Wow, Milwaukee – you terrible city, you – you GOT LOUD at the Bucks' NBA Championship victory parade on Thursday.
Having arrived here in 1983, I just missed the Brewers' 1982 championship parade and I've never seen Downtown so crowded, so alive, so happy, so united in a common joy.
The parade was awesome, but it took about 10 minutes to pass by my perch. On the other hand, I was Downtown for nearly four hours, watching smiling families, whooping fans, vuvuzela orchestras, vendors selling (sometimes sassy) T-shirts and more.
I thought you might like to see some of that, if you weren't there, or to relive a bit of it if you were lucky enough to make it down to Cheer the Deer.
A terrible city just before the parade starts
A little pre-parade breakfast for these guys
Set-up at the staging area
Prime backstage seats at the War Memorial
Crowd beginning to fill in about two hours before the parade start
Milwaukee, city of champions ... and sausage
The grill is on, Milwaukee. City of Champions. #cheerthedeer #BucksIn6 pic.twitter.com/zsrkULSDYv — Bobby Tanzilo (@BobbyOnMKEcom) July 22, 2021
T-shirts of all kinds for sale
Vuvuzela Youth Orchestra
Parades. #cheerthedeer #BucksIn6 pic.twitter.com/ugURAsMoNH — Bobby Tanzilo (@BobbyOnMKEcom) July 22, 2021
Juneau & Knapp, where the parade bends the corner around
More sausage, this time from the Superman that isn't Giannis
DJ Shawna moves the growing crowd at the Deer District
The party has already started at the @DeerDistrict thanks to @DJShawna #cheerthedeer #BucksIn6 pic.twitter.com/27uNStc2b2 — Bobby Tanzilo (@BobbyOnMKEcom) July 22, 2021
The crowd outside City Hall
You got loud, Milwaukee
Beautiful beautiful mayhem in a terrible city. #BucksIn6 #cheerthedeer pic.twitter.com/7dbXX8eegF — Bobby Tanzilo (@BobbyOnMKEcom) July 22, 2021
Hizzoner, Sen. Herb Kohl
The big moment finally arrives!
And just like that, it's over ... until next time
And just like that, silence. But you were amazing Milwaukee. #BucksIn6 #cheerthedeer #BucksParade pic.twitter.com/1NetrHHbVO — Bobby Tanzilo (@BobbyOnMKEcom) July 22, 2021
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
