Oct 6, 2018
A Rocky Relationship at Regis
The voice behind the Denver Jesuit university’s social media has baseball allegiances in the home of another Jesuit university
It makes sense that Regis University is publically supporting the local Colorado Rockies during their playoff run.
When the Denver-based baseball team won their wild card game, the university sent out a tweet of support. Marquette has shown the same support for the hometown Brewers.
But behind the scenes, the voice of the Regis Twitter account is (not so) secretly cheering for the Rockies’ opponent in the playoffs — the Brewers.
Wendi Hansen, the Content Strategist for Regis University, is a diehard Brewers fan in Rockies country.
While the Marquette campus has embraced (or accepted in the case of Cubs fans) the hometown team’s playoff run, Wendi has had to leave Denver and return to Wisconsin to be among her fellow Brew Crew fans.
This week she made the 1,000-mile trip from Denver to Milwaukee for Game 1 of the Division Series playoffs — to cheer for the Brewers.
Here’s the story of how a Brewers fan ended up at Regis, and what she’s learned about Jesuit education in the process.
How do you end up in Denver working as the social media person for Regis?
My mom is originally from the Denver area. Growing up, we would make the trip out here to visit family and I fell in love with it. I told myself that one day, I would live in Colorado. When I was wrapping up grad school at UW-Milwaukee, I decided to take a huge leap of faith and do just that. It was a very un-me like thing to do; I didn’t really have a plan, but felt that if I didn’t give it a try then, I may never get the opportunity to do so again. I worked as a head librarian at a college for a few years before finding my way to Regis. I’ve been the social media manager for the university for almost three years now and can honestly say it’s been the best three years of my life.
What’s the biggest lesson you learned about Jesuit education during your time at Regis?
I had never really known of or fully understood what Jesuit meant before working at Regis. I have always had strong faith, but the thing that resonated with me most was the emphasis on social justice and inspiring students to be the voice of those who may not have one. The best part of my job is getting to share incredible stories from our students, alumni and University community who are out there in the world doing extraordinary things. Social media can be full of negativity, but I try to use it as a platform to start important dialogues, foster relationships and remind people of the good that is out there.
Were you a big Brewers fan growing up? How did you become a Brewers fan?
I went to my very first Brewers game with my grandfather when I was four. He was and still is one of the biggest Brewers fans I know, and he happily passed that love of the game down to me. It kind of became our tradition. We’d make the drive down to Milwaukee (we lived three hours north in Wausau) for a Sunday game at County Stadium. He’d explain the mechanics of the game and players’ stats over all of the junk food. The Brewers to me have always represented that time spent with him, and will always be a little piece of home.
How did it feel to fly to Milwaukee FROM DENVER for Game 1 of the series to cheer against the team from your current residence?
Honestly, I was a giant stress ball the days leading up to the Brewers’ NL clincher. Me being used to getting my heart broken by the Brewers (being a diehard fan through thick and thin is harrrrrd sometimes) had bought tickets for the wild card game, prepared for the worst case scenario. I knew I was going to be in attendance no matter what, but when they beat the Cubs and took the division, I was 12/10 overwhelmed with excitement. I lived in Milwaukee in 2011 the last time they took the division title, but was unable to see a game. As soon as I walked into Miller Park for that first playoff game on Thursday, I was awestruck and full of emotion. Being surrounded by 43,000 other Brewers fans, fully immersed in the energy of the crowd and this team was an incredible feeling. The fact that they won in overtime by a walk-off was just icing on the cake.
Related story: A Cubs fan at Marquette learns a lesson in accountability
Do you still wear your Brewers’ gear loud and proud in enemy territory?
Absolutely, I do! You can take the girl out of Milwaukee, but you can never take the Milwaukee out of the girl. Gotta represent, even if that means being the only one rocking the blue and gold in a sea of purple and black.
How do you celebrate a win when you’re surrounded by the opposing team’s fans?
I have been known to lose my voice from yelling/cheering, this postseason series in particular. And of course being from Wisconsin, there naturally will be beer involved, especially if we get a win. I try not to be that fan and am always respectful of the opposing team, but you have to have a little fun. Two of my close friends/coworkers in the marketing department at Regis (Rockies fans) and I are always giving each other heck about their respective teams. We even had a serious pun throwdown via text during game one of the DS. The rivalries are just a part of what makes this game fun. And just for the record, I totally won that pun throwdown.
What will you do if the Brewers win this series?
The last time the Brewers won the division, I got a tattoo of the Brewers’ old school ball and glove logo (I am that much of a fan). It’s gonna be kind of hard to top that. I am open to suggestions.
