April 12, 2006
Postcard: When You Say Milwaukee, You Said it All!

By Jess Myers

It was downright summery in many of the places we call home in the days leading up to our trips to Milwaukee. So when the opening day of the Frozen Four broke cool and cloudy, it might have been reason enough for a gloomy outlook on the tournament to come. The silver lining in those dark clouds was this: it was hockey weather.

Things We'll Never Write a Bad Thing About ...

• The BC Eagle mascot • The Bud Song (both the Wisconsin and Maine versions) • The staff from The Lodge, particularly Bill • The red cabbage at Mader’s • The Bloody Mary at Trocadero • Leinenkugels (all 10 varieties) • Free wireless Internet in downtown Milwaukee (provided by the city) • Press boxes located five rows from the ice • The tears of a Mom whose son has just won the Hobey

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That’s the amazing thing about the home of suds, sauerbraten and sausage races, where the winds blew hard off Lake Michigan on more than one day of the Frozen. For a town that’s never been home to a NHL team or even a D-I college program, they continually do hockey right.

Bradley Center, from a fan and media standpoint, is one of the better arenas to host the tournament. The hotels, bars and restaurants right next door make it a dream for those who walk to the rink, then either drown their sorrows or raise a celebratory glass afterward. And despite the close proximity of the eventual national champs, and the abundance of red on the streets and in the taverns, fans of the other three teams were never made to feel unwelcome, or shy about displaying their love for the Sioux, Eagles and Black Bears.

Some think of Milwaukee and shudder, filled with mental images of rustbelt decay, abandoned tool factories, Jeffrey Dahmer and baseball games that end in a tie. Others smirk at stereotypes like the Fonz, Laverne & Shirley, and the clichéd beer-swilling, sausage-munching Wisconsin sports fan – whining about the Brewers pitching and the fact that the giant green “4” tattooed on his arm might be out of date soon.

I will think of Milwaukee and smile, recalling fond memories of great food, fun bars and abundant beer (from kegs that were filled just across town). The next time I have a quick hot dog before the climb to a press box that’s miles from the ice, I’ll long for the Usinger’s sausage we enjoyed before going to work in the Bradley Center’s “any closer and you’re playing left wing” press facilities. I’ll think of Karen Carle fighting to control her emotions as her son hoisted the game’s top individual trophy, sporting a gap-toothed grin that could probably be seen from as far away as Sheboygan.

As I drift off to sleep after four late nights of way, way too much fun, one last rendition of the Bud Song will fill my head, and I’ll dream of players hugging a trophy, surrounded by a screaming ocean of red. “When you say Mil-waukee, you’ve said it all!”

And speaking of Bud, we’re only 51 weeks away from another gathering in a town known for beer and fans who wear red. See you under the Arch.