Matt LaFleur walked into his Friday press conference wearing a Milwaukee Brewers hat. The Green Bay Packers coach was there to talk about Sunday night’s game against the Dallas Cowboys, but he started with baseball.
The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-4 on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium to finish a four-game sweep in the National League Championship Series, MLB.com reported. Milwaukee will play in the World Series for the first time since 1982 and the first time as a National League club.
“You guys like my hat? It’s a little big on my head, but I want to support the Brewers,” LaFleur said. “That was pretty cool to watch last night. And I’ve got a lot of respect for their organization, Coach Murphy. I saw something that Christian Yelich said after the game, postgame, that I thought certainly resonated with me in terms of just what it takes to be successful. And I just think they’re a first-class organization. Really happy for them.”
LaFleur said he did not see much of the series. The milestone still registered.
“Didn’t get to watch a whole lot,” LaFleur said. “But it is pretty cool when you have an in-state team to reach the World Series for the first time in 44 years. That’s a pretty big deal. Just really happy for those guys.”
Keisean Nixon was ‘happy but sad’ about the Dodgers’ loss
Cornerback Keisean Nixon watched the clincher with divided loyalties. He named Brewers second baseman Brice Turang as the reason for the happy half.
“I actually was kind of happy but sad at the same time,” Nixon said. “My boy Turang is like that, but he’s also a Cali boy. But the Dodgers losing kind of hurt my heart.”
Zaire Franklin got his first look at American Family Field
Several Packers attended a Brewers playoff game in Milwaukee after the 31-7 win over the Chicago Bears on Oct. 11. Linebacker Zaire Franklin, who grew up a Philadelphia Phillies fan, said it was his first time at the ballpark.
“I’m a huge baseball fan,” Franklin said. “So it was just fun being able to go, especially off the win, obviously. Pulling up off the loss would have been terrible. It was just a great environment, man. That was my first time in that park. It was really dope. The fans were super intense. Just like all the other Wisconsin fans that I met, though, they were great and hospitable.”
His favorite player is Ryan Howard. Franklin said he played first base growing up and listed the Phillies he followed before the 2008 team that won the World Series.
“I would probably say Jim Thome and Bobby Abreu was the reason I started really liking baseball,” Franklin said. “But then, obviously, Jimmy Rollins and that ’08 Phillies team, they got my heart for real.”
That 2008 Phillies team beat the Brewers in the NL Division Series. A reporter brought up 2008, and Franklin waved it off.
“Come on, don’t do me like that,” Franklin said.
Tucker Kraft hasn’t watched, but says ‘Go Brewers’
Tight end Tucker Kraft lives in Green Bay in the offseason. He said he did not grow up with baseball and admitted he had not watched the Brewers this postseason.
“This would be big for the entire state of Wisconsin, especially as we also continue to heat up,” Kraft said. “Good luck. Go Brewers. As a kid, there was no baseball team at Timber Lake High School, so we didn’t have the resources, I guess. I never really got super into baseball, but it’d be great to see the Brewers’ success.”
“I haven’t watched a single game, sorry to admit that, but they have full support of our team,” Kraft continued. “A bunch of guys went down there the other day and watched the game. They had a great time, so just go Brewers.”
The Brewers led the majors with 103 wins this season. The Packers (3-2) host the Cowboys at 7:20 p.m. CT Sunday on NBC and Peacock.
More Milwaukee Brewers news from Wisconsin Sports Heroics
- Jake Bauers’ rise from journeyman to NLCS MVP captures Brewers’ historic story
- Pat Murphy gets major opportunity after Brewers’ historic NLCS triumph
- Pat Murphy reveals what makes beating Dave Roberts’ Dodgers so difficult after Brewers’ historic sweep
- MLB insider reveals Los Angeles Dodgers’ biggest problem after Milwaukee Brewers complete historic NLCS sweep
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