NFL
Milwaukee’s General Mitchell Airport’s greatest feature? No, not the amusingly named recombobulation area. It is the ease of access for the press when a victorious team arrives. Shortly after sweeping Los Angeles in the National League Championship Series, the Brewers arrived at Mitchell with a hero’s welcome.
The scene made for a great photo opportunity. However, it was not unique. In 2019, fans embraced a different sports winner. The Milwaukee Bucks received a wave of joy after…sweeping Detroit in the NBA’s first round???
Don’t let anyone say the Cream City “doesn’t care about the Bucks”! True, Milwaukee moved its season opener against Chicago up four hours to accommodate the World Series. Yet, the decision is more than fair. The Bulls play only a short bus trip away. Also, the city’s infrastructure can only handle so much enthusiasm at once.
A closer look at the Bucks’ rise and fall suggests a more charitable verdict. Without Giannis Antetokounmpo but still with an intriguing talent nucleus, the Bucks can progress back towards the NBA rafters. (Hopefully with no lucky roof deflection needed.)
Times Doubles Back
This and other sites exhausted the thesaurus with Giannis compliments. And rightfully so. The Greek Freak took longer leaps and higher jumps from the 2013 draft to his 2021 NBA Finals MVP season. Fan, though, is short for “fanatic.” Bucks fans had a reason to be optimistic. One could fairly note that other stars, such as Kevin Durant and LeBron James, claimed loyalty to their home bases. Time and big checks have made stars double back across the midcourt timeline.
The deer lost a heartbreaking first-round series to eighth-seeded Miami in 2023. Milwaukee destroyed the soul of the championship core. The Bucks fired coach Mike Budenholzer and a trade for sharpshooter Damian Lillard had little positive effect.
Slowly, fans’ worst fears drew closer to fruition. Suddenly, shortly after a lucky 250th birthday for the USA, Bucks fans had a most unhappy morn. Giannis’s lucky #34 became an unlucky Heat #7. Is basketball no longer stylish in the Midwest, given the Bulls’ longtime stagnation? Thankfully not. Consider the legacy of two Milwaukee saints.
Lingering Imprint
Readers have likely seen the charming memes of late Brewers radio broadcaster Bob Uecker. Perhaps it was his manipulation of a ninth-inning fly ball, or an assist to a Crew outfielder in a difficult road clincher. Every team, with baseball’s lengthy history, has angels in the outfield. What is easier to forget is the Bucks’ biggest bleacher supporter. Wisconsin is a politically purple state. Compromise for the win? Maybe not, given the incessant attack ads blasting on every airwave. Team NBS Media implores partisans to give one paragraph’s truce!
Longtime U.S. Senator Herb Kohl owned the Bucks for three decades before a Milwaukee-friendly sale helped keep them in town. A challenging tug-of-war eased into public financing for a modern arena. Giannis’s excellence, paired with assists from Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday, birthed a short-lived but extraordinary NBA dynasty. Is Kohl’s subtle fingerprint still impressing a dash of magic to Milwaukee’s current roster?
Battleground Truce
Beyond the easy jokes, Tyler Herro has enough talent to keep the Bucks relevant. Herro dominated for Whitnall High School in Greenfield, just south of Milwaukee. Understandably, Herro chose Kentucky for his college ball. The Wildcats offered a bigger sports brand than the University of Wisconsin or Marquette.
While Giannis seemed to come from a Greek myth, one vital aspect of those myths deserves attention. According to those tales, one cannot run from destiny. It seems Herro, despite leaving for Lexington and later Miami, was destined for Milwaukee hoops all along. He was the most important piece the Bucks got back in the July trade that ended the Giannis era.
Just weeks ago, the press figuratively laid palms down for the Brewers’ pennant-waving arrival. And a mere seven years earlier, the town exuberantly greeted a first-round advancement. Is such a celebration laughable in hindsight, given the Bucks’ much higher accomplishments and even greater collapse?
There is little joviality now in Wisconsin, the political battleground. Thankfully, an Elysium handshake between a baseball joker and a brilliant basketball businessman may just have rerouted Herro back to his true home. A bitter departure turned into a lightning bolt of talent, enough to launch a sport’s and a city’s bold new era.
