Paul Gallagher does not believe in being reactive. After hearing rumors that the Milwaukee Bucks might relocate outside of the state, he started a proactive campaign to let those in power know Milwaukee wants them here.
“I was really disappointed when I heard the rumors about them leaving,” Gallagher said. “I have many fond memories of watching that team, and going to the arena. I decided that I couldn’t be the only one with those kinds of memories.”
Gallagher commissioned two of his friends who were familiar with website design. Together, Gallagher, Don Wadewitz and Jason Nowak designed and developed www.keepourbucks.com. The website is dedicated to the mission of keeping the Bucks in Milwaukee and offers a forum for fans to unite, he said.
The site includes an online petition that individual supporters can sign.
“The key is for people to be proactive,” Gallagher said. “Any decision is probably a few years down the road, but I don’t want that time to come and have it be too late for us to do anything. I want to let the people of power know that the city of Milwaukee wants the team to stay, and I want to do that now, before they need to make a decision.”
According to Gallagher, he hopes it won’t even be an issue, but he knows that even if the Bucks are planning to stay, they will eventually need a new arena, and eventually some key sponsors will need to step up. The public is most likely not going to do it, he said.
“I compare it to the situation in Fond du Lac with Mercury Marine,” he said. “We need to think about the jobs that the Bucks organization and the Bradley Center create for people in our community. We need to think about the money that is spent in our community right now when people go to games, when visiting teams pay for hotels, and eat at restaurants downtown. We need to be willing to fight for all that.”
Gallagher also noted that it is important to realize what the Bucks’ franchise, its players, mascot and other organization individuals have done for the community on a philanthropic basis. The MACC Fund, Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer, founded by former Buck Jon McGlocklin, has been a prominent figure in cancer research, and the Bucks organization is still heavily involved in that and other organizational efforts throughout the community.
Eventually, the website and the Keep Our Bucks cause may move in a fundraising direction, Gallagher said. “For right now though, it’s just a way for people to come together and show support for the franchise.”
The Keep Our Bucks fan page on Facebook has nearly 1,000 members, the organization is also on Twitter @keepourbucks.
