It's the most wonderful time of the year. No, not Christmas, but Halloween. Not only is it the season for spooky movies and candy overloads, but it's the time of year when you can inexplicably come across cartoon characters chilling at NBA games. Just such a thing happened this week, as The Simpsons' Milhouse van Houten was seen at the Milwaukee Bucks game, and he wasn't exactly enraptured by the action on the court.
This. Is. Fan. Tastic. And while it doesn't exactly prove that Springfield is anywhere near Milwaukee, I think we can make some assumptions, right? I mean, what would Milhouse be doing there otherwise? It's not like Kirk is going to make a cross-country trip to take his son to the game. And if Luann has a basketball-loving new boyfriend, he also likely wouldn't make that effort, although it would perhaps explain why Milhouse is reading a comic book in that picture instead of paying attention to anyone else.
Okay, so I realize that isn't the real Milhouse. It's just someone who had a genius costume idea and knew exactly how to rock it on live TV. The Radioactive Man comic was a superb touch, and one wonders if that seat-holder also had a Fallout Boy costume in a backpack nearby, just in case some kind of mayhem went down in the middle of the Celtics-Bucks game.
Over the course of The Simpsons' history, Milhouse hasn't exactly been the most athletic character in Springfield, but he tries, and that's what's important. (Homer is good at baseball, though.) Back in Season 13's "The Bart Wants What It Wants," Bart and Milhouse got into a big brawl over the affection of a girl (Greta Wolfcastle) and ended up joining the Canada men's basketball team. As one does.
But apparently when Milhouse isn't actually the one doing the dribbling, he'd rather get down with some colorful literature than pay attention to Giannis Antetokounmpo on the court. We'd dare not ask what Ralph Wiggum was doing at the time, though he'd likely be yelling for someone to get a touchdown.
Boston Celtic Kyrie Irving had a bit of a Ralph Wiggum moment himself before the game last night. As part of the Milwaukee Bucks' 50th anniversary celebration, the court was painted and modeled to look like the floor of the team's old Mecca Complex, where they last played in 1988. And when Irving was asked about his thoughts on it, he questioned the safety element and seemingly appeared to think that the Bucks had somehow brought in the actual old floor from the Mecca. Not that the mental snafu stopped him from having a solid night on that court or anything.
The Simpsons, which arguably has a better reputation with Halloween than any other show on TV, airs every Sunday night on Fox at 8:00 p.m. ET. The Bucks' next home game is on Tuesday, October 31 (where they play the Oklahoma City Thunder), so perhaps we'll get to see Duffman or Nelson making an appearance? While waiting to find out, check out our fall TV premiere schedule to see what new and returning shows are on the way.
