Week 7, Badgers!
We slept better than we thought we would last night which was nice. Having the boys in a different environment can be tough sometimes but this, with lots of other little ones running around was different.
The game was kicking off at 11am, an hour earlier than the pro’s so we had to be prepared to take full advantage of what little time we had. Ben, who is normally up at 7, 7:30 decided he was going to sleep until well after 8 this morning which threw a little spanner in the works. We didn’t want to leave him to wake up without us there but knew that if we didn’t leave soon, of our own accord that was, there was every chance of us being bundled into the car to get the party going. Thankfully, not long before we were set to go, sleeping handsome (as opposed to beauty) awoke and was happy to see his friends and a bowl of Rice Bubbles (Krispies) waiting on the table.
After sharing our goodbye cuddles with both little Packer/Badger backers we were off, cruising down the freeway on the Poynette to Madison express. That is, Dean and Shelli’s car. We made a quick stop at Don and Patti’s on the way so that Patti could take over the driving duties and Don could get us to the first bar in sight.
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First stop, pre-game traffic in Madison. Street unknown. Second stop, more pre-game traffic at a street not far from the first. At this point we were being overtaken by pedestrians so we jumped out of the car in record speed to leave poor Patti stuck amongst it all with no place to go. Getting out of the car to get to the game on time certainly seemed like a good idea to me. Seems though we actually got out of the car because Don had realised we were close enough to the first bar that there was no need for motorised transportation anymore.
Our first port of call? The Big 10 Pub. Not so far from the stadium that it was going to be a long walk there after the first drink. Not so close to the stadium that there weren’t more bars on the way when we tired of this one. Our first drink; Miller Lite, the time, 9:56am. We only had 40 minutes or so before we had to make our way to the stadium. If my watch hadn’t kept me abreast of the time, the speed with which our new friends could drink beer certainly did.
By 10:10am, yes, 14 minutes later, our first drink had been downed. We had left the Big 10, I had made a stop at the ATM and we’d found ourselves at the Stadium Sports Bar drinking our second. For Don and Dean it was one more than that. Now I know why Wisconsinites are banned from drinking competitions. Anyway, more drinks aside than at any other time in my life - this early in the morning at least, a Brat each for Kelly and I and some AC/DC to remind us of home and it was time to make the short walk to Camp Randall Stadium. By the way, to the guys who were heckling us at the ATM for taking so long? It takes a long time to get money all the way from Australia you know.
We had been often told that Madison is a University town, thus the “Madtown” reference. After our experience today I can see why. The place was buzzing with the Doctors, Lawyers, Professors and Business Leaders of tomorrow. Most of them were off their faces but at least everybody seemed to be having a good time.
The sea of red was something I was most certainly looking forward too. This was the first real difference I noticed between seeing the Packers and the Badgers play. Sure at Lambeau there is a sea of green and gold but that’s two colours. Mix in a little black, grey and white, the occasional throwback jersey and the opposing fans with their attire and the look just isn’t quite the same. The Badgers are red. Their supporters wear red. It’s as simple as that. Also, for the most part at least, we’re talking about college kids so there aren’t alot of opposing fans coming in to gate crash the party. I learned today that most don’t have the money to travel to away games and when they do they have much better beer, I mean things, to spend it on.
The stadium was awesome. The crowd was massive and the atmosphere was every bit as good as the Pro’s. At college games the students all sit together which provides great entertainment for those moments where watching the game isn’t an option. I was a little concerned that the entire student section was empty well into the first quarter though. I thought that perhaps there were just too many things going on this morning? As it turns out, there is no alcohol sold at college sports so the students tend to hang back as long as they can at the surrounding bars and down as much beer as humanly possible. The trick is to drink alot, as quick as you can and get to the stadium before it takes full effect.
So on with the game. As you may have noted from yesterdays entry, the Badgers were up 14 – 0 at the end of the 1st quarter. 28 – 0 four minutes into the second. The only thing that stopped this score hitting basketball proportions was the lack of accelerator by the Badgers once the game was out of the oppositions reach. I mean, Northern Illinois had something like 31 yards total offense in the first half. With the game practically over as quick as it had begun it was easy for the UW boys to coast the rest of the way.
That left us with the students and the band for entertainment.
The students kept us going with their swearing chant. To put it simply, on this very family friendly website, one side of the student section would yell, “Go and eat something that’s not very nice” and the other side would retort “We don’t like you very much”. This was a great laugh but apparently something both the UW and NCAA (the governing body of collegiate sports nationwide) are trying to stamp out. I wonder why? They’ve also got the wave that goes quickly around one way, then reverses, then goes in slow motion and then goes both ways until it meets in the middle. This would have been great if we saw it but Kelly and I were too busy trying to find a hot chocolate at the time. Very disappointing.
The band? They’re on a whole ‘nother level. I wrote about them in week 5 when they came up to Lambeau to play at the Sunday night game versus Chicago. At halftime they did a tribute to West Side Story, celebrating it’s 50th anniversary as a Landmark of American Theatre history. This was a great coincidence. One of Kel’s favourite movies of all time is West Side Story so to have this tribute during half time; at the only Badgers game that Kelly is likely to attend in her life was amazing. I told her it was because I had put a call in to the school to let them know she’d be here. Unfortunately she’s known me for long enough to know that I was full of it. (That thing that the students were telling the other students to eat that is.)
The final score was 44 – 3 with the Badgers producing 3 times more offense than their guests. It was an awesome experience though, the third quarter “Jump Around” was great too. We stayed for some of the 5th quarter and made our way back through the countryside to retreat for a few hours before driving home.
If there’s one thing that Kelly and I got out of this trip it was that we really do miss out when it comes to that 4 year period after high school. Most of us Aussies go out and get a job straight out of school and work our way through the ranks. This whole “must go to college” ethos that is here just doesn’t exist back home. Sure we have universities and some people study at them but not like this. The school spirit on this scale makes you feel like you’re part of something. We were grateful, for this moment at least, that we were able to taste it in a very small way.
I just want to say a quick thank you to Don for the tickets. We really had a good time, thank you. And to Dean and Shelli for your kind hospitality. We loved you open fields, tractors and warm beds to sleep in. The stay was too short.
