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Back to SI.com SI.com 50th Home Pick a State SI Covers Trivia Challenge Tour Info All-American Teen Wisconsin
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Classic SI photo by Heinz Kluetmeier

Leader of the Pack

He may have been born and raised in Mississippi, but Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre has become as much a part of the fabric of Wisconsin as brats and beer. Since joining the Packers in 1992, Favre has led the team to two Super Bowl appearances, been selected to the Pro Bowl six times and become the NFLšs only three-time MVP.

FACES IN THE CROWD

Connie Carpenter Madison
Sept. 6, 1976 -- A member of the 1972 Olympic speed-skating team and now a Wisconsin sophomore, Connie, 19, won the U.S. Women's National Bicycle Road Racing championship in Louisville, covering the 36.9-mile course in 1:36:20.
Career highlight: The first U.S. woman to compete in the Winter and Summer Olympics, Carpenter won gold in cycling in 1984.
Then photo by Milt Leidner;Now photo by AP

GREATEST ATHLETES
Eric Heiden, Madison
Took speed skating record five gold medals at 1980 Olympics; won total of 10 world championships in '77, '78, '79.

Ernie Nevers, Superior
All-Pro in each of his five NFL seasons; scored league-record 40 points in Cardinals' 40-6 win over Bears in 1929; pitched for Browns from 1926 to '28.
Al Simmons, Milwaukee
Outfielder drove in 100 runs 12 times and had 200 hits six times (including 253 in 1925) in 20-year major league career.
See the complete list of Wisconsin's Greatest Athletes


FLASHBACK
1987: Why Everyone Should Root For the Packers
Tired of living in NFL fear? Worried that some fat-boy owner in a vicuna coat -- Hello, there, Art Modell -- is going to render a lifetime of watching, praying and season-ticket buying meaningless in a moment, taking the old hometown team to some new megabucks stadium for some new megabucks deal?
FULL STORY



SI COVERS
Classic SI cover What a Relief In 1981, his first season with the Milwaukee Brewers, Rollie Fingers posted a 1.04 ERA with 28 saves, numbers so stellar that the 35-year-old right-hander picked up both the American League MVP award and the Cy Young award.

  • Click here to see a gallery of every Packers, Brewers and Bucks cover
  • Click here to purchase Wisconsin covers from the SI Classic Covers collection

  • THE SI POLL
    Who do Wisconsinites root for? SI asked the Badger State residents to weigh in* on sports.
    Favorite major league baseball team
    Milwaukee Brewers
    48%
    Chicago Cubs
    10%
    Minnesota Twins
    4%
    No favorite
    24%


    Favorite NFL team
    Green Bay Packers
    83%
    Chicago Bears
    5%


    Favorite NBA team
    Milwaukee Bucks
    47%
    Los Angeles Lakers
    6%
    Chicago Bulls
    4%
    No favorite
    35%


    Favorite NHL team
    Detroit Red Wings
    11%
    Chicago Blackhawks
    9%
    Colorado Avalanche
    5%
    No favorite
    59%


    Favorite pro team
    Green Bay Packers
    77%
    Chicago Cubs
    4%
    Milwaukee Bucks
    3%
    Chicago Bears
    3%
    Greatest athlete who ever lived in or played for a team in your state
    Brett Favre
    50%
    Bart Starr
    13%
    Hank Aaron
    10%


    State's biggest rivalry
    Packers-Bears
    32%
    Packers-Vikings
    27%
    Wisconsin-Marquette
    27%


    State's biggest rival
    Illinois
    44%
    Minnesota
    42%
    Michigan
    8%


    Favorite sport to play
    Golf
    24%
    Fishing
    13%
    Hiking
    13%
    Bowling
    10%


    Favorite sports to watch on TV**
    Football
    86%
    Winter Olympics
    43%
    Summer Olympics
    39%
    Basketball
    34%
    Golf
    31%
     
    Favorite living sports announcer
    Bob Uecker
    48%
    John Madden
    10%
    Al Michaels
    4%
    Bob Costas
    3%


    Favorite college sports team?
    Wisconsin Badgers Football
    48%
    Marquette Golden Eagles Basketball
    8%
    Wisconsin Badgers Basketball
    6%


    Which is more important to you, sports or sex?
    Sex
    51%
    Sports
    18%
    Declined to answer
    31%


    FUN FACT
    Sixty percent of Wisconsinites polled have attended a tailgate party.
    *Harris Interactive poll, conducted online, of 415 Wisconsin residents who identified themselves as sports fans. Margin of error +/- 4.8%.**Multiple responses allowed.
    SI 50th POLL
    What is your favorite Wisconsin sports arena?






    Sports Illustrated's 50th Anniversary
    On Wisconsin

    For Cheesehead Nation, season tickets at Lambeau Field are life's holy grail. But, as new Bucks coach and Badger State native Terry Porter explains, there's more to Wisconsin than football and farms. SI.com digs into the SI archives to find a famous Face in the Crowd, Flashbacks and other significant moments in Wisconsin sports history.


    The Power of Cheesehead
    • SI On Campus: Madison is nation's top college sports town
    • SI Sportstown: Milwaukee, Wis.
    Wisconsin's 50 greatest athletes
    What's your top Wis. sports memory?
    SI 50th Tour Information

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    STATITUDES
    26 Cost in dollars of the "Fun For 4 Pack", a Monday-game promotion offered by the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers of the Class A Midwest League. Fans receive four reserved seats, four hot dogs and four small sodas.

    28.95 Cost in dollars of the Green Bay Packers Wisconsin Cheese Hat Game Combo offered on packertime.com. In addition to the hat, the package includes an "Are You a Wisconsin Cheesehead?" cheese can-cooler and a "Green Bay Packers No. 1 Fan" foam hand.

    14,000 Approximate number of fans who participated in a team-naming contest for the NBA franchise awarded to Milwaukee in 1968. According to the 1969-70 Milwaukee Bucks yearbook, R.D. Trebilcox of Whitefish Bay, Wis., was one of 45 people who suggested the name "Bucks." His reasoning: "Bucks are spirited, good jumpers, fast and agile."

    2.0 Minimum GPA a University of Wisconsin-Madison student must carry in order to qualify to be a cheerleader.

    2003 Year the Packers Brick and Tile Program was launched. The program allows Packers fans to personalize commemorative bricks and/or tiles to be installed outside and within Lambeau Field.

    18 Age at which Robin Yount became the Milwaukee Brewers' regular shortstop (April 5, 1974).

    30 Points scored by Marquette's Butch Lee in the Warriors' 67-59 defeat of North Carolina in the 1977 men's NCAA basketball championship game. Lee was named the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player.

    26 Milwaukee mascots who signed up to participate in the 11th annual Mascot Game. The game, which took place on March 21, 2003 at the Bradley Center, featured local celebs such as the Bucks' Bango and Marquette University's Golden Eagle as well as Bernie Brewer and UW-Milwaukee's Victor E. Panther.

    ENEMY OF THE STATE
    Warren Sapp
    Among Wisconsinites there's no forgiving Sapp for viciously blindsiding Packers tackle Chad Clifton last season. The most hated opponents: the Chicago Bears (45%), the Minnesota Vikings (40%) and Sapp's Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3%).

    Warren Sapp
    27%
    Randy Moss
    20%
    Mike Ditka
    8%
    FAST FACTS
    Admission to statehood: May 29, 1848 (30th state)

    Area: 65,503 square miles

    Bird: Robin

    Capital: Madison

    Economy: Agriculture -- Cheese, dairy products, cattle, hogs, vegetables, corn, cranberries. Industry -- Machinery, food processing, paper products, electric equipment, fabricated metal products, tourism.

     
    Flower: Wood Violet (Viola papilionacea)

    Nickname: Badger State

    Population: 5,363,675 (18th)

    Pro sports teams: Green Bay Packers, Milwaukee Brewers, Milwaukee Bucks

    Major college programs: Marquette Golden Eagles, Wisconsin Badgers

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