Brewers Fans Are Back At American Family Field for Opening Day

“It’s hard to tell whether he’s excited or not,” said Lori Zembrowski sarcastically referencing her husband Matt walking about 90 feet ahead of us through the parking lot at American Family Field.

Spring means different things to all people, especially in 2021.

As things creep slowly back to something resembling normal, after a year with COVID-19, people have been aching for something different.

As the sun rose, on a day with weather becoming of the title April Fool’s Day, baseball fans across America woke up knowing a few things. Chief among them: fans will be back in the stands.

Barely a cloud in the sky and barely a degree above freezing, baseball fans woke up feeling a different emotion.

I for one woke up, bundled up against the cold, and went to work for a few hours. Around noon, like so many, I put on my favorite Brewers jersey, and went to American Family Field.

The only time fans were at a baseball game in the 2020 season was during the National League Championship Series and the World Series. Both were held at the new Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.

Not a single fan, except for one that snuck into the bleachers at Fenway Park, watched a regular season game live last season.

No amount of cold could dampen the enthusiasm for some, including myself.

There was an air of familiarity for fans walking into the stadium.

The sea of blue and yellow, no social distancing to get through the security line whatsoever, the yells of the crowd when Christian Yelich walked into the batter’s box, the smell of hot dogs and beer from the concession stands.

Most things were different.

“I thought we’d have to order all of our food and pick it up at one of those kiosks,” said one fan to another waiting in line to buy beer.

Fans all wore masks, groups were scattered throughout the stadium with some sections being left completely open to accommodate social distancing, the uniforms and even the field’s name are all different from the last time a Brewers fan paid to see the team live.

As first pitch drew near, both teams along the baseline closest to their dugout at American Family Field, listening to the National Anthem be belted out by a 12-year-old girl.

It all seemed so familiar.

Brandon Woodruff toed the rubber on the pitcher’s mound I could physically feel the excitement from the fans and players.

It was the first time these teams have played in front of a live crowd outside of Spring Training in over a year.

There was a standing ovation as Woodruff threw his final warmup pitches.

“I can’t believe we’re finally back,” yelled my brother Matt Zembrowski through the screaming of the crowd of 11,000. Based on the sound if you closed your eyes it might as well have been a sellout of 40,000.

Woodruff goes through his windup to the sound of cheers, heaves a 97 mile per hour fastball for strike one, and the fans at American Family Field Erupted.

Genuinely almost brought a tear to my eye.

I have been to at least four Opening Days, including this year, and I have never seen anything like it.

People were so starved to physically see a game again that at the beginning of the game there was no distinguishing the emotion from a September game during a pennant chase.

There was no crowd noise going through the speakers, no cardboard cutouts in the bleachers. Fans were back for the first time at a regular season game since 2019.

Except for the absent sound of vendors walking up-and-down the aisles in their bright yellow polo shirts it was almost like nothing was different.

I am fully vaccinated and have been for long enough that my life can return mostly to normal, but for those that are awaiting their first or second shot the absence of masks, or at least any form of enforcement by stadium staff, was genuinely disheartening.

Sitting immediately around me there were seven or eight groups of fans. Only my group and the group sitting two rows in front of us wore masks throughout the game. Some did not even try.

The game dragged on providing no distraction from the lack of a care about masks, the Brewers were down, but close, for most of the game. Then a Byron Buxton two-run home run put the Twins up by 3 late, and by the top of the 9th inning hundreds of fans left.

A hit-by-pitch here, an error there, a clutch Christian Yelich run-scoring single to the sound of thunderous cheers, and the game went to extra-innings thanks to Travis Shaw two-run double.

Almost like it was 2018 again.

The loudest reaction of the day seemed to come from a bizarre sausage race.

The stadium announcer called for fans to root for their favorite sausage, only to see them standing in the vacant club level restaurant, empty except for the sausages.

What came next was instant confusion, and then a prerecorded race between the Johnsonville Racing Sausages. Greeted by almost unanimous boos and disdain from the Brewers faithful expecting to the sausages along the third base line.

For the rest of the game fans were dancing around, yelling at the umpires, high fiving, enjoying the same old peanuts and beer.

Like nothing has changed.

Fans are back.