The sun was shining and the mood was jovial as more than 200 people stood patiently in line for their free hamburger at the downtown George Webb restaurant on Wednesday afternoon.
George Webb restaurants have long promised free food if the Brew Crew wins 12 games in a row. On Aug. 13, the team did just that when they beat the Pittsburgh Pirates. At press time, Brewers stood as the best team in baseball with 79 wins.
Corey Page was first in a line that stretched more than two blocks on Wednesday afternoon. He said he got to the restaurant at 10 a.m. to start the line. George Webb closed at 1:30 p.m. to prepare for the giveaway, which began at 2 p.m.
Once the doors opened up, hundreds of fans filed into the restaurant to pick up their burger. It was a classic George Webb smash burger with pickles, mustard, ketchup and onions. No cheese.
Fans at George Webb brought their kids out to make baseball memories
Richard Scott and his two kids drove downtown from Whitefish Bay to get in on the free burger action.
"We all love the Brewers, and I thought this would be a neat experience to kind of give to them," he says of his kids.
While it was the first time the Brewers had won 12 in a row in Scott's son Jude’s five years of life, it was the third time in the last 40 years.
The chain served up more than 160,000 free burgers in 1987 after the team set a franchise record by winning 13 games in a row that year. Another 190,000 fans cashed in in 2018 when the Brewers won 12 games in a streak that crossed from the regular season to the post season.
How can George Webb afford to give away free burgers when Brewers hit 12 wins?
Jeffrey Cisyk is economist and associate principal at Charles River Associates. He and co-author Pascal Courty published a study about how giveaways can affect attendance at MLB games and contribute to fans’ experience.
Although it might seem like a losing strategy to serve more than 200,000 free burgers, Cicsyk explains that an MLB team only wins 12 games in a row about 1% of the time.
"So this is essentially a very low chance of George Webb having to actually pay out and make good on its offer," he says. "But every time the Brewers get the double-digit win, we start talking about being on ‘Webb Watch’ and (asking) ‘will we get the burgers?’"
"So it’s a small chance that the restaurant has to pay out, but it comes with almost free publicity almost every year," he adds.
Although Cisyk’s firm is based in Chicago, he assured me he’s a Dodgers fan.
The same can’t be said for Bryce Halvorsen, who I met in line at George Webb in the minutes before the giveaway began on Wednesday.
Halvorsen, who is from Chicago but now lives and works in Milwaukee, says the only time he'll root for the Brewers is when there's free food on the line. Plus, he said he didn't bring lunch to the office that day.
A burger out of necessity instead of solidarity.
'This team is special': Fans love pocket pancakes, 'the power of friendship' this season
There was no shortage of fans predicting a World Series run at Wednesday’s giveaway.
For fans like Michael Kraetz, Noelle Glazewski and Henry Maes, the burger giveaway was a metaphorical cherry on top to a season full of funny moments and excitement from players.
“This team is special. They all seem like they get along and are just genuinely having a good time when they’re playing," he says.
Maes pointed out the viral moments from this season, like the unique celebrations when a player scores or Brewers Manager Pat Murphy pulling a pancake out of his pocket for a mid-interview snack.
“I think it’s what baseball is all about, right?" he says. "Like yeah, there are the games happening and the runs scored and the nuts and bolts of it. But it’s just doing fun stuff for 170 days in a summer.”
Glazewski adds that no matter how the season ends, a 14-game Brewers win streak and a free burger will always be a perfect summer memory.
When she's not reporting on hamburgers, Katherine Kokal is the education reporter at 89.7 WUWM - Milwaukee's NPR. Have a question about schools or an education story idea? You can reach her at kokal@uwm.edu
