The Milwaukee Brewers surprised UWM students Wednesday with an impromptu tailgate party in Spaights Plaza.
“We were just chilling in the Union and we saw all this commotion,” said junior Samantha Ostrowski, who was joined by her sister Nicole Ostrowski, a sophomore, in the crowd of students gathered in the plaza. “There’s a lot of people, and I got a free bobble head.”
Pitcher Jeremy Jeffress, second baseman Scooter Gennett and outfielder Logan Schafer handed out brats and hotdogs to hundreds of students as the Famous Racing Sausages entertained the crowd.
“It’s pretty cool,” said freshman Austin Moore, who saw the event on UWM’s Snapchat account and rushed over. “No other school does it.”
The event was one of three “pop-up” tailgates planned by the Brewers and came two days before the annual UWM Night at Miller Park. Brewers spokesman Tyler Barnes said it just made sense to do one of the tailgates at the university.
“You have a solid population of hungry students, and the Brewers have enjoyed a terrific long-term partnership with the school,” Barnes said.
UWM’s partnership with the Brewers includes an annual game played at Miller Park by Panther Athletics against another college-level team. This year, for the first time, the Panthers also played the Brewers during spring training at Maryvale Baseball Park in Phoenix, Arizona.
UWM students, employees and alumni can buy discounted tickets for the Friday, Sept. 18, UWM Night game against the Cincinnati Reds by visiting http://uwm.edu/universityrelations/event/index.cfm.
UWM senior Katherine Henry, who was a finalist earlier this year in the prestigious Metropolitan Opera competition, will sing the National Anthem.
Four UWM schools celebrating their 50th anniversaries will be honored during the game. They are the Lubar School of Business, College of Engineering and Applied Science, Helen Bader School of Social Welfare, and College of nursing.
