The Milwaukee Bucks are back in the pro basketball playoffs, trying to repeat as NBA champions.
That's something that would please both their many fans and the hundreds of part-time workers at the Fiserv Forum, who get paid more, the longer the Bucks keep playing.
But the Chicago Bulls are trying to stand in the way. The Bulls evened their best of seven first round playoff series with the Bucks at a game apiece Wednesday night, with a 114-110 win over Milwaukee.
Even as the Bucks fell behind during the game, some fans, like Carol Harmon, maintained their enthusiasm that the Bucks can win another title this spring.
"We have all the energy. We have all the fans, and we have all the players who have done it and can do it again," Harmon told WUWM.
Moises Gomez says another championship for Bucks players such as Giannis Antetokounmpo would make them the new kings of Wisconsin pro sports.
"The (Green Bay) Packers would become second-tier in this state. Hard to argue that. I don't care if Aaron Rodgers is sitting at the sideline. Giannis owns this state, even if Rodgers wins another Super Bowl. I don't care," Gomez said.
Rodgers, Green Bay's star quarterback, sat courtside at Wednesday night's Bucks game.
Another basketball championship — or at least a long run in the playoffs — would also mean a lot to the hundreds of people who are working at the games.
That includes members of the Bucks Beats, the 14-person drum line group that is stationed in the upper level of the Forum.
Jarvis Reed plays cymbals. He says the money he makes at the games helps pay his bills.
"The phone bill, some other things. Puts food in the fridge. They definitely take care of us, you know what I mean?" Reed said.
Reed also says playing music at Bucks games is just plain fun, and at times doesn't feel like work.
But now the happiness and take home pay of Reed and others at the Milwaukee games is in the hands of the Bucks players, who have to take on the Bulls in Chicago Friday night and Sunday, perhaps without key Bucks player Khris Middleton, who was hurt in Wednesday night's contest.
The last team to repeat as NBA champion was the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018. Teams that win back to back usually avoid major injuries and stay motivated to defeat challengers who want to knock off the defending champs.
