Nicola and I spent about 48 hours in Madison, on a weekend where the main attraction would be the Wisconsin-Ohio State game. But the entire weekend was full of flawless fall weather, and I've never seen the entire town wear so much red. The school spirit has been kicked up another level from when I was there in the 90s.
Friday night, after a nice dinner, we stopped at the Essen Haus, one of those places you have to take someone who has never been to Madison. Nicola's first question was "wait, people actually polka here?"
Saturday we made our way to the tailgate about 2:30, and 15 minutes later three guys show up with a bar they've built from scratch - on wheels, with two taps and room for a stereo. Impressive all by itself, but more impressive that they wheeled the thing two and a half miles down the road ... each way. Met a former Badger OL, Mike Bryant (?) who had some pretty funny stories about one of my all-time favorite Badgers, Tom Burke. Apparently Burke always operated in high gear ... Mike would say, allright Tom, let's practice pass pro, and Tom would treat Mike literally like he was the opposing team, frothing at the mouth and stuff. I guess that's offensive lineman humor for you.
After the requisite multiple cans of beer consumed, we took our tickets and got to the game. Sitting in the section right next to the students was great - people were really fired up. The team now enters the stadium to them blasting U2's "Where the Streets have No Name" and let me tell you, it got the entire stadium on its feet and absolutely ready to cheer its ass off. The team came blasting out of the tunnel. It was my first night game at Camp Randall but the atmosphere was absolutely electric. 81,000 people on their feet - and with the new stadium setup, it's much louder than it used to be. It was a flawless night for football - probably 65 and not a cloud in the sky at kickoff.
First play, Gilbreath takes it to the house. Hits the seam ... what was most surprising was that for all the vaunted "team speed" of OSU, Gilbreath created more distance between him and his chasers the longer he ran. Immediately, the game felt winnable. What was also surprising was that for all the accolades OSU gets for its D and especially its D line, the Badger offensive linemen blew them off the ball all game long. I've not seen us dominate a supposed top defense like that probably in my entire lifetime.
Two more scores, and we're up 21-0. The text messages are flying in ... "WTF?" "Badgers!!!" "21-0, WTF". But you knew deep down this game wasn't going to be that easy.
For all of the third quarter and to start the fourth, we were getting beat like a rented mule. I figured 'Jump Around' would get the crowd back into it, but overwhelming nervousness about squandering this great chance to win took over. Keep in mind OSU had the ball for all but about 3 mins for the first 18 minutes of the second half. The Buckeyes score, and convert the two-pointer, and it's 21-18. How typical is this scene for the Badgers? But then, one of the great drives I've ever seen got started. 73 yards, 10 plays, great mix of run and pass ... culminated in a TD from our best freshman running back since Ron Dayne. James White is the real deal, and we've got him for three more years. Damn. We might actually win this game after all.
Fast forward to 30 seconds left in the game. The PA announcer says "to all students in sections M, N, O and P, stay in your seats at the end of the game." Mass booing - but I recall what happened in 1993 against Michigan, where lots of people got crushed and several girls almost died. This time, though, they did the smart thing and had the cops actually help people over the railing to avoid people getting hurt. And eventually every student who wanted to be on the field did so - the entire field at one point was pretty much covered with fans. Loud cheering went on for probably another 15 minutes, and it was amazing to see the student body that fired up.
The tailgate picked up where it left off ... we were there til about midnight, then went over to Jingles (or whatever it's called now) til 2, then walked all the way back to the hotel. State Street was still full of revelers. You gotta love Madison.
Speaking of Madison, a lot has changed. Many businesses have turned over in the last 10 years. Probably the most disappointing is that Stillwaters is now ... a Cosi. Ugh. But it's still the same town.
Nicola and I spent about 48 hours in Madison, on a weekend where the main attraction would be the Wisconsin-Ohio State game. But the entire weekend was full of flawless fall weather, and I've never seen the entire town wear so much red. The school spirit has been kicked up another level from when I was there in the 90s.
Friday night, after a nice dinner, we stopped at the Essen Haus, one of those places you have to take someone who has never been to Madison. Nicola's first question was "wait, people actually polka here?"
After the requisite multiple cans of beer consumed, we took our tickets and got to the game. Sitting in the section right next to the students was great - people were really fired up. The team now enters the stadium to them blasting U2's "Where the Streets have No Name" and let me tell you, it got the entire stadium on its feet and absolutely ready to cheer its ass off. The team came blasting out of the tunnel. It was my first night game at Camp Randall but the atmosphere was absolutely electric. 81,000 people on their feet - and with the new stadium setup, it's much louder than it used to be. It was a flawless night for football - probably 65 and not a cloud in the sky at kickoff.
First play, Gilbreath takes it to the house. Hits the seam ... what was most surprising was that for all the vaunted "team speed" of OSU, Gilbreath created more distance between him and his chasers the longer he ran. Immediately, the game felt winnable. What was also surprising was that for all the accolades OSU gets for its D and especially its D line, the Badger offensive linemen blew them off the ball all game long. I've not seen us dominate a supposed top defense like that probably in my entire lifetime.
Two more scores, and we're up 21-0. The text messages are flying in ... "WTF?" "Badgers!!!" "21-0, WTF". But you knew deep down this game wasn't going to be that easy.
For all of the third quarter and to start the fourth, we were getting beat like a rented mule. I figured 'Jump Around' would get the crowd back into it, but overwhelming nervousness about squandering this great chance to win took over. Keep in mind OSU had the ball for all but about 3 mins for the first 18 minutes of the second half. The Buckeyes score, and convert the two-pointer, and it's 21-18. How typical is this scene for the Badgers? But then, one of the great drives I've ever seen got started. 73 yards, 10 plays, great mix of run and pass ... culminated in a TD from our best freshman running back since Ron Dayne. James White is the real deal, and we've got him for three more years. Damn. We might actually win this game after all.
Fast forward to 30 seconds left in the game. The PA announcer says "to all students in sections M, N, O and P, stay in your seats at the end of the game." Mass booing - but I recall what happened in 1993 against Michigan, where lots of people got crushed and several girls almost died. This time, though, they did the smart thing and had the cops actually help people over the railing to avoid people getting hurt. And eventually every student who wanted to be on the field did so - the entire field at one point was pretty much covered with fans. Loud cheering went on for probably another 15 minutes, and it was amazing to see the student body that fired up.
The tailgate picked up where it left off ... we were there til about midnight, then went over to Jingles (or whatever it's called now) til 2, then walked all the way back to the hotel. State Street was still full of revelers. You gotta love Madison.
Speaking of Madison, a lot has changed. Many businesses have turned over in the last 10 years. Probably the most disappointing is that Stillwaters is now ... a Cosi. Ugh. But it's still the same town.
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