I haven't lived in Milwaukee for over 20 years, but I am a Milwaukeean. Very few days pass when something Milwaukee doesn't enter into my life.
I'm an avid fan of the Pack, the Brewers and even the disappointing Bucks. I have been in a Milwaukee-based fantasy football league for at least 25 years. During the season the banter between the group of lawyers, judges and assorted other minor luminaries is very Milwaukee-centric. I like to know what's going on the political scene and even try to stay in tune with new restaurants and bars. I communicate regularly with my dad, Frank and my brother, Josh. Between those two I usually get the latest news that doesn't always make it to print. I also have tons of Milwaukee friends and relatives on Facebook and even a few on Twitter.
So, the fact that I live 13 time zones and a mere 20-hour flight away from Milwaukee in Singapore is really no obstacle for me.
I've lived in Asia for five years, and while it's easy to keep connected to Milwaukee from here (or anywhere for that matter) I also find Milwaukee connections over here all the time. Yes, a few people do actually seem to venture out beyond even Chicago. If all goes well, I hope to tell some of those stories here at OnMilwaukee.com.
As I mentioned, I am a sports fan. While living in Asia I have become a fan of some sports that don't get much attention in Milwaukee. There include cricket, rugby, Aussie rules football and even soccer.
I have learned about these sports from friends and colleagues. Working with people from around the globe makes that easy. My Indian and British colleagues are always happy to try to explain cricket. I have a South African pal who is a rugby freak. My buddies from Melbourne are AFL crazy and most everyone else is infatuated with football (i.e. soccer).
The one thing I expect from them is that in return for making me a Chennai Super Kings (Indian Premier League Cricket), Cape Town DHL Stormers (Super 15 Rugby League), Adelaide Crows (Australians Football League) or Tottenham Hotspurs (English Premier League) fan is that they pledge their allegiance to one of MY teams.
Over the years I have introduced the Packers, Brewers and Bucks to lots of folks. I play up connections like Aussie Andrew Bogut or Japanese Brewer Takashi Saito and I bet you didn't know that the Packers have the only Indian American player in the NFL, Brandon Chillar (Trivia – there have only been three in NFL history and one of the others was receiver who caught Brett Favre's first completion as a Packer).
This year's Packers championship run was a blast. In the lead up to the Super Bowl, I got emails from people all around the world throwing their support behind the Pack. My South African office neighbor even printed out color GO PACK GO posters and taped them to my door.
Folks in the office gave me high fives after the game (it was on in the morning) and posted great comments on my FB and Twitter pages. In return for that love I was more than happy I was to help cheer India to victory in the Cricket World Cup and, while watching the Brewers on mlb.com, I always check on how the Stormers are doing in their pursuit of the Super Rugby trophy.
