MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Brewers have paid homage to their home city's Hispanic heritage one day every season since 2006, a day on which the Brewers, for one game, become the "Cerveceros."
But on Sunday, Brewers fans will be treated to an entirely different translation.
In an effort to acknowledge the multiple cultures that built the city of Milwaukee, the Brewers will honor Italian heritage during their game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, again changing their name for one game. The Brewers will become the "Birrai," the Italian translation of Milwaukee's nickname, and the red, green and white colors of the Italian flag will become Milwaukee's colors.
Arizona will also take part by wearing jerseys with their Italian nickname: the "iD-backs."
With plans to have a Heritage Game, in addition to Cerveceros Day, once a year for the foreseeable future, the Brewers intend to honor a wide range of cultures. The tradition started last year on German Heritage Night, when they wore "Bierbrauer" uniforms.
"The motivation behind the Heritage Games is that it speaks directly to the great cultural diversity of Milwaukee," Brewers vice president of communications Tyler Barnes said. "It's also something that we thought would be fun and creative, a bit off the beaten path."
After using gold as the primary color for their Cerveceros jerseys earlier this season and sticking to their usual colors as the Bierbrauer in 2011, the green, red and white of the Birrai will certainly be off that beaten path.
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