I can't remember the last time I was witness to as much excitement about a sports team as there is now about this version of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Probably the Packers' Super Bowl team was the last time.

But this excitement is taking on a little bit of added importance because we may be witnessing the kind of generational change that comes along once in a lifetime.

I was talking with a friend, Tom Bailey, one of Milwaukee's best lawyers. And he's a thoughtful sports enthusiast. He was the one who suggested that this might be that sea change.

Bailey said, and I agree, that this could be the end of the legion of fans who said: "I'm a Braves fan and I can't stand the Brewers."

There were hundreds of thousands of baseball fans in this area who were hurt when the Braves left in 1965. They called what happened during the team's stay in this city "The Milwaukee Miracle." It was a team that had moved, drew over two million fans in a city that wasn't a major league city and it won a World Series.

I'm of an age where I remember all of that. The pride we had, the joy we shared. And I remember the leaving. The bitterness, the hurt, and yes, the little bit of shame of it.

We baseball fans in Milwaukee became victims of the big business of baseball.

We spent five years as victims, and then we got the Seattle Pilots. Who the hell were the Seattle Pilots? Nobody, that's who. A bunch of has-beens and never-will-be's. Coming to a town that won a World Series? You've got to be kidding.

One thing Milwaukee and Wisconsin have is a long, long memory. Think of the name Vince Lombardi, for example.

Well, we had a long, long memory about baseball, too.

The Brewers aren't totally innocent in this thing. They spent too many years paying homage to the old Braves and trying to tie their existence to the days of the Braves. The team thought it would help sell tickets and build excitement.

For years and years, you heard it around this town. They're not the Braves. If you didn't hear it, you felt it.

But, it's possible that what is happening now is the disappearance of that generation of people who lusted in memory of being victors once and then victims of betrayal. The Brewers were hurt by not being victors and they were hurt by those who loved being victims and turning off of baseball altogether.

What's happening now may well be more than just a surprising winning record to start this season. It may be a passing of the torch that makes this team Milwaukee's own, with it's own generation of fans.

Fueled by time, of course, but also fueled by winning. The Brewers are learning a lesson that other teams in this state have learned. You can have all the marketing tricks you want. But winning, as far as ticket sales and excitement go, is everything.