BREWERS WIN! And The Girls Celebrate

How fitting, in so many ways, that, on the last game of the season, the Milwaukee Brewers would defeat the Chicago Cubs to clinch their first post-season birth in 26 years. Being the die hard fan, this was clearly the most elctrifying sporting event I've attended (although the Packers/Carolina Panthers NFC Championship Game in 1996 came real close).

Being a Brewers Fan this year required a lot of patience and a lot of hope. For me, many an evening was spent with Hope and Grace curled up in my arms watching the games. This was great daddy time and a special way for us three to bond.

I was fortunate enough to be part of the celebration and discharged a cannon full of streamers. I videoed this below.

Perhaps the coolest thing about today for me, however, wasn't Braun's go ahead homer or CC's complete game masterpiece, but rather Jeni sending me a picture message on my phone of Hope holding up a sign reading, "Way to Go Brewers!"

Regardless of what happens from here on out, this season will go down as one chucked full of awesome memories,




View from the Upper Deck after I discharged a streamer cannon.













Grace (left) and Hope (right) say goodbye to Daddy before he heads to Miller Park for the game.








Me and my friend Keith with the giant streamer cannons

Hope and Grace have caught "Brewers Fever" from their Daddy.

Brewers Fan Dad's Baseball Thoughts

Throughout the existence of this blog, I've had lots of comments from friends, family, co-workers, and even quiet lurkers who read this site about how I bleed blue, gold and white as a Brewers fan. With plenty of people asking me about my thoughts about the recent September collapse (and even some requests for me to do a Brewers post), I thought I'd take a moment to reflect, share some thoughts, and perhaps for just this once, use the girls as a backdrop to the Brewers, rather than vice versa.

My friend Bryon from Pittsburgh (the guy who made the infamous "sweep broom") commented in a phone conversation this weekend about how watching the Brewers right now was like watching a family pet on its last legs. While I don't want to be that dramatic, I think there is a decent amount of merit to Bryon's analogy. Being a die-hard fan who can say that I've followed all 150 of the Brewers games up until this point, you grow attached to the team, the season and the prospect of post-season ball. You get excited when they win, disappointed when they lose, and, at times, default into the role of arm-chair (or, in my case rocker) manager, second guessing decisions made during the games. But, hey, that's all part of being a fan.

I would be lying if I would come on here and say that I haven't been disappointed about the recent slide, as any good fan would probably agree. But, at the same time, let's think big picture about the whole thing. Can I not say that I have ever experienced a more fun and exciting baseball season (aside from the '82 season when I was 4 and barely remember much aside from my father letting me stay up and adjusting my nap schedule in order to watch the games against St. Louis)? The answer to that is emphatically, no!

The '92 season comes close. That was the last season I remember attending over 20 games. However, at that time, all 20+ games were with my dad. I remember, on the last day of the season, sitting in the lower level of County Stadium and watching the last outs as the season came to a close, and, as an 8th grader, looking at my dad and saying with a tear in my eye, "I'm sad- I didn't want this season to end." Incidentally, that was the last season that my dad and I would attend that many games together and the last season that I would collect baseball cards. When I got into high school, dating, playing sports, student government, friends, social outings and rock concerts usurped America's Pastime as my preferable leisure activities. While I followed the team throughout the mid and late '90's, I would maybe go to 2-4 games a year. There was not a whole lot of excitement surrounding the team, and the Packers and my college home team, the Wisconsin Badgers would soon provide me with my sports fix.

My resurgence into baseball came when I left college. That is a transition time for so many young people, including myself, and with the building of Miller Park, I found myself back into a routine of attending multiple games each year. Like in the '92 season and the years before it, baseball helped me connect with my father during a time in my life when I was trying to develop into my own person and he and I didn't always share the same interests. Aside from my dad, few friends would even venture with me to a game during those lean times. My bobble head collection had started, however, and it was during those games in 2002, 2o03, and 2004 that baseball really started making a comeback.

Fast-forwarding to this season, baseball has once again taken a preeminent role in my friend group. When Yost got fired yesterday, I received at least 10 emails and 10 text messages regarding it, not including a slew of phone calls. During tonight's game I got some text messages that read "stick a fork in 'em," and "I'll CC you next year." I certainly don't fault my friends for sending them, but, at the same time, I responded consistently with "keep the faith."

Win, lose, or draw, this baseball season has meant more to me than perhaps any other I can remember. This was the season that the Brewers so often served as my source of distraction at a time when the girls were in the NICU and the early, scarier days when they were at home on constant watch with apnea monitors. Now, the girls are growing bigger, cooing, smiling, and squawking up a storm when hey want to eat. They are acting like babies of their same adjusted-gestational age. When Gracie, Hope and I watch the Brewers' games together at home, it is a special time when I get to hold my girls, play with them and talk to them about the game (they are great fans too, as they never disagree with Dad's positive attitude... no "26 years and counting" text messages from the Snuggle Sisters- frankly, they just like the time with their Dad, and I love the time with them).

So, if this post ever reaches the Brewers players, the message I want to send is this... thank you for an exiting season. Thank you for working hard. Thank you for hustling on the base paths and for providing me and 3 million+ fans who have entered Miller Park this season with exciting baseball. Thank you for providing Brewer Nation with meaningful baseball in September. And, for me, on a personal level, thank you for being Will's Pastime, and for always being there throughout this journey from learning that our girls were twins until now, and thank you for being there next season (regardless of what happens in the next 11 games) so that I can take my daughters to a game and introduce them to the joys of baseball. While I wish you the best of luck and want, more than just about any fan, for you to reach the post-season, please know that I will cheer for you just as loud if you are playoff bound or not when I attend the last game of the season on September 28th. Like at the end of the '92 season, I will look at Steve, my season-ticket buddy and newly married man, and say, "I don't want this season to end."

Home For a Month and a Brewers Sweep!

I am in the midst of teaching two summer school classes, one on web design, and the other on fantasy baseball. Our dear friend Judy, who is the Director of Summer Programs at my school and who I've known since I was nine years old commented to me today about how since Hope and Grace's homecoming, the Brewers have been white hot. After doing a bit of research, I've realized that the Brewers record since the girls came home a month ago today is 16-9. That's pretty awesome if I do say so myself! My friend Jon's brother Bryon, who lives in Pittsburgh, recently created "The Sweep Broom" which he mailed to his brother Jon, who, in turn, passed the broom along to me. Since acquiring "The Sweep Broom," the Brewers have had two road sweeps. Much to the chagrin of my wife, here is a picture of me with "The Sweep Broom" amidst my bobble head collection in our basement.

I have often used the Brewers' season as a backdrop for many of the stories I share on this blog. In many ways I feel baseball mimics life. There are highs and lows, winning streaks and losing streaks, players get into slumps and then have hot streaks, pitchers will have awesome outings followed by less-stellar appearances, and good fans support their team and their favorite players no matter what. One thing I will not do is boo anyone on our team... does that possibly do the player any good?

This seems a lot like parenting if you ask me. Our girls have had their share of ups and downs, as many of you already know. The NICU experience was extremely hard. It is frustrating during the social season of summer to be more or less quarantined to keeping our girls in our house to decrease their risks of infections from being in public places or around a lot of people. However, when you think about their development in a big-picture context, our girls seem to be just as hot as the Brewers right now. Hope is now over the 7 pound threshold (weighing in at a beefy 7 pounds 2 ounces).... hmmm, 7 pounds, 7-game winning streak... coincidence??? Gracie Girl still is lean and mean, but growing at about an ounce a day, weighing in at 5 pounds 11.5 ounces. The home nurse who visited today was pleased with the girls' development. Gracie still has frequent spit ups, but these seem to be more of a concern to Dad than anyone else. When you think about it, in a little more than 3 months, Gracie and Hope have nearly tripled their weights!

Speaking of spit ups, Gracie shows her love for the newest Brewer starter, CC Sabathia, in a most unique way. I was fortunate enough to attend CC's first start as a Brewer and was given a CC t-shirt as a gift that evening. I have made a practice of wearing this shirt every time CC pitches since. Gracie, not to be outdone by her dad, has also made it her mission to make sure she spits up on the CC shirt every time Dad wears it. Last night I thought we were in the clear, as I watched the end of the game with Uncle Aaron and Uncle Mike at Mike's house. However, upon returning home, I fed Gracie a bottle, and burped her, and sure enough, she spit up on the CC shirt once again. Is this Gracie's way of showing her love for CC, or is she giving her dad a hard time? Only time will tell. For what it's worth, despite the spit ups and frequent washing of the Sabathia shirt, CC has gone 4-0 since becoming a Brewer, and has pitched 3 straight complete games.

Ultimately, what draws me in the most as a baseball fan is watching how the long season progresses and plays out. Regardless of whether or not the Brewers make it to the post-season is somewhat inconsequential. While I would love to see post-season ball as much, if not more so, than other fans, it is the joy of the game and the sheer drama and strategy of it all that makes me a regular at Miller Park and glued to the television set or radio on the other days. Each game is a progression of the Brewers as a team. Likewise, it is the joy of watching my girls develop over the past month that has really made me recognize what a true blessing it is to be a parent. Instead of a 162 game season, Hope and Grace's season will span a lifetime. Jeni and I are just so overjoyed to watch them grow along the way.