I tailgate and therefore I am

January 8, 2014 by Steve Myers 8 Comments

A few notes about the following three-minute movie. That’s Jim Powell calling the play-by-play. Bob Uecker always rotates innings with his sidekicks. I-94 West is in the background. Those cars whistling by could be going to Madison, Eau Claire, Minneapolis, Fargo, Bismarck, Billings or just the next exit for County Stadium Parking.

The bratwursts sizzling are probably Klements, but they could also be Usinger’s or Johnsonville brats. The kazoo humming is in sync with “roll out the barrel” as the glorious and human sausages race around county stadium. The dude’s sunglasses are not necessarily Burt Reynolds sunglasses.The movie ends as Ron Belliard steps to the plate with the winning run on third base. It’s the bottom of the tenth. We never know the outcome because “To tailgate is victory in itself.”

But there’s a catch. The game was played the night of October 1, 1999. The video was shot during the late afternoon and then mixed with the game audio. These two beautiful Milwaukee hosers wearing plain white shirts waddle into the game come 7:05 sun down. They watched Belliard hit a single to center field, driving in Mark Loretta for the winning run.

County Stadium died September 28, 2000. County Stadium imploded February 21, 2001. But Milwaukee tailgating lives on at Miller Park. Baseball fans travel a long way to tailgate a Brewer’s game and when it’s over, they say, “It’s not even close. No tailgating compares to Milwaukee.” And to think New York once called us bushville. Sophistication is over rated.