importance of our social relationships and the obligation we have to the common good. Written in 2015, it seems even more relevant today after the isolation of the Covid-19 pandemic and the polarizing debates about race and immigration over the last few years. 

I discussed the obligation we all have to our brothers and sisters. I talked about the “extreme isolation” that Pope Francis was so concerned about and the sense of autonomous certainty that people have in a world that makes it more likely to call someone an “other” rather than a neighbor. I reflected on the lament that the world is not living this document well. We dehumanize. We dispose of people. 

Pope Francis was urging us to re-examine our social relationships. We need to be much more aware of how our actions affect our brothers and sisters. I talked about how Pope Francis’ challenge to find kinship seems simple, but obviously we had a lot of work to do. 

I joked with the class that I planned to talk for 23 minutes, and then I was rushing to the ballpark. Regardless of my best efforts to keep my remarks brief, I felt so impassioned by the topic that I ended up talking for about an hour. I just could not stop the conversation because it felt so important. 

I also wore my jersey to class so that I would not have to waste any time with a costume change before heading to the stadium. I knew I was all ready to go to the game when class was over. I rushed out of the classroom and ran to my car. As I passed through campus, I got several comments of “nice jersey” and “Go Brew Crew!” I echoed back “Go CREW!” I drove too fast to American Family Field, but I got in on time and saw the first pitch.

It was an incredible game. Lots of back and forth. The crowd erupted in the sixth inning when William Contreras homered to tie up the game. At one point, somewhere between the sixth and seventh inning, after I was losing my voice from cheering and chanting and high-fiving roughly 800 people, something dawned on me. This is what Pope Francis was talking about. 

O.K., maybe he wasn’t talking about the Brewers exactly, but in many ways, the sense of community the team has encouraged is what Francis envisioned. Everyone in that stadium felt like family. I had 40,000 brothers and sisters. Everyone could feel the fraternity, the kinship. We were bonded by the word “Milwaukee” on our chest and the Brewers logo on our hats. We reveled in what Èmile Durkheim once called “collective effervescence,” a sense of shared awe that is bonding, inspiring and energizing. I am not sure that is the term the average Brewer fan would use, but we were having a singular, shared experience. 

I could not wait to get back to class and describe this feeling to my students. Wearing a Brewers Hawaiian shirt (classed up with a tie), I told the students that I felt the fraternity that Pope Francis was talking about at the ballpark. And that I had been feeling this sense of gratitude and awe everywhere lately. 

I feel it listening to the excitement of the radio DJ. I see the memes and TikToks of Wisconsinites who are begging for a championship. I hear it in the words of Pat Murphy, who said Bob Uecker, the radio voice of the Brewers for over 50 years who passed away last year, helped us win from heaven, batting down a ball from the opposing team that might have been a home run (thanks Ueck!). I see it in my good friend Father Jerry Herda, who has served as the Catholic chaplain for the Brewers for almost 20 years.  I see it in my 82-year-old father-in-law who is in a senior care facility living with dementia; he waited his whole life for this moment. This is the man who, when I met him, told me that if I wanted to date his daughter, I better be a Brewers fan. 

I told my students that I feel this sense of fraternity all over campus as faces seem brighter and lighter. People saying hello with a smile and taking selfies with the statue of Jacques Marquette adorned with Brewers gear. Even the bells of the Church of the Gesù on campus played “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” I encouraged my students to lean in and enjoy this moment. Don’t hesitate to be joy-filled. Embrace the fun and use this as an excuse to say hi to a stranger! 

I had been wondering why I was so excited about the Brewers going to the World Series. I wondered if I was too focused on this sports moment. I admit that part of this is being a sports fan, but in another, real way, it is about the “fraternity” I feel in my city. Pope Francis asked the question, “Who is my neighbor?” These days, in the city of Milwaukee, the answer is everyone. Go Brewers!

Jon Metz is a teaching associate professor of theology at Marquette University. He is also a Jesuit-trained spiritual director, national speaker and lifelong Milwaukee Brewers fan.