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Paul Gero

@paulgero

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Paul F. Gero Photo + Film Wisconsin and beyond. Husband to Nicki, Dad to Kate and Sparky (and Lenny!)

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Southern California friends I am coming to town later this month and have a few spots available. Please contact Nicki @nicki.k.gero for more info. Thanks!! by @paulgero

L-Cats Fall to Lake Country Lutheran in Sectional Final, Ending a Season One Win Shy of State

OCONOMOWOC – The L-Cats’ run ended on a Halloween morning grass field, one game short of the state tournament.

Lake Mills fell 2-0 to Lake Country Lutheran in Saturday’s WIAA Sectional Final, played at Oconomowoc High School. The 11 a.m. start came on natural grass, a sharp change from the turf at L-Cat Stadium where the team typically plays.

The L-Cats never found their rhythm against a physical Lightning squad. Maybe it was fatigue from Thursday’s dramatic overtime victory over Wisconsin Heights/Barneveld in the sectional semifinal. Maybe it was the longer grass disrupting their touch on the ball. Likely it was some of both. Either way, Lake Mills didn’t quite look like the team that had won 14 games this season.

Lake Country struck first on a free kick, awarded after a handball. Junior Kam Bacon lofted the ball toward the goal, and initially it looked like senior forward Elisha Bachhuber tapped it in.

The L-Cats held the line through the rest of the first half and, with roughly 20 minutes remaining, pushed to get back in it. Their best chances came off the fast attack, with junior midfielder Talon Lepak (#12) and senior midfielder Luis Lopez (#10) each getting shots on goal. Lake Country’s physical defense kept everything out of the net. by @paulgero

Today’s Brewers Victory Parade was everything I’d hoped for, and then some.

I got there early to claim a spot across from the Bob Uecker mural and planted my ladder, the same kind of step ladder I used to haul around during political campaigns in my DC years. It gave me just enough elevation to see over the crowd.

The mural was my first choice. I’d considered setting up at Jefferson and Wisconsin Avenue, looking straight up the street to the west, but the route detoured past the mural, and that settled it.

I’m glad it did. The first bus carried the starters and stars of the team. They stopped to make photos from the bus, then, to my surprise, climbed off and started working the crowd. The corner went wild amidst the swirl of confetti. Some fans along the front barriers shook hands with Sal Frelick and Christian Yelich, among others.

The parade turned out to be as magical as the post-season run and the World Series itself.

But the moment I’ll remember most came at the very end. Manager Pat Murphy sat in the back of a pickup truck, waving quietly and signing autographs with his two young sons beside him, just ahead of the street sweepers.

He let his players have the glory.

@brewers #worldserieschamps by @paulgero

Senior Harrison Corsten #3 at right in first image is jubilant after scoring the first goal for the L-Cats during the second half of tonight’s Sectional Semi final game against W Heights/Barneveld tonight at L-Cat Stadium.

Senior Trey Smith then celebrates the team’s second goal soon after the first on a penalty kick to put the team ahead 2-0.

Wisconsin Heights/Barneveld came back to tie the game in regulation and the game went into two 10 minute overtime periods.

Harrison Corsten celebrates with Trey Smith as he scored the team’s third goal in the first overtime period. They were able to hold off the Vanguards and now Lake Mills advances to the sectional finals on Saturday in Oconomowoc. by @paulgero

Last night’s “Witches Night Out” in downtown Lake Mills had perfect weather and it seemed everyone was in a festive mood, not only because of our mild weather, and the Halloween holiday, but also for the Brewer’s game later in the evening. Many people were in full Brewers attire.

This video captures what I think makes our little part of the world so special.

ENJOY! by @paulgero

Evelyn and Grady’s perfect wedding yesterday at Barnwood Events on an exquisite autumn day. by @paulgero

A former photojournalism colleague, Mark Hertzberg, sent me a link this morning to a Journal Sentinel look back at the 1982 World Series, the last time the Brewers were there. I remembered some of the photos, and seeing them again took me right back.

1982 was my first summer as a photo intern at the Milwaukee Journal and Sentinel when newspapers used to be a big deal. Four of us were hired, and each of us got a company car 24/7 for the summer. For a Marquette student without a car, that was an absolute gift. I was heading into my senior year, really my fifth, since I’d transferred from Ripon.

It was also the first time I’d witnessed a team on that kind of run (in ’83 it would be the White Sox, ’84 would be the Cubs and ’99 and ’01 would be the Diamondbacks). The Brewers rallied all summer and kept rolling. The frame below is from a mid-summer game against the White Sox: Jim Gantner lays down a bunt and hustles down the line, beating the flying tag from first baseman Tom Paciorek. I covered a handful of games that summer (I lost count) and some of the playoffs, but the full-time staffers had the Series itself.

The names in that roundup are a who’s who of people I was lucky to learn from. John Biever hired me as an intern and went on to a storied career at Sports Illustrated. He and Andy Hayt were, to me, the best to ever cover football, both great shooters and great people. Bill Meyer was always encouraging to a young photographer like me. Dale Guldan was someone who, like Bill, could make an amazing photograph in any situation. And then there’s the distinctive 20mm work of the late, great Allan Y. Scott. Scotty seemed to work with basically two lenses, a 20mm wide angle and a 180mm telephoto, and he made magic with both.

One more coincidence: the last two times the Brewers have been in the World Series, a Gero has been in college in Milwaukee. Kate is a junior at UW-Milwaukee.

Wishing the team well tonight. Go Brewers! by @paulgero

End of an era! Finished off Fall Ball today with a win and Ryan coaching. I will miss these kids and their families! ⚾️🧢❤️ by @paulgero

Tyler Wollin had a Homecoming to remember not only with his team defeating Big Foot 40-14 in a game that was far more dominated by the L-Cats than the score indicated but for the QB state passing record with his 103rd touchdown pass in the second quarter.

On that record-setting pass he hit a wide-open Blake Bohlman on an 80 yard bomb. He hit Bohlman for two more touchdown passes as the team rolled to their seventh win and are conference champions since Lakeside Lutheran lost to Portage 29-28 at their Homecoming on Friday. Wollin had 4 TD passes on the night (and almost had a fifth) as he and the L-Cats travel to Portage this coming Friday. by @paulgero

Twenty-five years. How is that possible?

It feels like the other day that we stood facing each other outside St. Timothy’s in Mesa, Father Jim officiating, saying our vows on a very hot October afternoon in Arizona surrounded by our closest family members and dearest friends.

Just a year earlier we hadn’t even met. And talk about geographically undesirable: I lived in Gilbert and didn’t want to date a woman from Scottsdale, yet somehow I thought nothing of falling for someone from halfway around the world who lived in Cape Town, South Africa.

To be fair, we never really dated. We met at the rehearsal dinner for Tim and Alison’s wedding in Hartford, spent time together after the ceremony the next day, and it all just seemed to fall into place. The following weekend you flew to Arizona as part of your whirlwind trip around North America. After a day trip to Sedona, we were engaged.

Ten days? How can that even work? by @paulgero

Last Friday, on a perfect autumn evening, Lake Mills traveled to nearby Jefferson to take on the Eagles.

Jefferson struck first and it was a tight battle with Lake Mills in the first half with the L-Cats going into the break leading 14-7.

In the second, the L-Cats began to show their strength and pulled away in a dominating 42-15 victory.

Led by QB Tyler Wollin and his four touchdowns, and two rushing TDs from Jayden McFarlane.

The Lake Mills defense was especially strong as senior JP Brzowski credited with 14 tackles and a forced fumble. Senior Mason Wyman had two interceptions on the night, and senior Jackson Roberts and sophomore Jon Ebert each had 8 tackles.

Tonight is homecoming and Lake Mills hosts Big Foot, with the homecoming parade starting at 4 pm along Main Street in LM. by @paulgero

Katie and Noah had the most perfect wedding day on September 12!

We were there to capture both photographs and video for them and here is the teaser video that I edited for them from primarily Jeremy’s footage (with a few of my clips also edited in). Wendy was also there to second shoot still photographs and she caught some great ones. (A photo post will be forthcoming but wanted to share this video first).

Thank you Katie and Noah for choosing us and here’s to a lifetime of happiness! by @paulgero