Congratulations to the Milwaukee Brewers!

[Polkasound]

This thread probably receives the award for being the most off-topic discussion yet (sorry) but I can't help but use this opportunity to congratulate the Milwaukee Brewers on their first World Series championship in franchise history.

The Milwaukee Brewers and I share something unique... we're the same age. I was 12 when they won the pennant in 1982. I remember I was wearing my Gorman Thomas #20 pinstripe jersey. I never could have imagined I'd have to wait another 44 years to re-experience the elation of being in the World Series, but let me tell you, the win was worth the wait. Fireworks erupted all around my neighborhood like it was the 4th of July. Later this morning, over 400,000 people are expected to line Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Milwaukee to congratulate their home team.

What made this win so bittersweet was that Bob Uecker, Mr. Baseball and the voice of the Milwaukee Brewers, wasn't here to see it all happen. He had passed away the year before at the age of 90. I was only a year old when Bob started broadcasting, so I grew up — and grew old — hearing his trademark, "Get up, get up, get outta here, gone!" with every Brewer home run. His passing hit the city hard, but his spirit played a monumental role in the Brewers winning the title, and everyone knows it.

In my 56 years as a lifelong Milwaukee resident, I've never had the pleasure of buying and wearing anything that said "World Series Champions." My wardrobe is soon getting a long awaited update.

Go Brewers!

 

[Nekujak]

Congrats to you and the Brewers!!

I haven't followed baseball for many years now, but as a young kid growing up in the 1970s, I was an avid baseball junkie, and eventually became a pitcher in high school and college.

Anyway, in the early 1970s, between the ages of 9-12, I collected and traded baseball cards obsessively. In those days, I distinctly remember Brewers cards being among the least coveted - they simply weren't a very good team at the time, and didn't have many standout players. Ellie Rodriguez and Mike Hegan are about the only all-stars I can remember.

But I totally relate to rooting for a struggling hometown team and waiting decades for them to win their first championship. I grew up in San Francisco, and the Giants of the 1960s and 70s were not great teams. A fact that was made all the more frustrating because the Giants roster was loaded with legendary players like Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Juan Marichal, Gaylord Perry, Bobby Bonds, Chris Spier, and others.

If someone told me as a kid that the Giants or the Brewers would one day win the World Series, I don't think I would've believed them