Milwaukee is throwing a World Series parade today, two days after the Brewers beat Tampa Bay 4-1 in Game 5 to win the first championship in the franchise’s 57-year history. This city has been ready for this one since 1982.
Here’s the part I love. In 1982, the Brewers lost Game 7 of the World Series, and Milwaukee held a parade for them anyway. A parade for losing. That tells you everything about this fan base. Forty-four years later, they finally get the one they earned.
The details: the parade stepped off at 10 a.m. Central at N. 4th St. and W. Wisconsin Ave., rolled through downtown and ends with a free rally at Henry Maier Festival Park, the Summerfest grounds. Milwaukee Public Schools closed for the day. The rally includes a screening of “Ueck,” the documentary about the late Bob Uecker. If that doesn’t get you, check your pulse.
How they got here: 3-2 in Game 1, 5-4 in Game 2, a 10-1 blowout in Game 3 built on an eight-run inning, one gut punch in Game 4, then the clincher at Tropicana Field. Jacob Misiorowski threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings, rookie Cooper Pratt went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, and Trevor Megill got the last six outs. It’s Milwaukee’s first World Series title since the Braves in 1957. (Our Game 5 recap: Brewers Win Their First World Series.)
Bonus storyline: the fans who paid $1,000 for the Brewers’ brass “Timeless Ticket” back in 2014, good for any future home game, were first offered only upper-deck and standing-room spots for the World Series. The team admitted it “did not live up to the spirit of the program” and let everyone who applied in time keep their seats. Those folks bought a ticket for a moment that might never come. It came.
Small market, a parade for losing, and now one for winning. This is my favorite title of the year, and it isn’t close. Which fan base deserves the next parade, Faders?
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Jeremy Durham is a sports columnist for TriStar Daily and the founder of Five and a Fade.
