Our family has been Dodgers fans even when the team was in Brooklyn.
We hoped for a three-peat this year after the Milwaukee Brewers swept us, but that just wasn’t going to happen. The fans in the Badger State more than deserve it, not only because their team was “hungry,” but also because the people of Wisconsin are special.
I’ve only been in Wisconsin once, when I flew my friend’s four-passenger Cessna into a small airport, even though I wasn’t a pilot. My three college friends were all licensed pilots, and they gave me the honor of making a smooth landing on arrival.
My next encounter with Badger/Brewers was at the New Year’s 2000 Rose Bowl Parade. That year was our ninth time decorating floats for the parade. The six of us, including my daughter’s friends, were an experienced and well-honed team when we were assigned to a float whose crew was in a panic because they were so far behind in decorating.
When we arrived, the manager looked at our crew of young teens skeptically and assigned us a small area near the front of the float to decorate. Twenty minutes later, we finished, so the assignment was expanded, and by the end of our eight-hour shift, our crew had completed half the float. The section we completed was the “television side,” so we knew it had to be perfect.
The next day, we saw on the news that our float won the parade award for being the first to be completed.
As part of our tradition, we attended the Rose Parade on New Year’s Day, with seats at the corner of Colorado Boulevard and Orange Grove, where most of the television cameras were set up.
Doughnuts and hot chocolate were part of our breakfast, and the girls anxiously watched for the float, repeatedly asking me where “our” float was.
That year, the Wisconsin Badgers football team played in the Rose Bowl, so the parade crowd wore their proud color, Cardinal Red. Plus, it felt like we were sitting in the middle of their Red wave, even with the women next to me in red.
As the parade started, I knew “our” float was halfway through the lineup, and I had to allay their questions about it. At some point, the lady next to me asked why the girls kept calling it “our” float, and I explained how they decorated the “television side” of a float.
Finally, the float came around the corner, and as I looked down the aisle at the girls, they sat almost entranced, watching their creation. The float stopped for a moment, then moved on down Colorado Boulevard.
I could see the girls’ pride, but the next moment is why I love the people from Wisconsin. The hundreds of people in our section, dressed in red, stood up toward the girls and applauded!
I smiled at the lady next to me with tears in my eyes as I thanked her.
That is why I have not just great respect for the Milwaukee Brewers, but also the people of Wisconsin for winning their first World Series. They deserve it.
But watch out for the Dodgers next year!
Dr. Gene Dorio
Saugus
