Netflix's 'That '90s Show' had a few Wisconsin sports references that don't exactly match up with reality

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Of course a show that includes the line "Hello Wisconsin!" in its opening-credits theme song is going to have numerous references to the Badger State, though some of them require a suspension of the proposed timeline.

"That '90s Show," a 10-episode Netflix series that serves as a sequel to popular sitcom "That 70s Show" made sure to throw in a few Packers references and also more or less revealed the location of the fictional Point Place, Wisconsin, where the events of the show are set during the summer of 1995.

But eagle-eyed viewers caught a few details that perhaps differed from the 90s we knew and loved.

Meet the new teenagers, (almost) the same as the old teenagers: Raising a cup of beer, the cast of "That '90s Show" includes, from left, Mace Coronel as Jay Kelso, Callie Haverda as Leia Forman, Ashley Aufderheide as Gwen Runck, Reyn Doi as Ozzie, Maxwell Acee Donovan as Nate, and Sam Morelos as Nikki.
Meet the new teenagers, (almost) the same as the old teenagers: Raising a cup of beer, the cast of "That '90s Show" includes, from left, Mace Coronel as Jay Kelso, Callie Haverda as Leia Forman, Ashley Aufderheide as Gwen Runck, Reyn Doi as Ozzie, Maxwell Acee Donovan as Nate, and Sam Morelos as Nikki.

The William Henderson jersey

In episode 1, "That '90s Pilot," we meet our cast of characters, including Leia (Callie Haverda), the daughter of "That '70s Show" protagonists Eric (Topher Grace) and Donna (Laure Prepon), who serves as the lead of this show. She's staying with her grandparents for the summer (Kitty and Red Forman, with Debra Jo Rupp and real-life Wisconsin native Kurtwood Smith reprising their roles).

One of the grandparents' neighbors, Nate (Maxwell Acee Donovan), is donning a No. 30 William Henderson jersey, a nod to the Packers fullback who played for Green Bay from 1995-2006.

What the show gets right is that Henderson indeed wore No. 30 before switching to 33 after his first three seasons in the league. What's intriguing is that Henderson had theoretically just been drafted in late April 1995 (the show opens on July 3, 1995), so it seems a little unlikely that Nate would have already had a jersey of a third-round draft pick who hadn't played a down yet for the Packers. Nate isn't exactly presented with the guile to recognize the greatness of fullbacks from the University of North Carolina, but perhaps we judge him too harshly.

Maybe the kids of Point Place just have a thing for round numbers. In the season's 10th and final episode, Gwen's (Ashley Auferheide) Green Bay Packers shirt features the No. 40 in the center. The Packers didn't have a No. 40 on the roster in the years immediately preceding 1995; only one Packers player wore the number from 1987-'96, and it was defensive back Johnnie Jackson, who wore it for one game in 1992.

A future version of Lambeau Field

Lambeau Field is shown in this aerial photograph taken Aug. 4, 2000, in the Packers' preseason game against the New York Jets.
Lambeau Field is shown in this aerial photograph taken Aug. 4, 2000, in the Packers' preseason game against the New York Jets.

Eating at a diner called "The Hub" in episode 5 ("Step By Step" — a fun nod to another television sitcom set in Wisconsin), we see a picture over Leia's shoulder that shows Lambeau Field, but it's an image of Lambeau Field pretty much as it looks today, with the brick exterior first constructed during the early-2000s renovations.

Lambeau Field in 1995 still boasted a green perimeter that could charitably be referred to as corrugated-chic, so we were a ways away from that look in 1995.

You also get a glimpse of Camp Randall Stadium among the wall decor.

Apparently in Point Place, the Bucks are already championship-caliber

This modern Milwaukee Bucks logo was adopted in 2015.
This modern Milwaukee Bucks logo was adopted in 2015.

Blink and you'll miss it, but there's also a Milwaukee Bucks pennant above the window of "The Hub" near the door. The logo you see is a modern Bucks logo, born in 2015, and not the purple logo from the era. If it's too hard to tell the color scheme on your TV, just look at the nose, the more triangular modern version vs. the more circular version that was in place during the 1990s.

Granted, the Bucks have re-integrated their purple jerseys into uniform designs this year, so what's old is new again.

The Point Place Gazette has an alternate history in its pages

Pilings in Miller Park contrast against Milwaukee County Stadium on Friday, Sept. 26, 1997. Ground broke on Miller Park, now American Family Field, in November 1996.
Pilings in Miller Park contrast against Milwaukee County Stadium on Friday, Sept. 26, 1997. Ground broke on Miller Park, now American Family Field, in November 1996.

Red Forman can be found reading a newspaper throughout the 10 episodes. In the finale, we see his Point Place Gazette sports front page with the picture of a baseball player and a headline, "Hot Streak Ended by Three Errors in the 8th." The Brewers (presuming that's the baseball team getting top billing in the local sports section) didn't play any game that fits that description in the late summer or early fall of 1995, but that team did have a 58-58 record at the end of August before losing nine of 11 to open September. The Brewers and our characters were apparently both struggling with the back-to-school routine simultaneously.

The secondary headline was "Ground Breaks on New Stadium," and if we're talking about Miller Park, that's a little off — ground was broke on the new Brewers home in November of 1996.

Obviously, we're talking about a light-hearted sitcom, and it's not crucial to the plot that these sports references be anything more than ... uh, in the ballpark.

Bonus: The Rave! Oh wait, no, just a rave

Hardcore punk band Turnstile headlines a sold-out show at the Rave's Eagles Ballroom on May 12, 2022. An episode in "That '90s Show" is called "Rave" but it surprisingly doesn't have anything to do with Milwaukee's popular concert venue.
Hardcore punk band Turnstile headlines a sold-out show at the Rave's Eagles Ballroom on May 12, 2022. An episode in "That '90s Show" is called "Rave" but it surprisingly doesn't have anything to do with Milwaukee's popular concert venue.

With an episode called "Rave" opening with Ozzie (Reyn Doi) paging through a magazine looking for things to do in Milwaukee, you might think the episode takes our characters to legendary concert venue The Rave. Alas.

Ozzie is reading the fictional "What's Up, Wisconsin" news magazine and rattling off things to do in the big city; he mentions four different cheese festivals before he notices there's a "warehouse rave in Milwaukee." Presumably, this is not the actual The Rave/Eagles Club concert hall which … could potentially be confused as a warehouse?

At least when Red comes to pick up Leia at The Rave (sorry, no, it's just "the rave"), he's wearing a Green Bay Packers hat.

JR Radcliffe can be reached at (262) 361-9141 or jradcliffe@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JRRadcliffe.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Netflix's 'That '90s Show' has a few Wisconsin sports timeline goofs