A Brewers World Series win would bring home the team’s first-ever championship title… and a whole lot of orange juice.
Johnsonville – the Brewers’ official sausage sponsor – and the Tampa Bay Rays’ supporting juice company Florida’s Natural, have made a quirky wager on the championship series.
If the Brew Crew manages to take home the World Series rings, Florida’s Natural will send enough orange juice to Milwaukee to make 200,000 celebratory mimosas. On the less bubbly side of the bet, if the Rays can continue their come back, Johnsonville will send a whopping 413,554 brats to Tampa – one congratulatory taste of Wisconsin for each of the city’s residents.
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Jamie Schmelzer, Johnsonville’s vice president of marketing, says the company reached out to Florida’s Natural just last week with the baseline idea. The friendly bet came together quickly, mostly through text messages and a call between two companies eager to uplift their home cities.
“We have been waiting 44 years to make this bet, and we reached out to them because we were looking for a way to add to the fun and excitement,” said Schmelzer. “We want to give either fan base an opportunity to have an even better celebration because both of these teams would be first-time winners.”
As Brewers-official partners and sponsors of the Famous Racing Sausages, sending over Wisconsin-beloved brats made sense to the Johnsonville team. But one question remains on the other end: why request orange juice from Florida? Schmelzer attributed it to Milwaukee’s unabashed ability to party.
“We started thinking about what Milwaukee could use from Florida in this wager, and we obviously couldn’t find anybody to bet us timeshares in February,” Schmelzer remarked. “We quickly realized there’s going to be a lot of champagne in this town if the Brewers win, and Milwaukee is not afraid of some mimosas, so orange juice felt like a natural fit.”
The Johnsonville team came up with the population-matching number of brats and pitched it to Florida’s Natural in the spirit of including (literally) everyone. As for the 200,000 mimosas, Florida’s Natural says the vitamin C-packed figure amounts to about 200 kegs’ worth of orange juice – approximately enough for every alcohol-drinking adult over 21 in Milwaukee to enjoy a mimosa. The companies’ ability to deliver this colossal wager rests in both cities’ sizes.
“I will tell you, we are super relieved that they eliminated New York in the playoffs. That would have been over eight million brats. And [Florida’s Natural] is relieved that we eliminated Los Angeles because that would be a lot of orange juice,” Schmelzer said. “It’s nice that there are two mid-market teams in this thing, and we can make this bet happen.”
The companies are still working out the exact details to deliver on this wager. However, what’s promised is a victory celebration around the winning city, with brats or orange juice available in a determined location that will be publicized by either company post-win.
If Milwaukee brings home the win and there’s a Brewers-official parade, Schmelzer says the end of the confirmed route would be a good place to make the orange juice available. Details about where, when and how the juice will be distributed have not been confirmed, but Florida’s Natural maintains that the orange juice will be there in time to enjoy. Johnsonville plans to update their social media with a to-be-determined location, and remember; the wager includes only orange juice, not champagne.
If the Rays win, Johnsonville hopes to grill brats for Tampa fans. The brats would fill about three semi-trucks and would likely come from Johnsonville’s distribution center in Atlanta. Both companies also plan to donate extras to area food banks.
The wager follows a wider trend as one of several friendly bets between Milwaukee and Tampa-area institutions. The mayors of Milwaukee and St. Petersburg have agreed to wear the opposing team’s jerseys in the event of their opponent’s win. Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Art Museum and Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, Florida, have agreed that the losing team’s museum will temporarily lend a Monet painting to the winning city’s museum.
Among these fun wagers, Johnsonville will make sure its bet gives fans something to enjoy as well.
“I think we owe it to Milwaukee, to Wisconsin and to the fans to make any kind of celebration as big, as fun and as memorable as it can be, which is why we made this as absurdly large as we did,” said Schmelzer. “Because it’s been a long time, and you just never know if or when it’s ever going to happen again.”
In the event of a Brewers win, Wisconsinites can follow Johnsonville on Instagram and Facebook for updates as plans come together, such as information on the orange juice distribution location.
