A Sporting Chance

I hate to go on and on about how important I am...but it’s kinda true.

Case in point, the 2010-11 sports season in Wisconsin.

Here’s my theory: the farther I get away from the great state of Wisconsin, the better its sports teams do. This is a theory that started taking shape many years ago, when my arrival at Madison was matched by a sudden downturn in Bucky’s fortunes. The years right before I transferred, two consecutive Rose Bowls and a Final Four berth. The next three years, not quite the same grandeur. Let’s examine the recent evidence behind the theory:

I move to Washington DC, pretty far from Wisconsin.

Brewers come to town. I go to a game with Josh and Amy. Brewers lose. 8-0. Next day, of course, they win a barnburner 11-7.

Packers come to town. I go to a game with Gloria, Ken, Bargey and Beth. Packers lose. In overtime. To the lowly Redskins. Packers go on to have a good season.

Badgers march all the way to the Rose Bowl. I go to the Rose Bowl in January? Yup, Badgers lose.

So I move to Hyderabad, India, about as far as you can get from Wisconsin without being in the middle of an ocean.

Sure enough, Packers win three straight playoff games on the road, then go on to win the Super Bowl.

And soon enough, March rolls around. The Badgers march on to the Sweet Sixteen behind stellar play from Taylor, Leuer and the role players. Marquette has already won their first round games in the NCAA tournament. As I’m on the far side of the planet, its not too much to expect a UW-MU championship game.

It’s getting so absurd that at least one wise diplomat has started taking the trend into consideration: