Alex and I went to the Bucks game on Saturday April 6 vs. Toronto Raptors. He got some free tickets, neither of us had been to an NBA game and really, why not?

I had some prejudices going into the game. The Bucks? The least valuable team in the NBA according to Forbes. The ancient BMO Harris Bradley Center (that might get rebuilt, knocked down or plain old abandoned)? And, if you’re going to haul your ass to Milwaukee, why not just go to a Brewer game? (we had free tickets, remember?)

Really, the only thing I knew about the Bucks was that their team colors used to include purple and green because my friend Carly had their Starter jacket in high school. In fact, most Wisconsin-ites I talked to had never even been to a Bucks game. Packers? Yes. Brewers? Yes. Bucks? What?

An imitation of Carly’s jacket circa 1995

We made a whole day of it, ate burgers in Milwaukee, drank beer on Water Street, ate cheese in a cheese shop and headed off to the arena. Most of our conversations revolved around how awful this game was going to be. But to our pleasant surprise, we had an incredible time.

The talented drum line

Things started off on a good note. There was a drum line welcoming us outside. How can you not love a drum line? It was bobblehead night, our seats were pretty good, a flying deer blimp circled the arena and we parked for free!

Bango, flying deer

Then the game got underway and it was pretty exciting to watch. The players didn’t hustle as much as I thought they would but I liked the dunks and how freakishly tall they were.

So this is an NBA game

And the promotions. Oh the promotions. Between any break in action – timeout, commercial, a point guard slowly bringing the ball down the court – there was a contest, a song, a giveaway, a dance, or magicians. Yes, multiple magicians. The magicians greatest trick? Being able to quickly change their clothes. One promotion featured five babies crawling on a Little Caesars branded tarp painted with lanes and the fastest baby won a box of diapers. You can’t make this up.

I jumped high for this towel – and I have no idea what “Spark the Bucks” means

T-shirts, towels, pizza, stuffed lions falling from the ceiling with parachutes, they pulled out all the stops. And it was exciting. We were right in the mix, at one point the guy with the microphone giving out prizes and introducing contests such as “get this cookie to slide down your face and catch it in your mouth in 30 seconds” was two seats away from me.

Right in the action, Alex checking out the cheerleaders

Besides all the exhilarating entertainment, the Bucks won. By a lot. At one point they were winning by 30 points and with 8 minutes left to go in the fourth quarter the announcer called it – the Bucks were now in the playoffs. I didn’t even know this game was of any significance. And now I suddenly cared A LOT.

Playoff bound! I guess!

To say we had fun was an understatement. Yes, the Bucks game was incredibly cheesy and laughable at most points. But it was so much fun and it wasn’t trying to be cool. I would compare it to seeing a Will Ferrell movie, Shakespeare this is not. Comedy mixed with confusing outfit choices? Yes.

Fear the deer, the Milwaukee Bucks just gained two new fans.

I still don’t know any players names