Still Plenty of Room: A Brewers Fan’s World Series Invitation
Guest Commentary
Audio By Carbonatix
By Veronica Olson Neffinger, Crosswalk.com
The 2026 World Series matchup between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays has surprised many sports commentators and many in the baseball world. Two relatively low-budget, small-market teams playing in the Fall Classic have brought sports reporters with hot takes seemingly out of the woodwork.
No Dodgers? No Yankees? No teams with superstars whose names are known by the average Joe? It seems unthinkable to many, as demonstrated in the Brewers-Dodgers NLCS when the Fox Sports commentators heavily favored the Dodgers to win, despite the Brewers’ better record in the regular season.
While I can’t exactly speak for Rays fans and reporters, as a lifelong, die-hard Brewers fan, I’m used to rooting for an underdog team. The very idea of the underdog in sports is so well embodied in Milwaukee and the Midwest culture in which I grew up. As Brewers Manager Pat Murphy declared after the Brewers won the NL Pennant, “They [the Dodgers] may have a bunch of Hall of Famers, but we have a bunch of gamers.”
I believe this approach to baseball has some surprising tie-ins to the life of faith and to following Christ.
The Intersection of Baseball and Faith
The Brewers and Rays have both been praised for their unique, “small-ball” approach to the game. They double down on stats that other teams fail to analyze or act on, and they execute bunts, sac flies, and steals when other teams heavily favor more flashy home runs and star power. They embody a team mentality and truly play for the love of the game and their friendship. This is evident in many player interviews and interactions.
Despite the heavy emphasis baseball and these teams in particular place on stats and analytics, the charisma, the energy, the charm, the heart of the game has not only not been lost, but has reemerged, I would argue, even more strongly in this modern era of baseball.
Following Brewers baseball this season has been a microcosm of human emotion and the human experience. The kind of game, season, and sportsmanship in which players come in clutch and leave it all on the field or at the plate has the power to shape us, even as mere listeners or viewers. Yes, as fans.
Why Baseball Is More Than "Just a Game"
By now you may be thinking, “I’m not a baseball or sports fan….why should I even care?”
The answer is because baseball—and particularly a World Series matchup like this of two teams that are still often viewed as underdogs (neither has ever won a World Series title)— demonstrates the power of human resilience, unity, and faith—qualities that find their source in God, whether players, teams, or fans realize it or not.
Quite a few have posited before that sports can function as a substitute for religion, and while I think this can sometimes be the case, that’s not what I’m arguing here. As Christians, we hear a lot about the dangers of being too invested in worldly pursuits, and sports are often lumped in with the kind of entertainment we are cautioned against by those in the Christian community.
There are also abundant examples of athletes, coaches, and fans either asking God for success in their games or praising him for ostensibly giving them the victory, which is a topic for another article. I actually think attributing success in a sporting event (or lack thereof) to God takes away from the true spiritual significance and power of sports because we reduce God to a vending-machine type figure who favors or doesn’t favor certain players or teams.
In a tribute blog to late, great Brewers radio broadcaster Bob Uecker, I wrote something that I think bears repeating in this context: “To some people, sports are superficial, ‘just a game,’ or something only for people who did or do play sports themselves at whatever level. Sports can be those things, but I think they interest so many and have had enduring power because they have the potential to transcend all those things and access a very fundamental level of what it means to be human. At its best, baseball provides an opportunity for connection between people and fosters a shared history among families and the broader fanbase. Baseball offers an opportunity not just to listen or watch but to participate.”
It’s as though God gave us a game such as baseball and the ability to choose a team to support (to mourn with and to rejoice with [Rom. 12:15]) because it’s a primer for the Christian life.
The Invitation to Fandom and to a Life of Faith
I’ve been a Brewers fan since I was cradled in my mother’s womb, hearing Bob Uecker’s play-by-play through uterine walls. That’s 35 years of some awesome moments on radio, TV, and in person at the ballpark, many with those I love, but mostly, that’s 35 years of heartbreak or a season that was hardly competitive.
Sure, on one level it’s just sports, just a series of games, just a championship and title that is manmade, but as many Brewers fans can tell you, this World Series run—only the second in franchise history—has deep meaning because we haven’t been fair-weather fans; we’ve stuck it out when it’s been grueling and lacking glory. We haven’t given up hope. At the start of every season, we wondered if this could be the year. We believed in our city, our team, our manager, our players with Midwest tenacity, even as we sometimes grumbled and complained along the way.
It may sound strange, but I’ve found that my commitment to my Brewers has fortified my walk of faith. After all, if I can be this committed to a baseball team, there is hope that I can be truly committed to Christ, despite the ups and downs of the Christian life, despite my frustration or complaining at times.
If you aren’t yet groaning at my baseball metaphors, let me offer one more: Oftentimes, I’m looking for Jesus to hit a flashy, 500-foot home run when all along he’s been showing up, not afraid to get dirty, inviting me to join him.
Bob Uecker often said in the first inning or two of his home series radio broadcasts, “Still plenty of room for ya, folks. Come on out.”
I’ve realized that from a young age, a part of me always heard this as an invitation not only to a game at Miller Park (or American Family Field as it's now called), but as a welcome to be part of a shared human experience, no matter your background or individual pursuits.
And that’s the thing about following Christ: there’s always room for another person who wants to be welcomed in and take part in the joys and sorrows. To share the ups and downs and become not only more Christlike, but more human, which is more similar than we may at first think.
Baseball as Christian Formation
So, of course I want the Brewers to win their first World Series title this October. I’ll be cheering as loud as any fan. But regardless of the outcome and which team prevails, I’ll continue to be thankful for baseball and how it’s something God has used to form me, to remind me of the divine image I bear, an image that goes with me as I care for my kids, as I tackle household projects with my husband, as I catch up with my Grandma on the phone (usually talking about the Brewers), as I go for a run in my neighborhood, as I plant my little backyard garden, and yes, as I cheer on my team.
Won’t you join me?
*The 2026 Baseball World Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays will begin on Friday, October 23rd at 8 p.m. EST. The series is best of 7, with the first team to win 4 games claiming the World Series title.
Photo credit: Unsplash/Thomas Park
Veronica Olson Neffinger is a Content Editor for Salem Web Network. When she is not writing or editing articles, you can find her listening to baseball games, enjoying the outdoors, reading, or engaged in some form of home or garden care. She lives in Richmond, VA with her husband and two young sons.
