A BRIEF HISTORY OF BRODEY'S BREWER FUNDAY EXTRAVAGANZA (BBFE)
It was a stormy morning and it was doubtful the sun would shine, but there were things to do this day. April 7, 2001 was the second season game ever at Miller Park. Brodey was able to get his hands on 8 tickets in the famous section of 440. Brodey and 7 others made sure they would be there to be some of the first to watch the Brewers play at Miller Park and hopefully some of the first to see the Brewers win at Miller Park. Well, on this fateful day nothing could go wrong. It was rainy and stormy as these 8 pioneers left from Appleton (also known as the New York of the Midwest) and headed to Milwaukee. It was raining, but the new stadium had a retractable roof, so that wasn't the worry. It was the tailgating. They had arrived so early the parking lot was not even open. As they were getting in line with the other cars, the rain started to taper off. "It may turn out to be a great day" thought the infamous Brodey. It turns out he was right. As they pulled into the parking lot, the clouds and fog began to dissipate and a glorious site emerged. That's right, the fog left and Miller Park was in full view shining brightly under the sun. Everything cleared up and blue skies were the background behind the beautiful ballpark. The guys made brats and they turned out perfectly, they met new people, drank "Mountain Dew", and headed into the stadium early to see Ken Griffey Jr walking around the infield. They walked the stadium and saw what was to be "home" for every Brewers fan. They found their seats and made some more friends who bought a round of sodas. The day was going great. The only thing that could make it better would be seeing the Brewers win at Miller Park. And win they did with the Brewers scoring 6 runs and the Reds scoring 1. The gentleman left the stadium with their free Miller Park hats and free Miller Park tshirts (that somehow the foreign guy got even though he provided false information on the credit card app) and headed to the parking lot. The lines to leave were long so the guys sat down, had a few sodas and enjoyed the sun shining down on them and a warm wind blowing through. This, this is what Brewers baseball is about. The day was so wonderful that they decided that they should make this event an annual thing. They were all heading off to different colleges and countries the next year and it seemed like a good reason to get all the guys back together. And so it started.
The next year as Brodey bought 16 tickets for the second game of the year. The group recruited a couple more to attend and excitement built. One such founding member, Troge, had coined the day "Brodey's Brewer Funday Extravaganza" (now affectionately known as BBFE). From there the name stuck, as have many of their traditions. The second year again was a great day for the guys and they looked forward to the next year. Brodey bought 32 tickets and more joined the group. Again, another success with anticipation for the next BBFE. This continued with more people attending and more tickets being purchased each year until year 5. It had been a guys weekend until then, but upon the constant request from others to come, the guys weekend had turned into an "alright, she can come too" event. The only stipulation was to know the infield fly rule. Now that everyone could attend, BBFE blew up. Tshirts and themes started going into each event. Before hand, each BBFE just had a slogan for the event, now each BBFE has its own personality. More and more flocked to the event and often refer to it as "the tailgate event of the year." Over 300 people from all over the country have attended a BBFE. People with different views have become friends over a beer and a brat or by singing along to "Can you feel the love tonight" at a bar after the game. BBFE has become more of a holiday than just an event. The weekend has a Friday Night Gala where those attending the game on Saturday can come and meet and have a few drinks and on the Sunday following the event, many of the attendees meet up and go to brunch to discuss the weekend.
Now this is just a very small part of the many stories of BBFE. Now, we don't see all of the alumni of BBFE every year as some of them have past, gotten married and had kids (not really an excuse, you can bring the kids and we'll put a daycare area in), or live in other parts of the country or world (again, not an excuse. Flights can be found pretty cheap), but they all do what they can to come back and reminisce about the old times and make new stories happen. The infield fly rule still applies (see below for reference), so if you attend be sure to know it in case Brodey asks. The tailgate goes down as one of the longest annual tailgates in Miller Park history. Now in its unprecedented 21st year, you can thank the gentlemen above for starting this event off (not pictured Brodey, he was taking the picture) and thank all of the alumni for keeping it going.
So you've heard some of the stories before, now come and be part of one.
Thanks for reading,
Brodey
INFIELD FLY RULE
An INFIELD FLY is a fair fly ball (not including a line drive nor an attempted bunt) which can be caught by an infielder with ordinary effort, when first and second, or first, second and third bases are occupied, before two are out. The pitcher, catcher and any outfielder who stations himself in the infield on the play shall be considered infielders for the purpose of this rule.
When it seems apparent that a batted ball will be an Infield Fly, the umpire shall immediately declare “Infield Fly” for the benefit of the runners. If the ball is near the baselines, the umpire shall declare “Infield Fly, if Fair.”
The ball is alive and runners may advance at the risk of the ball being caught, or retouch and advance after the ball is touched, the same as on any fly ball. If the hit becomes a foul ball, it is treated the same as any foul.
If a declared Infield Fly is allowed to fall untouched to the ground, and bounces foul before passing first or third base, it is a foul ball. If a declared Infield Fly falls untouched to the ground outside the baseline, and bounces fair before passing first or third base, it is an Infield Fly.
Rule 2.00 (Infield Fly) Comment: On the infield fly rule the umpire is to rule whether the ball could ordinarily have been handled by an infielder—not by some arbitrary limitation such as the grass, or the base lines. The umpire must rule also that a ball is an infield fly, even if handled by an outfielder, if, in the umpire’s judgment, the ball could have been as easily handled by an infielder. The infield fly is in no sense to be considered an appeal play. The umpire’s judgment must govern, and the decision should be made immediately.
When an infield fly rule is called, runners may advance at their own risk. If on an infield fly rule, the infielder intentionally drops a fair ball, the ball remains in play despite the provisions of Rule 6.05 (L). The infield fly rule takes precedence.
The next year as Brodey bought 16 tickets for the second game of the year. The group recruited a couple more to attend and excitement built. One such founding member, Troge, had coined the day "Brodey's Brewer Funday Extravaganza" (now affectionately known as BBFE). From there the name stuck, as have many of their traditions. The second year again was a great day for the guys and they looked forward to the next year. Brodey bought 32 tickets and more joined the group. Again, another success with anticipation for the next BBFE. This continued with more people attending and more tickets being purchased each year until year 5. It had been a guys weekend until then, but upon the constant request from others to come, the guys weekend had turned into an "alright, she can come too" event. The only stipulation was to know the infield fly rule. Now that everyone could attend, BBFE blew up. Tshirts and themes started going into each event. Before hand, each BBFE just had a slogan for the event, now each BBFE has its own personality. More and more flocked to the event and often refer to it as "the tailgate event of the year." Over 300 people from all over the country have attended a BBFE. People with different views have become friends over a beer and a brat or by singing along to "Can you feel the love tonight" at a bar after the game. BBFE has become more of a holiday than just an event. The weekend has a Friday Night Gala where those attending the game on Saturday can come and meet and have a few drinks and on the Sunday following the event, many of the attendees meet up and go to brunch to discuss the weekend.
Now this is just a very small part of the many stories of BBFE. Now, we don't see all of the alumni of BBFE every year as some of them have past, gotten married and had kids (not really an excuse, you can bring the kids and we'll put a daycare area in), or live in other parts of the country or world (again, not an excuse. Flights can be found pretty cheap), but they all do what they can to come back and reminisce about the old times and make new stories happen. The infield fly rule still applies (see below for reference), so if you attend be sure to know it in case Brodey asks. The tailgate goes down as one of the longest annual tailgates in Miller Park history. Now in its unprecedented 21st year, you can thank the gentlemen above for starting this event off (not pictured Brodey, he was taking the picture) and thank all of the alumni for keeping it going.
So you've heard some of the stories before, now come and be part of one.
Thanks for reading,
Brodey
INFIELD FLY RULE
An INFIELD FLY is a fair fly ball (not including a line drive nor an attempted bunt) which can be caught by an infielder with ordinary effort, when first and second, or first, second and third bases are occupied, before two are out. The pitcher, catcher and any outfielder who stations himself in the infield on the play shall be considered infielders for the purpose of this rule.
When it seems apparent that a batted ball will be an Infield Fly, the umpire shall immediately declare “Infield Fly” for the benefit of the runners. If the ball is near the baselines, the umpire shall declare “Infield Fly, if Fair.”
The ball is alive and runners may advance at the risk of the ball being caught, or retouch and advance after the ball is touched, the same as on any fly ball. If the hit becomes a foul ball, it is treated the same as any foul.
If a declared Infield Fly is allowed to fall untouched to the ground, and bounces foul before passing first or third base, it is a foul ball. If a declared Infield Fly falls untouched to the ground outside the baseline, and bounces fair before passing first or third base, it is an Infield Fly.
Rule 2.00 (Infield Fly) Comment: On the infield fly rule the umpire is to rule whether the ball could ordinarily have been handled by an infielder—not by some arbitrary limitation such as the grass, or the base lines. The umpire must rule also that a ball is an infield fly, even if handled by an outfielder, if, in the umpire’s judgment, the ball could have been as easily handled by an infielder. The infield fly is in no sense to be considered an appeal play. The umpire’s judgment must govern, and the decision should be made immediately.
When an infield fly rule is called, runners may advance at their own risk. If on an infield fly rule, the infielder intentionally drops a fair ball, the ball remains in play despite the provisions of Rule 6.05 (L). The infield fly rule takes precedence.
GAME RESULTS & STATISTICS
OVERALL RECORD: 14-7
OVERALL RUNS SCORED: 100
OVERALL RUNS ALLOWED: 90
OVERALL RECORD: 14-7
OVERALL RUNS SCORED: 100
OVERALL RUNS ALLOWED: 90
BBFE #
I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII XIII XIV XV XVI XVII XVIII XIX XX XXI XXII |
DATE
Saturday, April 7, 2001 Saturday, April 6, 2002 Saturday, April 5, 2003 Saturday, April 10, 2004 Saturday, April 16, 2005 Saturday, April 8, 2006 Saturday, May 5, 2007 Saturday, April 26, 2008 Saturday, May 2, 2009 Saturday, April 10, 2010 Saturday, May 28, 2011 Saturday, April 21, 2012 Saturday, April 20, 2013 Saturday, April 12, 2014 Saturday, April 11, 2015 Saturday, April 23, 2016 Saturday, April 29, 2017 Saturday, August 4, 2018 Saturday, August 10, 2019 Saturday, August 15, 2020 Saturday, August 21, 2021 TBD |
OPPONENT
Reds Diamondbacks Giants Astros Cardinals Diamondbacks Pirates Marlins Diamondbacks Cardinals Giants Rockies Cubs Pirates Pirates Phillies Braves Rockies Rangers Cubs Nationals TBD |
RESULT
W L L W L W W W L L W W W W W L L W W W W TBD |
BREWERS
5 3 5 6 3 5 6 4 1 1 3 9 5 3 6 6 3 8 3 6 9 |
OPPONENT
4 6 6 1 5 4 3 3 4 7 2 4 1 2 0 10 11 4 2 5 6 |