Argue if you must, football fans, but this weekend was all about the Brewers in Milwaukee. I see that in Green Bay and Madison there were other sports events, but I couldn't hear them over the din.
That's because Milwaukee is riding high on the Brewers' championship wave and the vibe at Miller Park was as festive as you'd expect.
Hours before game time on Saturday, the lots were packed. As the 1 p.m. start time approached, plumes of smoke still rose from grills amid the sea of cars reflecting beams of sunlight and of humanity, which had a gleam of its own thanks to the beer that made Milwaukee famous.
But if that shine led to unruly behavior, I didn't see any of it. Strolling around the lots I saw gaggles of girls in Braun jerseys posing for photos. There were couples tossing the bean bag (I mean that literally, though, who knows, it may have been happening figuratively, too, in the back of a van or two) and kids running around their parents' lawn chairs.
Near the ticket windows, folks snapped pictures of the giant championship banner that currently adorns the park. Around the east side of the stadium, just past the Hot Corner, Hoi Polloi played a mix of rock and reggae in the Friday's Beer Garden and I ran into Andy Tarnoff and Jon Adler heading into the stadium.
Inside, the sold-out crowd filled every seat. That might seem like a "duh" statement, but if you frequent the ballpark you know how rare a sight that really is.
And the crowd fueled the Brewers. I clocked the first "Let's Go Brewers" chant at within two minutes of the first pitch on Saturday. This was a crowd that was in a forgiving mood. Not only did it cheer Yuniesky Betancourt's successes, it gave K-Rod a pretty welcoming roar during team intros.
No surprise, though, that when John Axford was called out onto the field next, the building erupted, sending out terrestrial ripples that were likely clocked at UWM's seismograph.
Fans got rally towels upon entering the stadium and those stark white babies were spinning in the air time and time again, creating an incredible sight and an amazing atmosphere in Miller Park.
This weekend's two victories mean that the Brewers have earned a game 5, if they don't win it all down in Phoenix first. Three and done would be nice, but – then again – a Game 5 victory later this week at Miller Park would be magic, wouldn't it?
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
