Do you remember those Brewers games in the mid '90s, when you and 8,000 of your closest friends would freeze your butts off on a chilly April night at old Milwaukee County Stadium?
I sure do, and I also remember that despite the announced attendance, there were really only about 6,500 fans shivering on a Monday night. When we heckled a player, he heard us.
Only part of me misses those days; a sold-out Miller Park benefits everyone. Well, everyone except for the kids who were like me, buying the cheapest seats then sneaking our way into an empty front row of "Diamond Box" seats.
The reality is that everyone loves a winning team, and the Brewers are certainly one this year. Stacked with current and future superstars and playing in a beautiful, albeit sterile stadium, there are many reasons to jump on this bandwagon. It's hardly a bad thing.
So why do some of us long-time, die-hard Brewers fans thumb our noses at the Yovanis-come-lately? We should be happy that our home team, not the one that's 100 miles away and is the reigning Super Bowl champion, is getting all the press right now.
Right?
I say cut these newbies some slack and be happy Milwaukee is stricken with a case of Brewers fever.
But what about people who weren't born here? I always wonder why folks who move to Milwaukee are expected to become instant Brewers, Bucks and Packers fans. When I lived in Rhode Island, I not only didn't cheer for the Red Sox, I cheered against them. When I lived in Washington, D.C., I felt some pity for the pitiful Redskins, but I never rooted for them. How could someone who moves to Milwaukee from Chicago be expected the renounce his or her loyalty to the Cubs and become a Brewers fan?
If I was forced to live the rest of my life in Chicago, I promise you this: I will never, ever root for the baby, or full-sized, Bears.
I've talked to some transplants who will root for the Brewers – unless they're playing against their home team. I guess I sort of get that, especially if you're a fan of a team that plays in another league. No harm being a Steelers fan and a Packers fan – until they meet in the Super Bowl. Then, and only then, is it time to show your true colors.
Still rooting for two teams reminds me of vegetarians who eat fish, Jews for Jesus and people who call themselves social liberals but fiscal conservatives. To me, it doesn't add up.
There's nothing fundamentally wrong with jumping on a bandwagon. We're talking about sports, after all, which hold absolutely no legitimate significance to our lives. If people want to become Packers fans after the Super Bowl, or Brewers fans after they have their first trip to the playoffs in 26 years, that's cool by me.
Just make sure to learn the game, cheer and boo when appropriate. (Cubs fans are prime examples of people who make attending a game all about the social scene and nothing about the score; Cardinals fans, on the other hand, are smart, respectful and travel with dignity).
Also, make the commitment to support your team when they're losing, too. Jumping on the bandwagon is great; jumping off is not.
Which brings me to a personal note: some of you may recall that the Packers and I took a little time off from each other. It began during the first Brett Favre retirement/trade debacle and ended when the Packers beat the Vikings for the first time last year. But it wasn't because I was jumping off the bandwagon that I had been driving for 15 years; rather, I was dismayed by what I thought were horrible, disrespectful decisions made by the front office regarding players and coaching staff. Ultimately, I ate crow and realized that mostly, Ted Thompson was right all along. Still, I learned during those few years that I just don't like football as much as I like baseball.
At one time, I loved the Packers and the Brewers equally; now, I realize it's not even close. And I was there during the Sal Bando years and the Dean Taylor years and the 106 losses year. My commitment never waned, because I looked toward our then minor league system with enthusiasm. Only in 2008 did it begin to pan out.
That's not jumping on and off a bandwagon, that's just honesty.
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.
