It's a good thing that I only let a few things as globally unimportant as the winning or losing streaks of the Brewers affect my attitude like baseball does. Just as I was emotionally preparing myself for a long, disastrous season last week, right now, I'm feeling pretty good about my beloved Brew Crew.
And no, I don't care if it was the lowly Pirates that bolstered my mood. A sweep is a sweep is a sweep, and I'll take it.
It's not to say that my entire mood is dictated by the ups and downs of sports. That would be foolish, as what these 25 millionaires do or don't do has little effect on my actual life. But I've also chosen to buy into baseball: hook, line and sinker. As a fan, I won't lie, I have a little spring in my step after watching the Brewers dig themselves out of the hole created by a seven-game losing streak.
Big, big wins like the Packers and the Super Bowl surely have big, big ramifications on our state's collective psyche. But a Brewers team that is starting to gel a little bit certainly makes spring more fun in Milwaukee, too, doesn't it?
Of course, the downside is that it can turn just as quickly. If the Brewers stink up their short West Coast road trip, it'll be surly city all over again. If only I could learn how to bask in the wins, but forget the losses.
Maybe next year. In baseball, hope does spring eternal, after all.
Andy is the president, publisher and founder of OnMilwaukee. He returned to Milwaukee in 1996 after living on the East Coast for nine years, where he wrote for The Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau and worked in the White House Office of Communications. He was also Associate Editor of The GW Hatchet, his college newspaper at The George Washington University.
Before launching OnMilwaukee.com in 1998 at age 23, he worked in public relations for two Milwaukee firms, most of the time daydreaming about starting his own publication.
Hobbies include running when he finds the time, fixing the rust on his '75 MGB, mowing the lawn at his cottage in the Northwoods, and making an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Brewers Spring Training.
