Bucks dye Milwaukee River green ahead of playoffs

As the Milwaukee Bucks prepare for the 2019 NBA playoffs, excitement is building and the city is showing its pride for the home team.

With a home court advantage, the team will take on the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the NBA playoffs– Game 1 is scheduled for Sunday and Game 2 is scheduled for Wednesday at Fiserv Forum.

To kickoff this weekend’s playoff festivities, a portion of the Milwaukee River today was dyed bright green by the Bucks. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and Bucks president Peter Feigin, along with a large crowd of local fans and passersby, gathered Friday morning at the McKinley Avenue Bridge to watch crews pour the dye into the water. 

Several boats drove up and down the river, dumping the dye and dispersing it throughout the water.

“The city is very proud to have the Bucks here,” Barrett said. “I think (dyeing the river) this is a great way to get even more people involved in Bucks fever.”

Barrett cautioned fans to take their excitement this weekend to the game instead of near the water, saying “We want to see dunks only on the basketball court, no dunking in the river.”

The Bucks and the city had worked for several months with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the Environmental Protection Agency to get approval to dye the river, which could become a yearly tradition, Feigin said.

In addition to dyeing the river, the Bucks will continue building hype today by adding team playoff “branding” around the city, including on one of The Hop streetcars and on two skybridges attached to the downtown office building at 100 E. Wisconsin Ave.

BMO Harris Bank on Thursday night lit its downtown Milwaukee office tower with an 18-story “Fear the Deer” display that will remain lit through the first round of the playoffs.

In addition, The Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) will show its support for the Bucks, beginning Friday, and lasting the entire playoff run, digital screens on all 400 buses in the MCTS fleet will display the special messages, “Fear the Deer!” and “Go Bucks!”  

Closing out regular season play on Wednesday with a 60-22 record, the Bucks top the league. However, the team has not made it past the first round of the playoffs since 2001.