The Milwaukee Bucks is undoubtedly one of the best NBA teams in the USA and the world. Like all its fellow NBA teams, The Milwaukee Bucks has its share of interesting firsts, fun facts and tales. The team originated in 1968 and since then has always held the audience and its fans in awe.
The official mascot of The Milwaukee Bucks- Bango
Sandy Petrocelli is a fan of Wisconsin NBA teams. Besides watching and keeping track of his favorite teams, he also likes to know more about them. He loves reading about their beginnings, how they got their logo and what the story behind their original mascot is. In short, he loves sharing whatever little information he finds out about his favorite teams with everyone he knows.
How did the name Bango come about?
When it comes to the official mascot of The Milwaukee Bucks, its name is Bango. Bango – the word was created by Eddie Doucette who was the play announcer for The Milwaukee Bucks for a long time. He loved using the word Bango whenever a player of the team connected via a long-range basket. The term was also used for the sharpshooter Jon McGlocklin. So, it was obvious that when the team was searching for a name for their official mascot, Bango was the first choice!
The first appearance of Bango
Bango was officially introduced to the world during the first NBA season of The Milwaukee Bucks in 1977. Bango made a home debut and the team was pitted against The Los Angeles Lakers which has former Bucks Kareem Abdul- Jabbar at The Milwaukee Arena. Bango has really worked hard to become a goodwill ambassador for the team at Wisconsin making frequent appearances at schools, major events and festivals. He is noted for his acrobractic layups, entertaining antics and daring rebounds. He makes it a point to provide the much needed energy to fans of The Milwaukee Bucks at the BMO Harris Bradley Center as well. He has been successful at making his fans happy and since 2001 he has made frequent appearances at The NBA All-Star Game as well.
Injury of Bango and his amazing comeback
During the 2009 All Star Weekend at Phoenix in Arizona Bango was injured while doing a skit. He stood on the rim of a basket and his right leg slipped through its hoop making him fall. He slipped even further and later fell through the whole basket. Unfortunately, he was hurt and could not reappear for the remaining part of the season. Sometimes, he was seen sitting on a wheelchair and a video of Bango later circulated on YouTube.
However, Sandy Petrocelli says that Bango did return to woo audiences in 2010. He appeared in the playoff series between The Atlanta Hawks and The Milwaukee Bucks. He performed an amazing dunk from a ladder that was 16 foot. This feat was similar to a stunt performed by the official mascot of The Seattle Supersonics- Squatch at the 2008 NBA match between The Phoneix Suns and The Seattle Supersonics!