Raptors suck air out of Forum
Fan excitement fizzles after Bucks’ third loss
For a few hours, it really did seem like a magical night, when at last the weather was warm and the roars were echoing inside and outside Fiserv Forum.
The arena was packed. The plaza was jammed. And for a time, the Mil-Everything waukee Bucks were on a run.
And then Kawhi Leonard took over, pouring in 35 points and breaking Milwaukee hearts along the way.
The Toronto Raptors defeated the Bucks, 105-99, Thursday night to take a 3-2 lead in a fierce NBA Eastern Conference finals.
The Bucks have lost three straight in the series and are now one game away from elimination.
Game 6 is Saturday night in Toronto. The Bucks have to win it to force Game 7 Monday in Milwaukee.
is still up for grabs in a series that matches two teams and cities desperate to reach the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors.
But as fans quickly filed out of Fiserv Forum, there was a realization that the Bucks are in trouble.
“The fact we went up 2-0 in the series and have given away three, feels terrible,” said Nate Rego of Jackson.
Even worse for Rego, he was at the game with a Raptors fan, Nikhil Pereira,
who grew up in Toronto.
“We shot bad in the first two games and then lights out,” Pereira said.
Shawn Hansen of Sheboygan Falls and Ron Herbst of Milwaukee, electricians, stood at the top of the arena roaring through the game.
And then, just like that, it was over.
“I remain optimistic,” Herbst said.
“It’s going to be tougher,” Hansen said. “But I’m a believer.”
It was all so much different just a few hours before.
The whole thing was so Wisconsin. First time out, and there was Green Bay Packers offensive lineman David Bakhtiari slamming down three beers to one for quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Yes, the city was alive. Just look what happened to David “One call, that’s all!” Gruber, who has now heard it all.
The prominent local lawyer whose television commercials fill the airwaves woke up Thursday to people calling him “Milwaukee’s Drake.”
“The texts, emails, some of the Twitter stuff, I’ve become Team David,” Gruber said.
Hip-hop artist Drake’s sideline antics during Game 4 in Toronto lit up international conversation on the do’s and don’ts of sitting so close to the action.
Or in Drake’s case, standing, gesticulating and offering Raptors coach Nick Nurse a quick shoulder massage.
And attention rebounded back on Gruber, who has courtside seats at Fiserv Forum, near the visitor’s bench.
But don’t ever expect to see Gruber go full-on Drake. “If my husband ever did that, that would be the one time I’d grab him by the neck and pull him down,” said Gruber’s wife, Nancy.
When you sit courtside, it’s best to act like you belong. “I’m an aggressive fan and I can get on a referee,” David Gruber said. “I would never ever heckle another player. I’ve got to respect the warriors and I don’t mean the Golden State Warriors. You have to have respect for the guys in the game.”
Like a lot of other Bucks fans, though, he was slightly nervous before the game.
“I’m an old man who’s a fan and I’m legitimately antsy and excited,” he said.
His wife was nervous, too. She’s been going to games for years. Her father, Robert Rice, was an original Bucks’ season ticket holder.
“I actually walk around the plaza area smiling because I can’t believe this is Milwaukee,” Nancy Gruber said. “This is what we represent now. We’re a force to be reckoned with in the sports world.”
The plaza has become a civic gathering spot, a place for people watching, snacking and drinking.
“It’s the best time for Wisconsin, for us to come together and enjoy winning,” Phillip Hill Sr., a pastor at Faith Church Milwaukee, said before the game. “The way this country is going, this is bringing us together. Milwaukee is overdue for this.”
Hill’s wife, Valaine, called the Bucks’ run “awesome.”
“The energy and excitement, it has been a long time,” she said. “It feels good. It feels right.”
And for a time, it did feel good and right. Until, it didn’t.