"Brewers suck! Brewers suck! Brewers suck! At least Brett Favre is coming back next year! Brewers suck!"

That was the sound coming from the left field bleachers Sunday, right after the Cubs had lost to the Brewers 9-0 — yes, I said lost 9-0. You've just gotta love those Chicago Cubs fans.

Wait, no you don't. In fact, I freaking despise Cubs fans — well, most of them anyways; I don't really hate my grandpa. But that's neither here nor there.

I asked myself a question on the way down to Wrigley — it would be my first time at the historic park — which is worse, real Cubs fans or bandwagon Cubs fans? By the end of the day, I would realize that there is no right or wrong answer to that question.

I don't know if it was the rain that kept the yuppies indoors on Sunday, but I sure got a treat sitting next to the unkempt spectators in left field.

Why, I had the usual bleacher bum "dirty dozen" sitting in front of me. They proceeded to taunt Carlos Lee into belting a home run before resorting to making out so shamelessly that they might as well have been having sex.

Then again, they weren't much better than the pair of couples behind me that wouldn't shut up the entire game. And it's not like they were talking baseball — though one of the girlfriends "goes to a lot of games and once sat right in the first row." No, instead I got to hear them discuss how they were watching the latest "Real Sex" on HBO about how people liked to screw horses.

Then you had those who liked to yell at Lee when he was manning left field, poking fun at the former White Sox player who wasn't there last year to win a ring. I didn't know if I should tap them on the shoulder and remind them that — yes, the Brewers have never won one — but the Cubs are coming up on a century without winning a World Series themselves.

And as if all of that wasn't enough, it was difficult to get a beer to drown out the surrounding idiots, thanks to some rules at Wrigley Field. Even though I turned 21 last July, because my ID said that I wouldn't be 21 until 7/24/84, I could not purchase alcohol. That's fine if the ballpark wants to have that rule; I assume it just doesn't want to have to hire workers that can read those numbers. Give me a break.

Anyways, I could go on and on about how I hate Cubs fans, but I don't need a flood of e-mails, and this is my last column after two straight years of Schmoldt .45 between the two student dailies, so I figure I should wrap up some loose ends.

If Sunday had any pros, it was that it helped me to further realize how special Wisconsin fans are. Sitting in the press box over the past four years surrounded by the best fans in the country and not being able to cheer has been difficult.

I don't really hate The Daily Cardinal as much as I let on sometimes. They were good to me for three years; it was just time for a change.

I've covered more than 150 games over the past four years. The best as a fan included when the Badger men's basketball team claimed the Big Ten regular season title and when Wisconsin beat Ohio State in football in the rain my sophomore year. Of those, I covered, the Capital One Bowl and the hockey game at Lambeau Field rank right up there. But, by far, the best was the national championship I covered just one month ago.

Speaking of hockey, I've been to more than 100 games in my four years, including 34 of 44 this season. I was a young and unpolished reporter at the same time that the team was, and my reporting progressed as the team did. Hopefully I can tuck in at least one more year of covering the team before my run is done. And watch for my book in the near future.

But I told myself I wasn't going to write some grand, sappy farewell column. While my run at the student papers has ended, I'll be around town for at least another semester, continuing to write for various other outlets. Say "hello" if you see me around.

Thanks for reading over the past four years, and please continue to do so. It has been my pleasure to bring you all the latest in the realm of UW sports, and I hope you have enjoyed it as well. And don't forget: Continue to be the best fans in college sports.

It's been a great ride. Thanks, and crack a cold one for me.