THE BEST SEAT IN THE HOUSE
"And now … the starting lineup for your Milwaukee Panthers!"
 
That familiar voice has been echoing through the arena in downtown Milwaukee for over two decades now.
 
Bob Brainerd, the soundtrack of the team at UWM Panther Arena, celebrated his 20^th year as the public address announcer for the Panthers last season and will head into the 2026-27 campaign approaching another impressive milestone … his 300^th game behind the microphone from what he calls "the best seat in the house".
 
Let's rewind for a minute.
 
It started innocently … and out of urgency. The date was March 7, 2006.
 
The Panthers were in the middle of a successful postseason run and were set to host the Horizon League Tournament Championship against the Butler Bulldogs. The regular PA announcer at the time was unavailable. Jason Clark, then an assistant athletic director on the MKE staff, reached out to Brainerd to see if he'd be interested in covering the contest.
 
"That was back in the day when the No. 1 seed hosted the postseason," Brainerd said. "I knew it was going to be a full house, so I jumped at the opportunity because … oh, yeah … the atmosphere was going to be great."
 
The Panthers would go on to win that game, 87-71, in front of a crowd of 10,021 fans. And punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament in the process.
 
"I thought it was going to be a one-off (one-game fill-in)," Brainerd said. "But it was going to be a great one-off. And then they won – and the fans stormed the court. So that's how it started. It was only then during the following summer that he (Clark) approached me again and said, 'would you like the gig full-time?' And I jumped at that chance as well."
 
Milwaukee grabbed a 40-32 lead at the half that historic night and held off the Bulldogs the rest of the way. What a game for Brainerd to start his role.
 
"What stood out was the electricity in the arena and how it made my job easier," he said. "It was easy to get excited because you're feeding off of the crowd. As the PA voice, I'm getting into it because the crowd's getting into it and Butler is the opponent. Two teams playing really hard with so much on the line. So that's what I remember most about that."
 
Milwaukee took a double-digit lead with about six minutes to play, led by as many as 19, and cruised to the thrilling victory.
 
"After the buzzer goes off, I remember just looking up and how quickly the court filled up," Brainerd said of the rush by the fans. "It was like the Panther fans were just so ready and they stormed the court and they did it respectfully. They just wanted to celebrate, so it was very cool."
 
Everyone that sits in that seat doing what Brainerd does carries a responsibility to the crowd. It's a duty that carries a lot of weight, especially to do it right.
 
"When I was younger, I would catch myself doing the PA of our wiffle ball games in our backyard with my friends," he recalled. "Growing up, I would listen to the PA voices at County Stadium and the MECCA. And those guys had been there forever – Bob Betts at with the Brewers and Jack Gallo with the Bucks. So, I heard them and I heard their cadence and I heard how they did it. And I thought … 'something like that would be a fun job'. And it's a limited job, but then along the way sometimes opportunities would present themselves and I would say yeah, I absolutely want to do that. And I didn't mimic them – I have my own style, but they were always very thorough, and you could understand what they were saying and that's the most important thing. The 'hype' part – that's like the frosting on the cake to me."
 
But it's not just a 'show up and go' type of job. Brainerd stays prepared by keeping up with the team during the course of the season and showing up early on gameday.
 
"First thing I will do is get the pronunciations of the visitors," he said. "I know our guys, but I don't necessarily know their guys or how they prefer it. So, I will track down somebody from the opposing team and say, 'let's go through your roster'. I want to get it right. That's number one, because if you don't get a name right you will hear about it. And with social media now, you will hear about it instantly. I've had people text me while I'm doing a game and say, 'it's not this, it's that' so you can avoid that by making sure that you get the names right."
 
More game prep follows. Brainerd needs to be ready at a moment's notice for timeouts, sponsor reads, the band, cheerleaders, mascot … you name it.
 
"Everything is orchestrated and scripted," Brainerd said. "Everything is coordinated, so I will go through the script and make sure nothing is going to trip me up. You ask your questions pregame, because once the timeout hits, you don't have time to go through it. So, there's all that prep to make sure that you do have a smooth operation when the horn sounds and the game starts."
 
Some public address announcers try and be flashy. Keys to success include being energetic, engaging, and captivating. And over time, that may or may not change.
 
"I think I am probably basically the same," Brainerd said. "One thing that did change over the years is that I have more fun with the names then I did early on. I don't want to say everybody's name with the same cadence; the same inflection. So, if there's something where you drag out a consonant or something – just to have fun with that. One that comes is August Haas (MKE's starting guard in the 2016-17 season). I was practicing with his name and wondering how I should say it. I thought he was German … he wasn't German [laughs]. But I thought it just kind of felt like 'August Haas' had this big robust name So I'm going to give it extra on the 'HAAS' part, so I dragged it out. The more I did it, the more people liked it. I then knew I hit a nerve when the student section recited it back and they would go 'HAAS' after I said 'HAAS'. That was really neat. I look at the names and think how I can say it. So that it's got its own personality, instead of every name sounding exactly the same. What's the balance between being professional and letting yourself enjoy the moment when something exciting happens on the court? That one's tough because you do root for the guys that are out there. You also have to give the home team more inflection – make it more upbeat – than the visitors That's just the way it is. You have to enjoy the moment, but you can't live in it so that you forget what you're supposed to do. My job is to still distribute the information to the crowd, first and foremost."
 
As he approaches game No. 300, it makes for a lot of memories. But, as one could guess, some definitely do stand out.
 
"That first game … it absolutely was and it's what got me hooked," Brainerd said. "I knew about Milwaukee basketball, and then when that's your first real taste of it – I was really hooked. Beyond that, it's not a specific game for me, but it's moments. It's moments that you see with the different players when they do something special. When they celebrate. When they go around and slap hands with everybody (walking around the crowd postgame) because they had a big victory at home and that to me is it. I like seeing the different faces over the years have those special moments that they're going to remember forever. For all of us that stay at Milwaukee, we get a new batch of players; a new season; maybe a new coach. For those guys, that's it. They are going to move on. So, to watch them have that moment and tuck it away That's really special. It's not just the individual things, but all of them collectively."
 
The role certainly has its serious side – but Brainerd enjoys the lighter side of it too. The things that the mic doesn't pick up certainly hold a close spot in his memory.
 
"Players will come over and check in, and they'll grab some popcorn or M&Ms or candy from the table right in front of us," he laughed. "They will converse with us about the game or just crack jokes That's the best thing about being there. And that's why I always say I have the best seat in the house doing public address. Because of things like that."
 
And it's not just the players.
 
"I can hear Bart (Lundy)," he said. "I can hear him having conversations with players before they go in. We also talk with the referees and they'll joke with us. So those are pretty fun moments that the fans don't get. They don't get that interaction while it's going on. The opposing coaches, like Mike Davis (Detroit Titans head coach). He come over and he's talking to us all the time during the game – asking us questions. So, it's entertaining to be that close and kind of be this fly on the wall."
 
Time passes quickly and two decades of Panther hoops has come and gone. What does it mean to Brainerd to know his voice is so connected to people's memories?
 
"My voice gets recognized," Brainerd said. "Which I don't think it's that distinctive, but people will hear me talking at the golf course or in the grocery store and say 'oh. I know that voice, you're the voice of the Panthers' and that's really neat that people equate that not only with this university, but that it means they're paying attention. It means they listen to you and they rely on you to provide that information during the game day experience. It's awesome."
 
Players can stay for one year or four, but Brainerd has made the connections extend to lifelong for him in some cases. Sitting so close and being so involved has opened the door to relationships that he cherishes that wouldn't have been possible outside of his role with the program.
 
"One of my favorites was Matt Tiby (played for Milwaukee from 2013-2016)," Brainerd said. "I loved how Matt played the game and his personality off the court was genuine and it was humble – and those two don't always go together. I'm still in touch with Matt, you know via Facebook. Matt and I will go back and forth and share what's going on in our lives and I don't have that with every player. Tony Meier (at MKE 2008 to 2012) is another. I've followed Tony since he traveled overseas to play professionally. Got married to Steph (former MKE women's basketball player Stephanie Schell/2007-2011) and now they have kids and you follow their lives. There are people like that over the 20 years that have been a pleasure to get to know. I've seen them literally grow up into men and fathers and coaches. Run into them at golf outings or they come back for a Panther game. You see them there … that's special."
 
Looking back on 20 years, what are the things that Brainerd may be the proudest of in his time?
 
"I think just getting things right," he said. "I've never been a big rah-rah scream and holler type of guy. Pro-Panther to be sure … I mean that's your job. But to me it was always – get the names right; get the fouls right. Get the reads right during timeouts. Again, it goes back to my idols growing up – I want to get everything right. If I can get everything right and add some sizzle from time to time … then I think I'm doing the job right."