MILWAUKEE -- When the Brewers clinched a spot in the World Series, fans celebrated in the stands at Dodger Stadium and at American Family Field, where a crowd 16,228 strong gathered for a watch party even though the game was 2,000 miles away. They also celebrated at home, at watering holes around Wisconsin, in their cars while driving home from a late shift at work, or countless other places.
The day after, we asked fans to share their stories and they came pouring in -- tales of best friends and strangers, brothers and sisters, and dearly-missed parents and grandparents. Here are just a few of those stories, with edits for length so we can include as many submissions as possible.
My parents separated when I was four, but both always made sure my brother and I got to Brewers games at County Stadium and eventually Miller Park. My mom became disabled in the 2000s, but we'd still make it to a few games every year, sitting in Section 227. We even got to ride the elevator with Bob Uecker once. Naturally, he made us laugh. I remember him looking at my mom's wheelchair and asking something along the lines of, "Does that thing take premium?"
Mom passed away unexpectedly in November 2017. She was heartbroken that the Brewers missed the playoffs that year, but she was invested in every inning and every pitch. Looking back, it was almost like she knew it would be her last season. My brother and I attended Game 7 of the 2018 NLCS, carrying a photo of her (attached). Well, we all know how that game ended.
Fast forward. I've always loved that "woodpecker" motto Murph used last year. I think it's the perfect way to describe this 2026 team. They just keep pecking away at you until you surrender. They don't quit. They don't care what the odds are. They just keep going.
Well, [on the day of NLCS Game 4] I was working in my sunroom, and out of the corner of my eye, wouldn't you know it, a woodpecker appeared outside my window. Not a large one, but a little scrappy guy.
Of course, I named him Murph.
I don't know how to explain it, but I was calm the entire game last night. Something just felt different. And when that final out was recorded, it was surreal. I'm still trying to wrap my head around what we just witnessed. All I could think about was how much I wished Mom could have been here to see it. How much I wished Ueck could have called it. And how much this moment would have meant to both of them.
Baseball has always been so much more than a game to me. It's my childhood, my family, the memories of people I've lost, and the moments I still get to share with those who are here.
And somehow, the best part is that we're not done yet.
-- Jacob from Green Bay
***
My wife and I live in Wauwatosa, Wis., and on September 21, 2026, we welcomed our first child into the world, a baby boy named Owen. For the nine months leading up to his birth, one of the things I looked forward to most was watching the Brewers’ postseason run with him. How cool would it be to become a dad AND watch the Brewers win the World Series, all in the span of a month?
Unfortunately, Owen was born with some complications and wasn’t able to come home until October 13. What followed was week after week of stress, anxiety and countless conversations with doctors and nurses. Through it all, I was fortunate enough to watch the final games of the regular season and the NLDS with Owen in the hospital. He finally made it home just in time for the NLCS!
I can’t put into words how grateful I am that I got to watch the clinching game with him. I’m also incredibly thankful for the amazing medical teams at Froedtert Hospital and Children’s Wisconsin, who took such incredible care of Owen and treated him like he was their own.
This little guy has already been through so much in his short time on this earth, and I couldn’t be prouder of him.
If the Brewers can finish this thing off and win it all, it’ll make an already unforgettable time in our lives that much more special. No matter what happens, watching this postseason with my son is a memory I’ll cherish for the rest of my life.
-- Charlie from Wauwatosa
***
I was at home with my wife. We just celebrated our anniversary on Oct. 12. Our son was sleeping, and my eyes were full of tears in the living room. Thinking of Uecker, Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks, Ben Sheets, all those guys.
But I was also thinking of my dad. He passed away at 46 years old from a heart attack. He saw Robin Yount’s 3000th hit! He still had the ticket from that day. I was thinking of him, imagining who else left this world too soon to miss the pennant, and hopefully a World Series win! I don’t have any photos from [clinch night], but I do have a few with my dad and what I did in his memory -- a tattoo of his initials, heartbeat and birthday.
-- William from Greenfield
***
I was in the basement with my two best friends, Jake and Matt, where we have spent countless hours watching Wisconsin sports and have always had cautious optimism about our teams actually making it beyond the “happy to be here” phase of the playoffs. Jake and I went to Games 1 and 7 of the 2018 NLCS, and I swore off going to another postseason game until the Brewers made a World Series. Jake got season tickets for the first time this season while I purchased a playoff strip, and I’ve been at both Game 2s with him so far because I knew this team was special.
[Clinch] night had such a tense calmness for me. When the final out happened, we immediately started crying and plenty of hugs went around. It was a special, special moment. Now I get to go to Game 2 of the World Series with my mom.
-- Kyle from Green Bay
***
I spent Game 4 of the NLCS deep behind enemy lines. My hometown is Germantown, Wis., but since graduating I've lived in Chicago with my husband, a diehard Cubs fan. I typically have to spend Brewers games silently listening to radio calls with my headphones on, or quietly in my living room with low volume, so as not to wake the Cubs fans asleep in the house or neighbors.
For Game 4, I decided to take in the game from a Wisconsin sports bar down the street called Will's Northwoods Inn. A last refuge for us true believers who are no longer at home in Wisconsin. I shared the game with a few friends, my Cubs fan husband (who couldn't help but laugh at how unrelenting Brewers ball truly is), and a couple hundred new best friends who I hugged and high-fived too many times to count. Everywhere I looked were fans cheering and texting or calling siblings, friends, parents or grandparents back home in Wisconsin.
I'll never remember the names of my new 200+ best friends, what their jobs are or where they came from. But I'll always remember that we were all together. Behind enemy lines. Basking in Glory Days.
-- Luke from Chicago
***
I was just thinking about my mom! She used to tell me stories about bringing me to County Stadium when I was only six months old. I wouldn’t nap during batting practice, I’d just stare at all the action. When I turned six, she’d drive us down from Kewaunee, Wis., just the two of us, so we could catch a game. She did everything she could to make sure I loved baseball and the Brewers.
I called her last night after the win, and I totally lost it. I cried. She stayed calm and simply said, “I love you.” Here’s a photo of us at Game 7 in 2018.
-- Jake from Oconomowoc
***
I watched the Brewers clinch with my aunt and uncle at their backyard shed. Starting in 2018, we began watching every playoff game there with a rotating cast of characters. We have Opening Day parties there, too.
We had the radio on and the TV muted, as we always do. Navigating the delay is an acquired taste, but I've learned to love it. After the initial celebration, I surprised my aunt and uncle with bottles of champagne I had chilling in a cooler in my truck. I was exactly where I imagined I'd be when this moment came.
-- Nathan from Sheboygan Falls
***
I watched with my fast asleep Brewers good-luck charm. With me to the end of the game.
-- Jered from Green Bay
***
My fiancée, Misty, and I sat in our living room after a 12-hour day working at Medford Area Elementary School in our special education department during the school day before Family Reading Night in the evening. When we got home, we turned on the Brewers game and saw Shohei Ohtani break out of his slump with a three-run homer to give the Dodgers a four-run lead.
Slowly but surely, the Brewers started coming back until they had a one run lead. David Hamilton came to bat in the ninth inning and hit a home run. Misty asked me, "Does he usually hit a home run?" My reply was, "Nope. The Brewers are going to The Show." As Chourio caught the last out, we both yelled with excitement.
We then started talking about how much we wanted to call my stepdad and her dad. We knew, though, that they were watching the game from Heaven. This photo is when Misty and I took my mom and stepdad to Waukesha Sportscards for a meet and greet with Hank Aaron. That opportunity for a photo with Hank Aaron and the other Brewers Hall of Famers such as Robin Yount, Paul Molitor and Rollie Fingers will always be remembered.
I know that one day there will be another photo op with, as Murphy calls them, the 2026 World Series Brewers “gamers” like Jacob Misiorowski, Sal Frelick, Brice Turang, Jackson Chourio, Aaron Ashby, Garrett Mitchell. Go get ‘em, boys. It is your year.
-- Joseph and Misty from Medford
***
My older brother Kevin and I went to the watch party on a whim. We have been coming to a handful of games every season since I fully became a diehard fan during the 2017 season. I pulled Kevin and our mom in during that season, and we’ve shared so many amazing moments thanks to the Brewers. We saw Ryan Braun hit a grand slam vs the Phillies in 2017, we booed Craig Counsell on Memorial Day in 2024, we were there for Brice Turang’s Mother’s Day magic and Jacob Misiorowski’s near-perfect game.
To be able to share this moment with my brother meant the world to me, and it was so much better to be able to do it in the stadium with thousands of others as well. I know I’m going to bawl my eyes out if they can bring a World Series home.
(Me on the left, Kevin on the right. I usually wear my navy Orlando Arcia jersey to games, but the City Connect Jake Bauers jersey has been my good luck charm during the playoffs.)
-- Brian from Wauwatosa
