Why Do Wisconsin Sports Teams Always Choke In Big Games?

In light of the Wisconsin Badgers' 73-56 loss to Davidson in the NCAA Basketball tournament last night, it occurred to me that teams from Wisconsin -- whether they be college or professional -- seem to shit the bed in the big games. Now I realize that Davidson -- and Stephen Curry in particular -- shot lights out and sometimes there's not much you can do about that. (Except for, you know, play better D.) But the Badgers were supposed to be the better team. Stifling defense, doing all the little things, a balanced offense.

And therein lies the problem. Wisconsin sports are rife with good teams, but mostly lack the flashy type of superstar that can take a team on his back and win when nothing else is going right.

Now before you jump all over me, I'm not trying to say we have no superstars here in Cheesehead Nation. We do: the Packers had only one of the most respected and well-known quarterbacks of all time in Brett Favre. The Brewers are blessed with homegrown talent like Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun. The Bucks... okay, the Bucks suck right now and they need a coach that can get through to them to play defense. In the college world, the Badgers basketball team lacked that sort of player, while Marquette has some pretty good guards who, while solid, have nowhere near the cache of former player -- and bona fide stud -- Dwyane Wade.

So there are plenty of stars, it's just that I think the team is valued more overall here than the individual. That's really not surprising considering the blue-collar nature of my state. I don't think we'd have it any other way, honestly, but that sort of team breeds good regular seasons and mostly nothing beyond that.

Hell, even the individuals reflect our culture here.

Yes, Brett Favre has taken the Packers on his back and won some games, but he has also lost many games by doing that. More importantly, Favre has always seemed like "just one of the guys." He may very well be like a good ol' boy from the south, but at the same time he's like one of our own. As the face of the franchise, he reflects the culture of the team, which leads me to believe that Green Bay would never sign a head case like Terrell Owens or Randy Moss... two players that could have very well led us to a Super Bowl victory.

The Brewers young stars are just that: young. They lack the experience to carry a team. (Prince is close though. Very, very close.) I also think, at least last season, that the Crew lacked a killer instinct to take over a game and put it away. Perhaps this season will be different, I don't know.

Last, but not least, the Badgers b-ball team's best player last year was Alando Tucker. He was voted first-team All-American and almost won player of the year. He personified Wisconsin basketball (and Wisconsinites at large) thusly: He didn't have the prettiest shot or the flashiest moves; he just got shit done. Which is great until your team is down by 20 with 10 minutes to play...

I'm not trying to say the Packers should try and sign TO or that the Badgers would be better served with Stephen Curry on their team, (though with that kind of stroke from 3-point range, any team would love to have him) but rather that our culture here, whether in sports or in life, kind of forbids it in some sort of way. I mean, our teams just play solid, fundamental games and that's it... if certain players aren't into that, then they aren't welcome here.