On Tuesday morning – with Marquette University’s men’s and women’s basketball teams slated to tipoff their home openers – The Hop unveiled a new Marquette Athletics-themed streetcar.
The exterior of the car has a number of Marquette logos and, inside, the floor has been redesigned to resemble the Fiserv Forum basketball floor. The teams’ home schedules are also on full display inside.
Mascot Iggy and the MU Spirit Squad were to take the first ride on the newly redesigned streetcar at noon, along with Marquette VP and Director of Athletics Bill Scholl.
Along the route they are expected to surprise riders with Marquette-themed prizes and game tickets, too.
Tonight will also mark the regular season debut of new men’s Head Coach Shaka Smart.
Scholl and City of Milwaukee Commissioner of Public Works Jeff Polenske addresses the media in advance of the ride and Polenske presented School with a plaque commemorating Mayor Tom Barrett’s proclamation recognizing today as Marquette University Basketball Day.
Word is that Iggy and the Spirit Squad will be riding the Marquette streetcar throughout the week.
The Golden Eagles men take on SIU Edwardsville tonight at 7:30 at the Fiserv Forum, while the women play Alcorn State at 6 p.m. at the Al McGuire Center on campus.
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.
