I’ve only been to two Milwaukee Wave games. The first was an elementary school fieldtrip. That time the Edgewood Tigers traveled to the Bradley Center under the pretense of participating in a math lesson. This past Saturday I went to the U.S. Cellular Arena – this time, without a math worksheet in hand – to cheer on the Wave as they took on the Chicago Riot.
I was excited to go back to the old MECCA. It’s been years since I’ve been there, and it’s where my love of sports was born. The place didn’t seem quite as big Saturday as it did to me as a toddler in the eighties, but I don’t think it’s a euphemism to say it seemed cozier. A smaller venue does create a more intimate atmosphere, which I think it refreshing in today’s bigger-is-better society. (I’ll admit that a tiny piece of me once wanted to see the new Cowboys Stadium, but that urge only plagued me between January 23 and February 6. I’m now over it.)
They had a nice crowd Saturday night. The recorded 5600 consisted of a few former Packers, the Women’s Soccer Club (pre-“gaming” for a pub crawl), a group of UW-Whitewater students and alumni, and lots and lots of families. They were out of bobbleheads by the time we got there. “No biggie,” I thought, “I don’t know who Brad Beach is anyway.”
Yup. I actually thought that. It doesn’t happen often when it comes to sports, but Saturday night I was that fan. The fan who mistook the mascot for a player. I tried to excuse my own fan faux pas and settled in to enjoy the game.
And enjoy the game I did. Although my soccer fandemonium has consisted of watching select World Cup action in the past few years, watching the Wave on Saturday made me question why I don’t tune in more. Soccer is exciting! And, quite honestly, it’s impressive. Offensively, the Wave got off to a slow start, and the score was 0-0 going into the second quarter, but things picked up quickly after that leading up to the 20-4 Wave win.
As to be expected, the slow offensive start did little to hype up the crowd in the early minutes, although the emcee, entertainment, and DJ did. The in-play music was something I that took getting used to for me, but I really liked it. Plus, it was fun to watch the little kid in front of me bust a move and groove to each new song.
I have to say, I like the family atmosphere. It was fun, energetic, and lively. And a lot of these kids seem like genuine fans. Not only am I sure they wouldn’t mistake Brad Beach as an actual Wave player, but the kid behind me actually told his dad the player next up on the bobblehead schedule. (If you’re interested, March 6 is Giuliano Oliviero bobblehead night!)
Despite my initial mild confusion, I caught on pretty quickly. I was, however, a little surprised to learn of the existence of a 3-point goal – which I have since learned is a controversial issue for some soccer fans. But now you’re a little more in the know than I was this past weekend, so you should be all set.
Mark your calendar, because there’s lots of fun stuff coming up at the Cell (which is what the cool kids call the Arena). Packers Bishop, Finley, and Bulaga will be in attendance on March 6 to support Children’s Hospital and Super Bowl MVP Aaron Rodgers will be in the house on March 13 for the MACC Fund game. Wanna get pumped for the action? Tune into a rebroadcast of last Saturday’s game tomorrow (2/26) at 4 p.m. on Time Warner Sports, channel 32.
