As the Tampa Bay Rays prepare to face the Milwaukee Brewers in the World Series, one fan in Tampa is navigating a unique dilemma: cheering for two teams he loves, with his Wisconsin roots ultimately guiding his allegiance.
“To me, I look at it as I'm playing with house money. I I love both teams. I've been a Brewer fan for a lot longer than I've been a Rays fan. So for me, I want the Brewers to win the series," said Brewers fan, Mark Conard.
Conard grew up in the Green Bay area as a lifelong Wisconsin sports fan. But when he moved to Tampa five years ago, he adopted the Rays as his American League team — never imagining the two would meet on baseball’s biggest stage.
“When I moved down here, I thought I'll adopt an American League team. The only time that there's ever going to be a conflict of interest is if the Brewers play the Rays in the World Series, and what are the odds of that? Pretty minuscule, actually, astronomically minuscule when we moved down here, but here we are, and it's and it's it's unbelievable," Conard said.
This season, Conard has experienced big moments with both teams firsthand. He was at Tropicana Field when the Rays clinched the American League Championship Series.
“It was absolutely electric in there," Conard said.
He also watched the Brewers in Milwaukee, sitting close to the action during Jacob Misiorowski’s memorable 15-strikeout shutout this summer.
For Conard, the matchup is especially exciting because he sees similarities between the two teams.
“It's nice because they're kind of mirror images of each other, right? They're they're both very low market value teams in terms of what they spend annually on contracts," Conard said.
He plans to attend Game 3 of the World Series in Tampa, and he already has an outfit that pays tribute to both clubs.
“I reconciled this by I have a Freddy Peralta Brewers jersey, and so I figure if I'm wearing a Brewers jersey, but for the ace of the of the Rays, it kind of balances things out a little bit. Even if it gives a little bit of an edge to the Brewers, since I'll probably have a Brewers hat on," Conard said.
Despite his connection to Tampa and the Rays, Conard says his Wisconsin roots make this World Series especially meaningful. For him, it is a chance for the Brewers to shine.
“It's their time on the big stage. It's their time to represent the state of Wisconsin and the city of Milwaukee and all the greatness that comes with it," Conard said.
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