Struggling to think of a defining Wisconsin sports story in 2024?
All three major pro sports teams in the state appeared in the playoffs but ultimately petered out (though all had strong regular seasons). There was a high-profile coaching change, a few big-time newcomers (Josh Jacobs, Xavier McKinney, Jackson Chourio, Damian Lillard kind of — even though he arrived in 2023) and a performance for the ages from a Wisconsinite in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
Let’s mention that here on our list of strange, surprising and funny Wisconsin sports stories of 2024. Here’s your annual recap:
Check out the stories from 2023 while you’re at it.
Jack Gohlke was, at most generous, the second-best player on his team at Pewaukee High School, then a Division II player at Hillsdale in Michigan for most of his college career. But his one season at Division I Oakland (Michigan) University provided an amazing final chapter, when he caught fire for 10 three-pointers in the opening round of the NCAA tournament, helping his team shock Kentucky. Oakland nearly won a second game, too, and Gohlke became an overnight sensation, leading to some sudden NIL opportunities (with some help from old teammate Grant Basile, who was, by the way, the best player on that Pewaukee team).
Did the Green Bay Packers fan who blocked Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon from celebrating a Lambeau Leap get ejected from the stadium? Nope, he came back, faring much better than the fan who exchanged words with Packers coach Matt LaFleur in Detroit. Remember when LaFleur also had to vouch for his son with Lambeau Field security?
The Packers were able to improvise nicely earlier this season when Jordan Love went down with an injury in the season opener, cultivating a perfect gameplan for newly acquired backup Malik Willis to lead the team to wins.
Likewise, Willis was also adept and changing the play when his center vomited on the football.
Layne Riggs earned his first NASCAR national-series trophy in West Allis at the Milwaukee Mile but then couldn’t carry it, fist-pumping his right shoulder out of the socket during the celebration.
“I’ve done it before, but never in victory lane before,” the 22-year-old said after winning the LiUNA! 175 Craftsman Truck Series race. “I think it’s No. 9 dislocation of the shoulder. It’s fast-jerk motions. And guess I got a little too excited. It’s all good now, and I’ll numb the pain later tonight.”
Never short for weird and wacky stories, the Aaron Rodgers saga took a number of turns, including a disappointing first full season playing for someone other than the Packers, a book, the firing of a head coach (who later became a Packers employee), a Netflix series, a number of opinions shared on “The Pat McAfee Show” and getting Davante Adams back on his team. Clay Matthews had some fun with it during the Packers Hall of Fame ceremony.
Perhaps THE star of the 2024 Olympics coverage in Paris was hip-hop icon Snoop Dogg. But before he went wheels up for France, he honed his skills on the mic for a mid-summer Brewers game.
Is it possible Adrian Griffin goes down in history as the head coach with a top-five winning percentage in NBA history? The first-year coach was let go in January, ultimately replaced by Doc Rivers, in a stunning move that certainly wasn’t the result of the team’s impeccable 30-13 record. Trouble under the surface led to the move.
Despite some humorous — and at times, not so humorous — buzz to the contrary, Marquette men’s basketball star Tyler Kolek is really quite solid at reading. He wrapped up his decorated career at Marquette and wound up drafted by the New York Knicks, though not before leading MU to its first Sweet 16 in over a decade.
Few men’s basketball coaching hires generated as much buzz as the man brought on to lead UW-Green Bay, and that’s saying something considering the Horizon League is usually off the beaten path of national consciousness. Doug Gottlieb, a national radio host and media personality, was hired as a first-time head coach, a job he vowed to undertake alongside his radio responsibilities. He created quite the talk-radio-friendly story in December when he referred to Division II schools as “Nobody U,” days before losing to one.
Marquette University men’s basketball icon Dwyane Wade has his own statue in Miami to acknowledge his legendary career with the Heat. And friends, it is … something.
On the wholesome content front, find yourself a franchise quarterback who will also help your car escape the snow.
