Sorry, Mr. Disney. For now, Milwaukee’s the Happiest Place on Earth.
So go ahead, get lost in those Brewers photos. Let your eyes drool.
Then watch Ryan Braun do his Little League prance over home plate. A few more steps and he’s on “Dancing with the Stars.”
Oh, and don’t miss Bob Uecker going falsetto. Just be glad the man has a strong heart.
Then, when you’re through, smile all over again. Because after all those seasons of sorrow and strain, you’ve earned it. And all too soon, the memories will drift away like so much champagne mist.
I’ve watched these Brewers and their fans up close for only two seasons, so I can’t fathom what it’s like for those who’ve been true since 1982. But their sentiment was on full display Sunday, pouring out in the kind of relief usually reserved for defusing bombs.
Not that there weren’t a million explosions of noise and emotion. The cheers when Braun’s homer flew out. The tears in the stands and in the clubhouse once the playoffs were clinched. The genuine embraces and sublime faces.
It all blurred together, a symphony of sight and sound, and the common chord was as simple as this.
Joy.
Pure, unfiltered, unfettered joy.
After all, the Packers lost, and barely a soul cares.
The field was covered with people and booze, and those always-protective groundskeepers didn’t care.
The game had been over for 90 minutes, and the thousands still in Miller Park didn’t care.
The state’s wizened old sports writers, some crustier than a mummy’s underwear, had the collective odor of a county jail drunk tank. And they didn’t care.
Even the player who’s taken more hits than Whack-A-Mole was blissfully forgiving. Eric Gagne, the relief pitcher whose ERA only seems as large as his $10 million contract, bought and gave away 5,000 tickets to Thursday’s game, treating the fans who’d booed him so mercilessly this season. And with champagne dripping from his lumberjack beard, Gagne was still gregarious.
“If you don’t perform, that’s the way it is. I don’t really care. We won. We all won,” Gagne said, figuratively embracing the screaming throngs around him. “We’re a big family. That’s all we care about.”
And that’s more than enough.
Perhaps no combination of 26 letters can capture 26 years of frustration, but here’s the image that should forever mark its end. Braun, the once and future home run hero, is delivering a deluge on pitching stud CC Sabathia, the best acquisition since Minuit bought Manhattan. Print it, frame it and put it forever in your heart.
Or better yet, stick it in the Calatrava.
Because that’s where masterpieces belong.
Quote of Note
“This isn’t gonna be the big celebration. We’ve got three more celebrations.”
– Craig Counsell, sharing his an optimistic October view. If it comes true, the Brewers will be World Series champs.
Quote of Note II
“I didn’t think I would be [emotional], but as things began to unfold, you know… All these people here right now, God bless them all. It’s for them.”
– Brewers player personnel guru Jack Zduriencik, largely responsible for drafting the core of Milwaukee’s team, as the postgame party swirled around him.
Sights and sounds from the Miller Park grounds…
Wandering through champagne showers and blasts of beer, you tend to see some sights worth sharing. Once your eyes stop stinging, anyway.
* After the Brewers won and before the Mets lost, there was Bernie Brewer behind home plate. Like the rest of the stadium, he had his eyes glued to the Mets-Marlins game on the giant video screen. Only he was doing so while lovingly hugging and stroking a giant stuffed fish pillow.
* Outfielder Mike Cameron, center stage atop the home dugout, was showering beer into the stands (Miller Lite, of course). And below him, a man in a yellow Brewers T-shirt opened his mouth to catch all that he possibly could.
* FSN Wisconsin TV reporter Trenni Kusnierek was on the field, her pretty headshot hairdo done in by alcohol, and didn’t mind a bit that her nice coat was ruined. “I’ll toss it,” she laughed.
* Jason Kendall, well into the on-field celebration that capped his 151st game this season (unheard of for a catcher) still had enough energy to carry his child around. “Ahhh,” he said, “that’s the easy part.”
* Bill Hall, on what he did in the immediate aftermath of Braun’s latest blast. “We have a home run shake that we didn’t even get to because we were so happy,” Hall said of the duo’s forceful embrace. “I busted my lip and his helmet hit me in the head, but it didn’t matter at the time. It was all about having fun and being happy for the moment.”
* Some 90 minutes after the game’s conclusion, when only a few thousand fans remained in the stands, they were treated to Sabathia and Prince Fielder atop the home dugout. Somehow, Prince got his hands on a big Brewers flag. Then he walked over to where Sabathia was signing autographs and carefully wrapped the flag, Olympic style, around the pitcher’s shoulders and back.
* And Robin Yount, definitely not drenched in Robinade, reflected on a crazy two weeks of transition. After the late-season coaching shakeup, he’d gone from fan to bench coach to a 1982-esque celebration. “I was gonna be here this weekend,” said the Brewers legend, “but I was gonna be in the stands. I had no idea I was gonna be in uniform. I ended up having the best seat in the house.”
And finally…
Apparently Aaron Rodgers hurt his shoulder in the Packers’ loss Sunday. And given Brewers celebration, he might be the only one in Wisconsin feeling any pain.
Tune in every Tuesday morning during the 6 o’clock hour when I join Doug Russell and Mike Wickett on SportsRadio 1250 AM for Tuesdays with Howie. And don’t forget to check out our new fitness column, Training with Tim.
