Legendary Milwaukee Brewers broadcaster Bob Uecker is, well, a legend. For more than 50 years (!), Uecker has been regaling radio listeners with top-shelf play calling and second-to-none anecdotes. And those anecdotes don’t get much better than the time Uecker encountered a furry convention in Pittsburgh. Let’s remember this watershed moment in broadcasting history, shall we?
Yes, on July 4, 2007, as our nation celebrated its independence, Uecker and then-sidekick Jim Powell spent roughly 15 minutes during the Pirates-Brewers game discussing the “furrier” convention that had set up shop in their hotel the night before. It was the annual Anthrocon at the Westin Hotel, and Uecker and Powell were seriously creeped out.
“The Pennsylvania Animal Society is down there to make sure none of the members of that convention are infected with anything. Licenses being issued this morning,” deadpanned Uecker. “Furriers!”
“I think I may pass on the hotel restaurant tonight,” replied Powell.
It only got better from there. When pressed by Powell about what sorts of thing happen at a convention populated by people dressed in animal costumes, Uecker opined thusly: “They kind of gather in a huge fur ball. You can’t really see the leader, he’s in the middle. You can hear him mumbling and talking, trying to talk, kind of like a—swing and a foul by Braun—kind of like a mom with a cubby, trying to keep it warm.
“That’s no big deal. That’s what they feel,” Uecker later continued, still discussing the furry convention. “They wear animal costumes because they feel a little animal-ish. There’s a strike. I’ve felt that way myself a couple of times. I haven’t dressed up for it. I’ve worn a fig leaf or two.”
Powell wasn’t so amused, writing in his blog:
“At first it was kind of funny to see these people wandering around the downtown streets and filing into the hotel, but after the novelty wore off it just made everyone feel creepy. The ‘furries’ seem harmless enough, but people who think they might be an animal trapped in a human body just are unnervingly odd, to say the least.”
The Brewers lost that day 3-5. They also lost the series and went on to have a rough July. According to WikiFur, this would later be dubbed the “Curse of the Furries.”
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