This week, the Milwaukee Bucks, along with a group of other still-competitive NBA teams will be heading to my hometown of Orlando to enter “the bubble” to complete their season under unprecedented conditions brought on by the COVID 19 pandemic.
My hometown is great and those resorts are palaces, but it’s not home for these teams. And an empty arena won’t replace the playoff atmosphere these athletes pull their energy from every year during the biggest games of their career.
This means fans of Wisconsin sports will have to channel that energy to Orlando where the Bucks can feel it. And during a season where many experts believe their actually the best team.
Justice would have this team enjoy their home court advantage but that can’t happen.
So how can you do it.
Well, the team itself is trying to put together a virtual experience. You can read that tweet below.
Help us create the ultimate home court advantage in Orlando!
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) July 2, 2020
But you’ll have to do more. You’ll have to make as much virtual noise about this team as possible and non-virtual noise too. Call your friends. Wear your colors. Hang your banners. You have to treat the eventual start of the playoffs like a long finals series.
And you’ll have to do a good enough job that the team can feel that energy inside of a bubble where life won’t be easy.
Many players are opting out. Others have voiced their questions over the quality of life. After a few weeks, even a Disney resort might start feeling like a prison.
With the talent this team has, the Bucks can’t afford to waste this opportunity. They have to win now.
And you’ll have to help them do it.
It would be a tremendous feat for any team to bring home a championship in these conditions.
And impossible to do without a fan base back home that is constantly reminding them why they’re away from their home and families to begin with.
And the happiness that awaits when they get back.