Something I learned today: There are a TON of Racing Sausage gifs out there and they are all gold. I was expecting there to be one or two, but I spent a good 15 minutes of company time scrolling through all of the different options and I have to say it wasn’t the dumbest use of 15 minutes in my life. I hope whomever is in charge of monitoring my online activity at NSA was as entertained as I was.
Anyway, big news yesterday with both Miller Park and Fiserv Forum announcing 50% capacity for home games. Can I be honest for a rare second on this blog? I was actually a little bummed out about the news. And not because I have any hot takes on the pandemic, mask mandates or anything else that people have been screaming at each other about on Facebook for the past 10 months. I was a little bummed because of how enjoyable the in-game experience was at 25%. Lindsey and I bought a 10 pack of tickets back in March, and I have to say: 25% capacity is a DELIGHT in terms of a relaxing night at the ballpark. Easy in-easy out in the parking lot, no lines for concessions, no lines for the bathroom, nobody pissing in the sink in the men’s room because they don’t want to wait 10 minutes, nobody in front of you in the actual seats, nobody next to you jockeying for arm rest control, no kids sitting behind you spilling soda on your hat and kicking your seat. It’s honestly pretty awesome.
So some of that is going to go out the window with 50% capacity. But I realize that in order for the club to be financially solvent, those numbers have to keep going up. And while the in-game experience has been delightful, it does lack in terms of energy in big moments. 12,000 people is better than none, but in BIG moments, you do miss 40,000 people going bananas. So we’ll be closer to that. And I think that’s going to be even bigger for the Bucks with the playoffs set to start next week. The Bucks in the bubble for last year’s playoffs went sideways for a LOT of different reasons, but losing home court, and the fans, was a big part of why the team went belly up last August.
And the other big piece of news for Miller Park that was announced yesterday: The Racing Sausages are BACK in the stadium! I wasn’t there for Opening Day, but I read on Twitter that there were more than a few boo-birds when they got to the middle of the 6th inning, and the Sausage Race was on the jumbotron, not in person. The thought of 12,000 people booing because there were no giant racing sausage mascots at the game was laugh out loud funny. So that will bring a sense of normalcy back to the ballpark as well.
PS: The entire Brewer offense should be forced to lineup and apologize to Freddy Peralta for last night’s effort. Peralta has been PHENOMONAL this year, and was again last night: 7 innings, 1 hit, no runs, 8 strikeouts. But it all ends in a no decision because the offense couldn’t buy a hit with runners in scoring position. They had a TON of hard hit balls, but nothing that dropped in. Can’t waste starting pitching efforts like that.
Double PS: NFL Schedule Release Day today! And the Packers will get the national game on FOX in Week 1, 3:25pm kickoff against the Saints in New Orleans. Jordan Love versus Taysom Hill. Let’s ride!
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