ESPN.com recently posted an interesting piece on gameday in Madison, part of what appears to be an Orbitz-sponsored series called Pilgrimage. It's not the most insightful piece to a UW alum, but it sure makes me long for autumn in Madison -- and excited to be making the trip to see my homeys next weekend for the Minnesota game.
A couple thoughts on this piece:
-The story references the Babcock Hall Dairy Store which serves Berry Alvarez ice cream. Apparently, it is a state law that any national story or broadcast covering a Badger game and the scene around it mention this.
But ... I've never been there. Have you? Not once in my four years on campus, not once since. I'm sure it's good ice cream, but this place's popularity seems as much a creation of the university PR machine as anything.
-What do you think about this line?
- The level of passion in the student section rises to that of a Duke basketball game, even if the IQ level does not. Vulgar T-shirts are to Camp Randall what clever chants are to Cameron Indoor Stadium. So much for being gracious hosts. But the Badgers will bounce back. They certainly have before.
-What do you think of this line?
- UW-Madison is rated 38th in the U.S. World and News Report's 2008 list of best colleges, so you might have received a better education at the college you attended. But you probably didn't have as much fun as they do here.
Why am I so sensitive today?
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10 comments:
My wife and I, along with our children including one grandchild traveled to Wisconsin to see a Gopher-Badger football game at Camp Randall several years ago and were witnesses to the obscene vulgarity of Wisconsin patrons in the student section. I've traveled the world and never have seen such poor behavior. They should be at an asylum for mentally impaired. You couldn't get me to attend another event in Madison
When I was a teenager the ES-FU back and forth made me giggle. Now as a parent, I cringe even when I hear it in the background of a TV broadcast. How am I going to explain it to the boys when I start taking them to games? I, too, hope that at some point the vulgarity will be cut back on and the student section will stick to clean-cut rowdiness.
I go to the Dairy Store. The early season games on my walk back to Lot 60, I hit the store with my two young daughters who love to get ice cream.
I think this article is from last year as it refers to the Badgers playing Michigan at home.
As far as the vulgarity, almost all college kids swear incessantly when drunk. Almost all college kids are drunk at these games. Therefore, there's going to be a lot of swearing and I doubt it will ever change, especially if older people complain about it.
Maybe that's it, I never get to the Lakeshore any more except for Crazylegs. I'll have to do it sometime soon, you never need an excuse to eat ice cream.
Babcock Hall ice cream is pretty good. I went there a fair amount when I was a kid, Scott, though Michael's was and remains more of a desired destination for frozen dairy concoctions.
And yeah, I agree, Duke basketball fans are better-- clever, more creative, and far more into the game. But I bet there are just as many Wisconsin fans who are at the same level, it's just that the entire student section at Camp Randall is at least twice as big as the whole crowd at Cameron.
Parking can be difficult at Babcock as well, and as you mention, it's somewhat out of the way.
It's funny, before I clicked on the link I guessed correctly that Mickies was also going to be on the list. I think I went to that place perhaps once in four years (although it was a good experience). Granted, I never really lived in that area of town, but it's funny how that's always mentioned as well.
The older I get, the more I notice how idiot fan behavior (whether it's by the students or "adults") irks me. If I pay money to go to the game, I'd like it to be free of obscene chants or people constantly moving along the row, fans who think it's their job to get you fired up. Stuff like that.
Since graduating, I have only heard how more difficult it is to get into Madison out-of-state, and I'm guessing the same applies to Wisconsin residents as well. And I'm guessing the guy didn't receive the press release from a couple of years ago when UW had as many Fortune 500 CEOs as Harvard.
I went (once) last year, years after I graduated, after the Indiana football game. I had Berry Alvarez, which was good! There was only 2 other people in the whole dairy store though. Abandoned. I had never been there as a student, even though I lived in showerman
I, too, have never been there, but I remember eating the ice cream at the dorm cafeterias.
I'm with you, Will. I just think people make asses of themselves at events when they're crass and vulgar. I don't mind some razzing and yelling (and even a small dose of vulgarity) as long as it's clever. Now that I've got a kid, I'm not looking forward to try and explain that behavior at some sporting events.
Here's another take on gameday in Madison.
http://www.milforddailynews.com/sports/pros_and_colleges/x221225430/Smith-Camp-Randall-tales
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