{image1} It's easy to tell that spring has sprung in Wisconsin. The signs are unmistakable.

Blaze orange traffic barricades. Dandelions. Thunderstorms and tornadoes.

There is another, more pleasant sign as well: the opening of the home season for the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park.

As a baseball fan, I've always had a soft spot in my heart for the Brewers (even despite the traumatic experience of having my favorite player, Ben Oglivie, hit a home run while I was standing in line in the concourse at County Stadium as a young boy). Like thousands of Brew Crew fans, I've stuck with the team through thick and thin. There has been a lot more thin than thick.

Nonetheless, every year the new season gives the team and fans alike an opportunity with a new sense of excitement and energy. Now don't get me wrong; I'm realistic. I know that this year, just like last, claims we've fielded a stronger team, or that our farm team is on the cusp of turning out high-caliber players that will turn the team around are grossly exaggerated.

Unlike years past, we do have something new this year that offers a little hopeful light at the end of the losing tunnel for this team -- a new owner who is committed to winning.

The new head honcho over at One Miller Park Way, Mark Attanasio, comes to Wisconsin via California, where he and his family live and where he is a successful businessman. Attanasio worked his way up through the ranks of the intense finance industry, managing billions of dollars in client portfolios and juggling a number of different projects at one time.

Reportedly a reserved gentleman, Attanasio has a successful investment management career, a day job he continues even as he oversees the direction of his own investment in the Brewers. He is a well-respected and highly-regarded professional at the top of his game.

Attanasio may just find himself at the top of a new game now if his investment, and his keen business skills help propel the Brewers forward in the coming years. But there are key roadblocks that are standing in the way.

First at bat are the team personnel. All the peanuts, beer and hot dogs in the world won't make an experience at Miller Park more enjoyable than a team that wins games.

It's no longer acceptable to have a corporate mentality of just trying to play .500 baseball. Attanasio gets that, and you can already tell that he brought with him the energy and spirit needed to change the culture of thinking to one that views winning as the standard, not as a lofty goal for some time in the future.

On deck is restoring the fans' faith in the team and building an even larger, more excited fan base. You do that by winning.

Brewers fans have remained remarkably loyal over the years. But to be sure, 12 straight losing seasons has taken its toll. The team will need to continue an approach started by Ulice Payne a few years ago of reaching out to fans in an attempt to not merely say that things are changing, but to prove it.

Neither challenge will be easy. There will be fans, media and critics alike who will demand immediate successes and curse any progress as only stemming the tide. But a task of this monumental size will not be accomplished overnight, or in just one season.

Thankfully, however, the new regime understands that while you can't completely transform a losing team in one season, you can completely transform the attitude, the spirit and the goals. If that is all that changes this year, we're already well on the way to a much better team.

Attanasio, for his part, deserves to be given every opportunity to show his stuff. Remember, this is a man who sought out Milwaukee, put a large wager down in the form of a financial investment, and is gambling with us that while future Wisconsin springs may still bring a blizzard of blaze-orange traffic barricades, they don't bring the pit in our stomachs as we brace for another losing season.

Villa is a Republican consultant and principal in the Markesan Group.

The opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the opinions of OnMilwaukee.com, its advertisers or editorial staff.

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