The stigmata, bunny eggs and Brad Beach
A headline talking about Jesus' wounds, eggs supplied by bunnies and the Wave mascot means only one thing - Easter is on its way!
And how better to properly honor the Lord's resurrection than to spend the evening at the US Cellular Arena watching the Milwaukee Wave in the MISL Championship Game? There is none. This is the way it should be.
OK, maybe not. But the reality is that if the Wave wins one (or two depending on how the other teams play) of its next three games - all conveniently scheduled to be played at home next week - then the MISL Championship comes through Milwaukee on Easter Sunday. (Side note; As blogged about in the past, I am a long time fan and I do know many people associated with the Wave organization. I've promised those that I wouldn't be a shill for the Wave - and true to my word I've blogged some negative stuff along the way. But to be saddled with a Championship Game on Easter Sunday? Sheesh, that borders on unfair. I figure the least I can do is pass along some of the information about why this is so, and well, I guess, shill. This time. But Peter, I can't promise to do it next time!)
For better or worse, the MISL mandated that the Championship game be played this weekend. Was it short-sighted to not start the season a week earlier or later? Possibly. But in the immortal words of some long forgotten co-worker, "It is what it is".
Based on the schedule, Wave CEO Peter Wilt had three choices... Good Friday, Holy Saturday, or the even Holier Easter Sunday. Mr. Wilt made a posting on the Indoor section of the Big Soccer internet board that offers the following...
"...If the Wave hosts, the game would be at 5 pm CT, which would give families time for church and Easter brunch prior to heading to the game late in the afternoon. There were no perfect options. The League insisted on April 2nd, 3rd or 4th. Delaying another week would result in added payroll for both teams and three weeks without a game for the host team.
"Friday would be Good Friday and go against a Brewers home exhibition game at Miller Park (and an Admirals game at the Bradley Center). It's also a work day for many people.
"Saturday has four major conflicts (Brewers exhibition at 1 pm, NCAA Final Four Semi-Finals at 4:10 pm and 7:00 pm and Bucks vs. Suns at the Bradley Center at 7:30 pm....plus there is youth soccer on Saturday afternoon.
"If we host, we plan on making it a family event with Easter eggs and a visit from the Easter Bunny for kids. There are no other sports in Milwaukee that day, so we'll have the day to ourselves. the NBA is playing eight games that day - two in the afternoon for national TV and six in the evening or night. Easter is obviously not ideal, but on Easter Sunday, 1987 more than 49,000 (Side note from MJ; actually 29,000) fans turned out at County Stadium for an afternoon game and watched Dale Sveum famously hit a walk off home run to give the Brew Crew its 13th straight victory (Side note from MJ; actually 12th) to start the season (last interruption from MJ; I was there... Lower Grand section 9, Row 13. I beeped the horn on my '73 Cadillac for the entire ride back home).
"If we host, we'd love nothing more than to add to that legacy of Easter sports heroics in Milwaukee."
So there you have it. Despite not having replaced the offensive firepower in Jonathan Santos (knee) and Marco Terminesi (illness, possibly a brain tumor), it would take a collapse of '07 New York Metsian proportions to NOT host the title game. Clearly the US Cellular Arena can't hold the 15,000 that packed the Bradley Center for the 2000 NPSL final game against Cleveland, but with 3-1/2 weeks (and three home dates) in which to sell this game, hopefully we can match the 6,000 or so that saw Game 1 of the 2005 of the Championship series against Cleveland.
If you are interested in tickets, or have any other questions about the game, contact the Wave office at 414.224.9283. Tell them you saw this post in WestAllisNOW.com, and hopefully they will greet you with more than an "Ugh".
OK. No more commercials. Today, at least.
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