If you know me, you know I’m a huge NBA fan and even bigger Bucks fan. I have season tickets that I share with a few friends, interned for the team in my college days and am honored today to partner with the organization on several levels.
At the heart of it all, though, is fandom.
My dad took me to games, he stood in long "picture day" lines and let me use basketball as a way to learn about winning, losing and even statistics. As a parent today, I do my best (with my wife) to guide and raise our kids right while instilling the importance of community and dedication to living like a winner. So, events like these are great and they even help teach patience as kids have to wait in long lines to get to something that they want (in this case a chance to shoot on an NBA court).
We enjoyed Bucks Fan Fest on Saturday. These types of events are fairly standardized for teams today and many have made them multi-day affairs with countless attractions and ways to earn your cheers and cash. It’s easy to be cynical about "athletes today," but I do my best not to. I don’t claim to know the players I see on the court or even know who they really are but I appreciate the ones that go the extra mile and seem to care.
On Saturday, every interaction with the team was fun. A stand out was Jabari Parker. He stood at the free throw line, and after fans – young and old – made or missed he slapped hands, laughed, congratulated and rebounded with this teammates. As my wife shot, Parker and O.J. Mayo trashed talked her and after my 8-year-old nailed his charity stripe shot, Parker was quick with a high five.
The highlight, though, was with my little one. At 3 1/2 and not quite ready to hit a 12-foot jumper, Parker picked her up, gave her a ball and let her dunk it. It was a blast and of course made for a great photo but more importantly a fun, lifelong memory. She loved it.
I also loved the introduction of the Fear the Deer alternate court and jersey. Sure, it’s ultimately about driving ticket sales and maximizing sales for four great teams that come to town in 2015-16 – Clippers, Bulls, Lakers and Thunder – but the design is slick, unique and special.
As I’ve written many times, sports matter to us. Our teams connect us in so many ways, especially in sports-crazy Wisconsin.
Thanks, Bucks, for a day for family fun and hopefully many seasons of lessons, wins and assists like the one Jabari offered to a budding young fan on Saturday.
A full photo gallery from Bucks Fan Fest is here.
A life-long and passionate community leader and Milwaukeean, Jeff Sherman is a co-founder of OnMilwaukee.
He grew up in Wauwatosa and graduated from Marquette University, as a Warrior. He holds an MBA from Cardinal Stritch University, and is the founding president of Young Professionals of Milwaukee (YPM)/Fuel Milwaukee.
Early in his career, Sherman was one of youngest members of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, and currently is involved in numerous civic and community groups - including board positions at The Wisconsin Center District, Wisconsin Club and Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. He's honored to have been named to The Business Journal's "30 under 30" and Milwaukee Magazine's "35 under 35" lists.
He owns a condo in Downtown and lives in greater Milwaukee with his wife Stephanie, his son, Jake, and daughter Pierce. He's a political, music, sports and news junkie and thinks, for what it's worth, that all new movies should be released in theaters, on demand, online and on DVD simultaneously.
He also thinks you should read OnMilwaukee each and every day.
