After a career spent covering unforgettable championship moments across Wisconsin sports, Lance Allan checked off one final bucket list experience when the Milwaukee Brewers won their first World Series in franchise history.
Fresh off covering the Brewers’ historic postseason run, CBS 58 sports director Lance Allan visited Concordia University Wisconsin on Nov. 5 for “Where Faith Meets the Playing Field,” part of the university’s Christian Leadership Series. Allan shared stories from the postseason and reflected on faith, teamwork and the relationships behind the headlines.
Having covered Super Bowls, the NBA Finals, the Final Four and the Olympics, he fulfilled a longtime professional goal by covering the Brewers in the World Series. This year’s run brought him inside champagne-soaked clubhouses and alongside a team whose personalities and contributions made a lasting impression.
He remarked that his clothes had needed four trips to the cleaners to remove champagne and cigar smoke from the team’s celebrations. Underpinning his humorous anecdotes was gratitude for witnessing a milestone he had spent decades hoping to cover.
Finding peace on baseball’s biggest stage
Some of Allan’s most meaningful postseason moments happened away from the cameras.
Before Game 5 of the World Series, he recalled walking toward the field alongside Brewers pitcher Aaron Ashby. Their conversation turned to faith, prayer, and handling the pressure of the postseason.
Allan asked what the pitcher had learned through his playoff experience. Ashby shared that he and his wife had prayed before the postseason began and described an inner peace he was feeling during his dominant relief pitching throughout the playoffs.
The conversation illustrated the value of relationships that reach beyond an athlete’s performance.
“The way you witness to people is by getting to know them on a deeper level and just talking to them and kind of sharing their common experiences or realizing that they go through struggles; they’re human too,” he said.
He also pointed to the faith of Brewers Joey Ortiz and Brice Turang, describing how their professed trust in God provides direction for each of them through the uncertainty and setbacks of a professional sports career.
Getting to know the players personally also deepened Allan’s appreciation for what they accomplished together. He described a team of different personalities united by a common goal, with contributions coming from throughout the roster.
Asked to identify the greatest plays he had witnessed, Allan highlighted Jake Bauers’ lengthy at-bats against elite Dodgers pitching and Garrett Mitchell’s home-run-saving catch in San Diego. Choosing a single highlight from the Brewers’ run was difficult, he explained, because so many players had helped make the championship possible.
“You sacrifice for the greater good, and you’re better as a whole when everybody is contributing in some fashion,” he said.
That lesson, he explained, carried beyond the clubhouse to workplaces, Christian communities and Concordia itself: Individual contributions matter most when they serve a shared purpose.
Recognizing God’s preparation
Allan’s own path to those championship clubhouses began at a small radio station in Rice Lake, Wisconsin.
At 16, he asked for a broadcasting opportunity and accepted a Sunday morning job preparing church programming, playing country music, and reading news, weather, and sports. Arriving before dawn mattered little to a teenager excited to get started.
After college, his first television job in Rhinelander involved forecasting the weather. Although he wanted to cover sports, the assignment taught him to adapt, speak without a script, and think on his feet — skills that later became essential for interviews, coaches’ shows, and live reporting.
His transition into sports reporting took him from Rhinelander to Green Bay, where he covered the Packers’ Super Bowl XXXI championship team, and eventually to Milwaukee, where he has spent the past three decades.
Looking back, he saw God preparing him through opportunities that did not initially match his plans.
Bringing faith into daily work
Allan also acknowledged the demands behind the excitement of sports journalism. Championship coverage means travel, late nights, and time away from family. He credited his wife, Amy, and emphasized the importance of friendships, Bible study, and people who provide encouragement and accountability.
He also explained how faith shapes his treatment of athletes, particularly following difficult losses. He described the Golden Rule as a guide for asking necessary questions while respecting the person answering them.
Listening, he added, has become one of his most valuable professional skills.
“The way I’ve become a better interviewer is by becoming a better listener,” he said.
His message was grounded in 2 Timothy 2:15, a verse he said held particular meaning for his reflections on faith in the workplace:
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” —2 Timothy 2:15 (NIV)
That calling extends to how Allan uses his voice and the opportunities his career provides.
“One of the reasons why I felt like I was led to get into broadcasting or public speaking or doing something of this nature, was to use the small little platform that I have for the greater good,” he said.
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Concordia University Wisconsin is a Lutheran higher education community committed to helping students develop in mind, body and spirit for service to Christ in the Church and the world.