Someone in the restaurant business once told me that you can't get Milwaukeeans to do anything on a Monday night. That planning an event -- sports, music, whatever -- for that day between Sunday and Tuesday is suicide. And I've seen it, too: crowds of less than 10,000 at Brewers games, empty restaurants and bars, some just closed down for the day.
Maybe it was the "Barry Bonds effect" last night, but 41,631 rowdy Brewers fans filled Miller Park Monday, and it was a beautiful thing to see Milwaukee whoopin' it at the start of their busy week.
OK, I'd bet that most of those fans bought their tickets well in advance, with the expectation that they might see Bonds make history and break Hank Aaron's home run record. But with that out of the question, I'd like to think that at least some of the fans in attendance were there to see the first start of rookie pitcher Yovani Gallardo, who "baseball people" tell me is the real deal.
My colleague Drew Wagner already blogged about the game last night, so I'd suggest you read his story for the nuts and bolts of what happened inside the lines.
I'll say this, though: Bonds, who's only damage was a sixth-inning double and a superb bare-handed pickup in the outfield, didn't homer. He was booed loudly and heartedly. It seemed fitting, coming from the city that saw Aaron hit number 755.
But I'm talking about the crowd. They were energized, completely into the game and focused at the most important times. They roared with approval when Gallardo left the game in the seventh. And at the most crucial point -- bases juiced, bottom of the ninth, 3-2 count -- I heard Miller Park at its utmost loudest, and closer Francisco Cordero responded, coaxing a grounder to Prince Fielder to seal the victory.
I've heard both sides of the debate on whether Milwaukee is a baseball town, and over the years, I've had my doubts, too. But maybe we just needed to see a winning team take the field.
Does that make Milwaukee a city of fair-weather fans? Not really -- after 25 years off playoff-free baseball, it's not hard to lose a little faith.
Not that I have ever lost faith. And Monday night reminded me that neither have Brewers fans, even if it took a little prodding.
Gallardo got himself a warm welcome in Milwaukee, and he earned it. Here's to the first of many rowdy Monday night starts at Miller Park. Go Brewers.
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.
