Brewers Bring The Party Downtown, With Bob Uecker Watching Over It All

2026 Milwaukee Brewers championship celebration. Photo taken Oct. 30, 2026 by Jeramey Jannene.

The crowds were big, the lines were long and the people were happy, so, so happy.

Tens of thousands of people gathered Downtown Friday to celebrate the Milwaukee Brewers‘ World Series victory, the first in the team’s 47-year history.

“For me and my teammates, this has been one of the most special days of our lives,” said pitcher Aaron Ashby at a rally held at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater.

Several others shared his sentiments and acknowledged they might have overserved themselves on the open-top buses that drove them along the parade route.

“Today has been better than any other day we have had in our lives,” said first baseman Jake Bauers.

“I am going to have a beer for every single person here. I am going to have 100,000 beers,” proclaimed outfielder Sal Frelick.

“Too many parade beers. I took the trophy to the face and got a black eye, but it was all worth it for you guys,” said outfielder Christian Yelich.

Star pitcher Jacob Misiorowski was captured along the parade route catching a beer thrown by a fan, and chugging it. At another point, team staff was spotted passing out bottles of wine from a bus.

Late radio broadcaster Bob Uecker was looking down on the celebration, literally.

The parade route down Wisconsin Avenue to the lakefront had a hitch in it so the buses would wrap around the new, 100-foot-tall mural of Uecker. Many of the buses carrying players would stop near the mural, with players jumping out to have their pictures taken in front of the mural, known as “Mr. Baseball.”

Fans watching nearby, some of which had put out chairs as early as 4:45 p.m. Thursday and others which showed up at 6 a.m. Friday, said it was worth the wait.

“I’m feeling… without words,” Michael Schrank told Urban Milwaukee. “Elated. Just trying to take it all in.”

“Getting to be so close to your idols is incredible,” said Nick Nahnsen, who drove from Madison to attend the event.

Many parade-goers leaned into the Halloween spirit, creatively celebrating the holiday and the Brewers’ victory at once. Matt Shea dressed in a Polish Racing Sausage costume his aunt made for him in grade school. He’s grown to be over 6 feet tall since then, but said the parade was “a great occasion to bring it out,” so he made some crafty alterations for it to fit his adult frame.

A fan at the rally dressed as a larger-than-life replica of the Commissioner’s Trophy, the iconic trophy awarded to the winning team and carried by players throughout the day.

Tim Crispy took things a step further. He dressed up as Ashby, the record-setting reliever. With a full uniform, glove, Ashby’s signature glasses, beard and shaved head, Crispy confused a few photographers on media row at the rally. The fake security guard that followed him around only added to the effect. After the rally, Ashby and Crispy posed for photos together.

It wasn’t just current players and their lookalikes at the parade, but a variety of former players.

Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, Ted Simmons and Rollie Fingers, all members of the 1982 team that lost in the World Series, were all featured in the parade and on stage at the rally. Yount, recapturing a moment from the 1982 celebration, even drove Uecker’s former motorcycle onto the stage during the rally. “This group of players has all made us feel like champions,” said Simmons.

More recent players, including Ryan Braun and Eric Thames, were also at the celebration. Braun gave the longest speech at the event, a fact he acknowledged was going to happen when emcee Brian Anderson handed him the microphone. He ended his remarks by leading the crowd in a chant of “Ueck.”

Broadcast team member Sophia Minnaert deftly interviewed World Series MVP William Contreras and outfielder Jackson Chourio in Spanish, translating their answers as needed and pausing to let the crowd chant “MVP” repeatedly for Contreras.

Manager Pat Murphy thanked the fans for their support. “There is no way we would have done it without you,” he said.

The fans were treated to an inside joke by a team that just completed playing more than 180 games together. The players forced a microphone into hitting coach Daniel Vogelbach‘s hands, who admitted he hated speaking in front of crowds. His awkward speech was just a precursor, though. Soon, “Stacy’s Mom” began playing and Vogelbach demonstrated he knew every word by singing along before the song was cut off.

A capacity crowd could be found inside the amphitheater, but the other stages at Henry Maier Festival Park all carried live broadcasts of the rally with live entertainment before and after. Drink and merchandise lines were longer than that would be found during Summerfest, a fact rendered more impressive by the fact that it was before 10 a.m. when they formed.

The parade, which began at Vel R. Phillips Plaza, featured sidewalk-filling crowds throughout.

Comedian Charlie Berens opened the rally, but only after Mike Schneider played “Take Me Out To the Ballgame” on the accordion. Spotted in the crowd at the rally were County Executive David Crowley, Mayor Cavalier Johnson, Governor Tony Evers, but only Evers was recognized from the stage. Crowley, the gubernatorial hopeful, was, however, recognized from the sky. A circling plane had a trailing banner that read “David Crowley helped keep the Brewers in MKE,” a rare case of a campaign promoting a public subsidy to a private corporation.

Team owner Mark Attanasio gave a brief speech and Anderson also paused to thank former owner Bud Selig, seated in the crowd, and the Uecker family.

Players lingered on stage for at least 15 minutes after the celebration ended, dancing to “All I Do Is Win” and the viral hit “Milwaukee Brewers” by Foenom.

Parade Photos

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Rally Photos

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Festival Park Photos