Brandon Woodruff led a group of freshly crowned Milwaukee Brewers onto the Lambeau Field turf Thursday night, trophy in hand, turning a Packers-Panthers matchup into an impromptu celebration of the franchise's first World Series title. Woodruff carried the Commissioner's Trophy out of the tunnel with teammates clapping and firing up the crowd behind him, while Christian Yelich, Sal Frelick and Brice Turang joined the party on the field.
The Brewers came onto the field after the first quarter with the Commissioner's Trophy in tow, according to USA Today, with Woodruff carrying it onto the field while Yelich and Frelick were also on-hand. WeAreGreenBay reported the group, which also included Turang, made its appearance after the first quarter of the Packers' game against the Carolina Panthers, with players mingling with fans in the stands.
Frelick could not resist the stadium's signature celebration. He took his opportunity on the field to try a Lambeau Leap, and he was greeted warmly by the crowd, per the same USA Today account. Later, players appeared seated in a stadium suite wearing cheesehead hats marked with the word Champion.
Trophy Tour Lands Amid a Packers Comeback Bid
The Brewers' detour to Lambeau came in the middle of a Green Bay team trying to shake off an uneven start. The Packers had a shaky 4-3 start to the season, losing manageable games against the Minnesota Vikings, Atlanta Falcons and Detroit Lions, as Bleacher Report noted. Carolina running back Chuba Hubbard added his own twist to the night, scoring a one-yard touchdown to retake the lead in the second quarter and performing his own Lambeau Leap afterward, according to Yahoo Sports.
The Brewers' arrival underscored just how long Green Bay's own championship drought has stretched. With Milwaukee's win, the Packers now have the longest title drought among the state of Wisconsin's major professional men's sports teams, USA Today reported. The Milwaukee Bucks, for comparison, won the 2021 NBA title on the shoulders of a “Big 3” comprised of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday, the outlet noted.
A Record Season Capped by a Five-Game World Series
Milwaukee's road to the trophy ran through a gauntlet of playoff opponents. The Brewers had a magical season, finishing with a franchise-record 103 wins, Bleacher Report reported, before downing the San Diego Padres in five games, sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers and beating the Tampa Bay Rays in five games in the World Series. The deciding Game 5 against Tampa Bay ended in a 4-1 Brewers win.
Catcher William Contreras walked away with the series' top individual honor. He took home the World Series MVP after hitting .381 with an .864 OPS and four RBI, per the same Bleacher Report account of Milwaukee's championship run.
Downtown Milwaukee Throws Open the Party
The celebration was always going to extend well beyond Lambeau Field. The Brewers were set to celebrate with fans on Friday, with a parade planned through downtown Milwaukee, Yahoo Sports reported. OnMilwaukee detailed the logistics further, noting the parade would begin at 10 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 30, before concluding at Henry Maier Festival Park, where a Championship Rally was scheduled to run until 3 p.m., according to OnMilwaukee.
