Back in 1982, the Milwaukee Brewers were the winners of the MLB American League pennant. They gained the nickname, "Harvey's Wallbangers" because of their fantastic hitting power under mid-season manager Harvey Kuenn. This year, in 2011 and the Playoffs, the team has taken to what has affectionately been called, "Beast Mode".

First-baseman, Prince Fielder compares it to the popular kid's movie, "Monsters Inc." Two actions are required to enter the team's beast mode: First of all, you must make a great play. Second, you raise both hands, preferably above your head, pose your fingers like an attacking wild animal, and then roar.

It's become an iconic gesture associated with this season's winning Brewers. As I understand it, boisterous outfielder Nyjer Morgan was the first person to call the celebration "beast mode" while being interviewed on the subject by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinal.

Of course, criticism of this celebratory gesture will always abound. The Brewers don't want to appear as though they're showing up the other team -- like when they got backlash in 2008 for Prince Fielder's home run celebration while playing the San Francisco Giants. Fielder crossed home plate, and then pretended to be the atom bomb while the rest of the Brewers were the fake town in the desert obliterated during nuclear testing. ... See Photo

It was a genius move, but very easily mistaken for rubbing it in the opposing team's face. "Beast Mode", while similar, is much more low-key. But just as genius.

Left-fielder, Ryan Braun explained the whole thing this way:

"We have a lot of fun. The 'beast mode' thing is something that we do for each other to kind of get fired up whenever something positive happens. And I think it's kind of taken on a life of its own. But it's something that we all enjoy doing."

And, ironically, it sums up the 2011 Milwaukee Brewers as they compete into the Post Season. So, I thought it might be interesting to combine the term "Brewtober", a popular term to celebrate the Brewers' rare appearance in the Playoffs, with the whole "beast mode" mentality. To that end, I've put together a video to commemorate the Brewers' successful season, and I shall hereby take a nod from the 1982 "Harvey's Wallbangers", and refer to the 2011 Brewers as "The Beasts of Brewtober".

Will the phrase catch on? I don't know. But it does have a certain ring to it.

Give the video a watch, and enjoy!

T-SHIRT UPDATE:
And, since I'm a designer/artist by trade, I ran with my inspiration, and created a special t-shirt design to go with the "Beasts of Brewtober" theme. If you're a fan of the Brewer's "Beast Mode" as they make their way through the Playoffs, you may find these new shirts appealing. Take a peek:

"Beasts of Brewtober" t-shirts by Jon Baas Designs

NEW VIDEO UPDATE:
The above video is the updated NLCS version of the original "Beasts of Brewtober" video. This version includes photos from the Playoffs, as well as the historic NLDS game 5 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on October 7, 2011. The original video (seen here) was created in honor of the team's NL Central division title back in September.

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"Milwaukee's 'Beast' a hit with players and fans"

"'Beast mode' goes national"

-Jon
posted by Jon at 10:35 PM  I   I  0 comments