With summer in full swing, it’s easy to reminisce on past summers when I was a kid. Summers where my schedule was either blank or filled with days by the pool, rather than which job I have to be at and at what time. For me, a slew of my summer days were spent at the beautiful Miller Park, watching the Milwaukee Brewers.

There were good games, there were bad games, and every type of game in between, but as a kid, the outcome of the game didn’t really matter as long as I had fun.

As I got older, games became less about having fun and more about stats or win percentage. That coupled with the fair-weather nature of the majority of Brewers fans made for a less-than-enjoyable experience whenever I went to Miller Park.

I started to dread going to baseball games. You can imagine how frustrating this got to be learning that my family has a 20-pack of tickets for Brewers games. Whenever my mom would mention that we had tickets for that night’s game, I would be inexplicably upset. Why did I have to go? Why did I have to sit there for three hours and watch my team lose again? Why did I have to go, deal with the losses, and then also deal with crowds and crowds of drunk fair-weather fans?

There was, of course, the beauty that was the 2011 playoff run. I don’t think I’ve ever had more fun at a ballgame than at game one of the 2011 National League Division Series. The Brew Crew was rolling, we finally had a solid shot at the playoffs, and the atmosphere was one I’ll ever forget.

But after that? Well, Brewers fans got a taste of victory, and after the heartbreaking loss in game five of the Championship Series, they wanted more and were upset that they didn’t get it.

Thus began the “rebuild year” that turned into two, which turned into five. We had good trades, bad trades, the Ryan Braun PEDs debacle, and lost a couple of guys that brought personality and life to our team. We weren’t winning games the way we used to, weren’t getting fans excited like we used to.

Games just weren’t fun anymore, and I didn’t really know how to fix that.

Cue the 2017 Milwaukee Brewers.

Something about this specific team just brought some life back into baseball for me. Maybe it was the fresh personalities of Keon Broxton, Eric Thames, and Eric Sogard. Maybe it was being in Chicago and being fueled by Chicago’s celebration from the Cubs. Maybe it’s the series of commercials the Brewers media team released to hype up the fans. Messages that said, “We’re here, we’re serious, and we’re not backing down.”

I had fallen out of love with baseball -- I’d even thrown all of that love into hockey instead -- but this team is bringing that love back.

I’m excited to go to games again. These days, I can’t wait to don my blue and yellow and make the trek across the bridge into Miller Park. Instead of being relieved that I don’t have to go to a game, I’m bummed that I’m missing it. So far, I’ve witnessed my team come back from being down three runs, I’ve seen them blow leads that should’ve been secure, and I’ve seen them fly their own W at the Friendly Confines of Wrigley. Twice.

I’m on the edge of my seat from the first pitch, to the seventh inning stretch, all the way to the last strike. I can’t wait to see Travis Shaw hit a beauty of a dinger, or Keon Broxton make a sprawling catch at centerfield. I’ve seen Chase Anderson and Jimmy Nelson throw back-to-back double-digit strikeout games, and I’ve seen games where we probably should’ve pulled our pitcher in the first couple innings.

Win or lose, this team is my team and will continue to be my team. I will cheer for them in good games and in bad games, in bad starts and walk-off wins. They’ve made the game fun again, and I can’t wait for the to have a little fun themselves.

At the posting date of this article, the Milwaukee Brewers have a record of 29-27, putting their win percentage at .518. They are in first place in the Central Division of the National League, but only a game ahead of the Chicago Cubs, and a game and a half ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals. They’re sitting pretty right now, but I hope that they’ll be sitting even prettier come October.

They may pull a "typical Milwaukee Brewers” and tank. They might shock us all and run away with wins for the remainder of the season. But we’ve got a long way to go, so pass me some peanuts and cracker jack, and let’s play ball.