I'm kind of torn on this. The old mug was great, but I have a four-year-old girl that thinks Bernie Brewer and that big yellow slide are the coolest things in the world. She so looks forward to going to Miller Park ("Bernie Brewer's Place" as she calls it) every year. I'd rather not have that innocence compromised by him diving into an alcoholic beverage.

Mascots are for children and I don't think you need to mix giant cartoon characters with adult themes. Miller Park is a heckuva fun time the way it is right now.

They should add some more sausages instead.

This is an easy one, get Bernie a new frosty mug and let's get back to being the Brewers again.

I'm kind of torn on this. The old mug was great, but I have a four-year-old girl that thinks Bernie Brewer and that big yellow slide are the coolest things in the world. She so looks forward to going to Miller Park ("Bernie Brewer's Place" as she calls it) every year. I'd rather not have that innocence compromised by him diving into an alcoholic beverage.

Mascots are for children and I don't think you need to mix giant cartoon characters with adult themes. Miller Park is a heckuva fun time the way it is right now.

Do you ever drink around your daughter? Is she ever in places where people are drinking? I don't see the big deal here. Bernie Brewer is clearly an adult. Alcohol is for adults, not for children. Many things are like that, and for generations, that was an accepted way to talk to your children about them. My parents did it to me. Why we should change things just because some parents (I'm not saying you're one of them) all of a sudden don't want to have to do this is beyond me.

Make it a root beer mug and everyone's happy. Barq's is already a sponsor of the team so it's a natural fit.

Make it a root beer mug and everyone's happy.

That person quoted in the intro apparently wouldn't be, and they have a point.

Bernie Brewer is marketed to kids not adults. Alcohol shouldn't be part of his routine/act.

Bernie Brewer is clearly an adult. Alcohol is for adults, not for children.

Yes, but Bernie Brewer is there mainly for children, not adults.

They are named the friggin Brewers for godsake. What's next, we can;t scalp whiteys when the Indians score?

I will admit I have no idea how Bernie Brewer is marketed. I've never heard of a mascot being marketed towards any particular group, rather than just being at the game and dancing around. If they truly push him to kids, then I would agree it's inappropriate for him to be involved with beer.

Why we should change things just because some parents (I'm not saying you're one of them) all of a sudden don't want to have to do this is beyond me.


Things change, maybe someone realized that teaching small children that alcohol=fun isn't the best policy.

Who doesn't market a mascot to kids and who markets a mascot to adults? Bernie is on babies clothing, probably available for kids birthdays, and is a magnet for kids at the ballgame. Even if for some oddball reason they did in fact choose to market him to adults (a la Duffman) kids would still flock to a giant cartoon character at the ballpark.

Things change, maybe someone realized that teaching small children that alcohol=fun isn't the best policy.

Or maybe somebody realized that Americans tend to be a litigious group and do you really need a Joe Camel lawsuit? Or maybe a little bit of both.

I'm sure if the Brewers had made the playoffs this year and had a beer slide for their cartoon character it would have gotten national media attention and te MADD people would have come out in force over it.

I never understood why Billy Brewer never played for Milwaukee.

I'd rather not have that innocence compromised by him diving into an alcoholic beverage.

We must think of the children even if it leads to silly decisions! The team name is Brewers, they play in a ball park named for a beer company. This is akin to not drinking (responsibly) in front of children or changing the channel anytime a beer commercial is on TV. None of that will help kids deal with their own alcohol-related issues when the time comes.

Who doesn't market a mascot to kids and who markets a mascot to adults? Bernie is on babies clothing, probably available for kids birthdays

I've never seen a mascot get marketed, really. Can I buy Mr. Met gear? Will the Seattle moose come to my birthday? I guess you can buy shirts with a cartoon Bevo on it, but those are for everyone, not just kids.

id like to see MADD and MLB get into it over the slide, after all it was seligs family who created it. i would like to see MADD get ##### slapped so to speak, they go way overboard

I've never seen a mascot get marketed, really.

Teams do it. Some have a game which is the "Mascot's Birthday" and then there are various public appearances the mascot makes, and some teams have plush toys of their mascot (the Phillie Phanatic immediately comes to mind). It's not a major marketing tool, but it's in the toolbox.

The Brewers are not as well organized as the Phillies home page so it isn't as easy to find Bernie appearances but if you go to the press releases you find that Bernie (and the sausages) go to quite a few schools. Also if you click on the kids button at the top of their page you get greeted by Bernie saying "Hey Kids". Which looks to be a standard form for all teams with mascots and their kids sections.

Bernie Brewer is clearly an adult. Alcohol is for adults, not for children.

Alcohol is for adults, but Bernie Brewer is primarily for children. I know adults enjoy him; I certainly do. Listen, I'm not some fuddy-duddy. I remember years ago thinking it was lame they got rid of the beer mug. But when your child has a Bernie doll and a picture of her with Bernie that sits on the nightstand next to her bed you think about the issue differently. Bernie isn't far removed from Big Bird or Chuck E. Cheese to her. She's four.

And Mascots are obviously marketed to kids. There are Bernie dolls and sausage dolls at every souvenir stand and the gift shop. My daughter has an 11-piece Bernie Brewer jigsaw puzzle for cryin' out loud.

We must think of the children even if it leads to silly decisions!

I figured someone would say this. Look, I'm not saying Bernie sliding into a mug of beer will turn our kids into alcoholics. I'm saying it is an irresponsible message to send kids. And it clearly is that, whether you like it or not.

Looking back on it through the lens of adulthood, candy cigarettes were a particularly egregious idea.

Amazingly enough, they still make candy cigarettes. We were discussing them one day in my social problems course, and a student who works for a candy wholesaler brought me a carton.

Yeah but we all thought they were cool, and I for one have never smoked. Nor did my parents seem to have a problem with them.

I remember in my junior high cross country practice runs we would pass a Shell gas station. Well some of the runners out front went into the gas station and bought a pack of those candy cigarettes and rolled them up in their T-shirt sleeves and put a cig in their mouths. I think the coach just about had a heart attack when the rest of us met up with them.

I was just going to ask if they still made them, I can't believe those still get made.

Candy cigarettes were awesome and my uncle often had me fetch a can of beer from him from the kitchen. I think smoking is disgusting and didn't have my first drink until a couple of months ago (I'm 18).

Kids aren't fragile delicate little flowers for crying out loud.

Will the Seattle moose come to my birthday?

Of course...

The Mariner Moose also entertains at special events including birthday parties, weddings and wedding receptions, community events, bar and bat mitzvahs, corporate functions, wedding proposals, anniversary parties and every Mariners home game.

but will he be running guests over on his atv?

Kids aren't fragile delicate little flowers for crying out loud.

So instead of saturday morning cartoons the big four should be broadcasting Showgirls, Basic Instinct, Hard Bodies, and 9 1/2 weeks?

So instead of saturday morning cartoons the big four should be broadcasting Showgirls, Basic Instinct, Hard Bodies, and 9 1/2 weeks?

I don't think ANYONE of ANY AGE should be subjected to a television lineup of THAT crapitude.

but will he be running guests over on his atv?

For an additional fee, sure...

So instead of saturday morning cartoons the big four should be broadcasting Showgirls, Basic Instinct, Hard Bodies, and 9 1/2 weeks?

Nice strawman.

Kids aren't fragile delicate little flowers for crying out loud.

So what is this?

The suggestion that kids don't need to be protected from the very sight of alcohol because it will have no effect on them?

Amazingly enough, they still make candy cigarettes.

And Big League Chew!

The suggestion that kids don't need to be protected from the very sight of alcohol because it will have no effect on them?

And you say nice strawman to my post.

Who is arguing that kids should be protected from the very sight of alcohol?

And Big League Chew!

Big League Chew I believe was specifically created to try and combat the use of chewing tobacco by players and therefore kids emulating big leaguers. Or at least that is what creator Jim Bouton claims.

Big League Chew I believe was specifically created to try and combat the use of chewing tobacco by players and therefore kids emulating big leaguers. Or at least that is what creator Jim Bouton claims.

I did not know that! I still think it's a weird product.

Bring back frosty mug (of unspecified liquid) AND have Sprecher sponsor it w/ big Sprecher logo on the side.

Everyone wins. The end :P

Did no one else notice this? What the heck is this about:

Although the slide has been put in storage for insurance reasons, Klisch said, the chalet and mug have been the backdrop for events like weddings and Friday night fish fries.

Weddings? Friday night fish fries?

Why I'd like to get married in front of that big plastic mug.

Wisconsinites are a crazy bunch, it takes a special kind of lunacy to have your wedding reception at the Brat Stop or Golden Corral.

And fish fries? Forget about it, at times I think that is the only reason they have religion around here. So they go out on friday and eat cheap fried forms of unknown fish.

Who is arguing that kids should be protected from the very sight of alcohol?

I'm saying it is an irresponsible message to send kids. And it clearly is that, whether you like it or not.

When I was a kid, I was fascinated by beer commercials. It looked so delicious, and everyone involved was enjoying it. And I was a kid, so I'm thinking that anything that involves "malt" is tasty.

So, 10-11 years old, I come home to find my dad drinking a beer. Normally he didn't drink, but he was finishing off a case my uncle had left in the house. Waste not, want not, you know. So I ask my dad, "Hey, can I try some of that?" My father, never one to hide anything from us kids, said, "Sure, go ahead!" and pushed his can of Pabst Blue Ribbon over to me. With great anticipation, I took a drink...

Twenty years and countless social occasions later, I still don't like beer.

I always thought that scotch must've been delicious as a kid because of all that talk of single malt. I do love a good chocolate malt. Still haven't tried scotch yet.

I do love a good chocolate malt. Still haven't tried scotch yet.

Just a warning. It tastes neither like a chocolate malt nor butterscotch of any stripe.

After a little wiki'ing: Scotch is whiskey? Ugh. I dislike whiskey. Only guy I know who just doesn't like the stuff, at least not counting the ones who don't drink alcohol of any kind, excepting wine/champagne.

I know I grew up around alcohol and as a result, I never saw it as some exciting, verboten thing. Give an 8-year-old a sip of beer and there's an extremely slim chance that they won't back up in disgust.

If a kid wants beer, turn it into a lesson, not a ban. Tell the kid about what beer is made of and how it's made and the science of fermentation. Tell the kid how it was an important part of human history because we did not always have the know-how to make water safe to drink. I do not have kids, but I've always been thankful that my parents and grandparents raised me in this manner - making growing up more about learning about things, many times unpleasant things, instead of being shielded from them.

, "Sure, go ahead!" and pushed his can of Pabst Blue Ribbon over to me. With great anticipation, I took a drink...

Twenty years and countless social occasions later, I still don't like beer.

OK, now giving PBR to a kid should be considered child abuse.

OK, now giving PBR to a kid should be considered child abuse.

Distribution of PBR in general should be outlawed. That said, if you want your child to stay away from beer, a sip or two of PBR will do the trick. Thanks to that, I can barely tolerate the finest Belgian beers.

"Sure, go ahead!" and pushed his can of Pabst Blue Ribbon over to me. With great anticipation, I took a drink...

You were a very hip 10 year-old. I'm guessing you discovered the Pixies before I did.

"And now, your 2008 Milwaukee Wiggles."

rfloh:
You do realize that saying you don't want a cartoon character that is marketed toward kids to be playing around with beer is different then saying you don't want the very sight of alcohol anywhere present?

Do you want Mickey Mouse to do commercials for Marlboro on saturday morning? Does saying no to that mean you don't want cigarettes to be seen by kids period?

The Mariner Moose also entertains at special events including birthday parties, weddings and wedding receptions, community events, bar and bat mitzvahs, corporate functions, wedding proposals, anniversary parties and every Mariners home game.

Wonder how my girlfriend would feel about that...not that either one of us are Mariner fans, or live anywhere near the Pacific Northwest, mind you, but I'm just curious how'd she react...

Wonder how my girlfriend would feel about that...

Calls to mind that prank from a week ago: a giant mute moose in a baseball uniform shows up at the home of a non-fan in the midwest...

What I found odder than the candy cigarettes were the gum cigarettes, they were wrapped in something that looked just like a cigarette, and if you'd blow into them while they were in your mouth, it would shoot off some of the sugar on the gum and look like(to a 5 year old at least) smoke.