Davisra1

I feel your pain. I live in Madison & am a UW-Madison grad. My boss is a die-hard Ohio State Buckeye fan. He proudly flies his Buckeye Flag in the front yard of his Madison home all during football season. We've worked together for 20+ years now. At the time I started working with Skip the Badgers were the worst team in the Big 10. We lost to everyone except Ball State that first year (I think it was 1990 or 1991). Talk about embarassing! However, I think it was 1992 - we lost most of our games but beat Ohio State (that made our season - pretty sad, huh?). Skip said his most vivid memory of that awful day (for him, anyway) was the drunken Badger fans proudly saluting his Buckeye flag while serenading the neighborhood with Wisconsin's "Varsity". Since then we've had our good times & bad times. Last year had to be the pits for him. Wisconsin beat Ohio State's football team (ranked #1 in the country at the time) on national TV. We went on to beat Ohio State's men's basketball team (ranked #1 in the country at the time), also on national TV. It was a lot of fun ribbing him, but I knew not to push too hard. Good-natured ribbing back & forth is expected. You know if you lose this time you'll likely win next time. As long as both parties keep it civil, rivalries like this make hum drum office life so much more enjoyable. Especially when you also have a co-worker from Iowa (she's not a happy camper these days), several from hapless Minnesota (it must really suck to be a Minnesota sports fan these days - what with the winless Vikings and lousy Gophers. Hee hee.), and even some mis-guided Chicago Bears fans. Since I can so strongly remember the days when my team was the Big-10 doormat, I know not to gloat too much at someone else's misery. So...just keep things good-natured, suck it up & get back to work. Your co-workers will probably tease you for awhile, but you will earn their respect as you stand tall & take the ribbing. You can do it! Someday the tables will be turned (probably when you least expect it) and then it will be YOUR turn to gloat. As a side note - my husband & I went to the game & we were both really impressed by how many Nebraska fans came & how passionate they are about their Huskers. The black shirts were really cool too. We're glad you've joined the Big-10!

The chant of "Big 10 Football" had more to do with your Nebraska sportswriters than anything else. We DO NOT think you come from a soft conference - quite the contrary. What we read in various Nebraska publications & forums prior to tonight's game was how weak the Big 10 was, how your being in this new Conference may not work to your advantage because you were so much better than the competition you'd be facing in the Big 10, etc. Seemed arrogant somehow. We also remember a number of articles from when you folks got rid of Bill Callahan - saying he should go back to the Big Ten because Big Ten football isn't Nebraska football. Maybe he wasn't the right fit for you - that's okay. But the implication that Big Ten football wasn't up to the caliber of Nebraska football wasn't forgotten. So, welcome to the Big Ten. Our conference may not be the strongest this year, but we have a lot of respect for each other and some years are goofier than others. I never thought I'd live to see the day that Ohio State would be 3-2 after 5 games. The hospitals in Columbus are probably overflowing with heart failure victims! Beware of teams like Michigan State & Northwestern - they're usually tougher than they get credit for. Also, the student section sings along to a number of songs that are rotated by whoever's playing music. "Build Me Up Buttercup", Brown-Eyed Girl", "Sweet Caroline", "Cecilia", and "Twist & Shout" are some of the more popular ones. I'm amazed the kids know these songs that were popular back when I was in high school (shows how old I am). Many of our traditions (the tubas marching & playing during the 4th quarter, pom pon girls making the rounds during the 3rd quarter, the "Student Section Race", etc.) were started back when our football team was so lousy no one wanted to watch the game. We had to find other ways to have fun that didn't involve body passing and throwing things. I can still remember many many games like what poor Minnesota had today (losing 58-0). Not much to cheer about.

Alas, what was also very noticeable was the huge exodus of blackshirts around the end of the 3rd quarter - seriously, the aisles in the upper deck were actually black with departing fans. Four Nebraska gentlemen seated in the row in front of us were so pumped till about half-time. There was also a very vocal middle-aged Nebraska lady seated about 3 rows behind me - I seriously thought she'd blow out a tonsil with all the screaming she did. Throughout the 3rd quarter both the screaming lady & the 4 gentlemen got progressively quieter and more glum looking. Finally they all slunk off - just before "Jump Around". It was also kind of sad to see the huge sections of blackshirts just sitting like lumps during the massive 4th quarter "wave". The Nebraska fans sprinkled in the other sections joined in the wave, but the main section just behind the band and along the Nebraska sideline just sat there. I suppose if I had been in their situation I'd not be inclined to jump around too much either, but I'd never leave a Badger game that early.

Thanks for the kind words. We were at the game and were really impressed by the number of Nebraska fans that likely paid a lot of $ to see their team. While I'm not sorry you had to go home disappointed, I do agree with your assessment of our SOS. You have to understand - my husband & I been season-ticket holders for 30+ years now, and this is the FIRST time Wisconsin has ever even been mentioned as a potential National Title contender. We've suffered through many seasons like poor Minnesota is having now (I distinctly remember being creamed by Ohio State 55-3 back in the late 80s). While we've had some terrific teams lately, won 3 Rose Bowls, etc. we still don't get the same respect as say, Ohio State and Michigan. I really think that no matter what we do, we'll never be thought of in the same rarified air as those two teams. So...this talk of National Title? Ha Ha Ha. Sure thing. Dream on. It'll likely never happen in my lifetime. But stranger things have happened I guess. I never thought I'd live to see Wisconsin in a Rose Bowl - when the 1993-94 Badgers won the Big 10 & went to the Rose Bowl, we had 80,000+ fans there - sportscasters called it "Camp Randall West". I still think the big demand for that game was because other Badger fans were thinking what we thought - we better go now because we'll be 89 years old before that ever happens again. Same idea with this talk of a National Title - if the Badgers should actually be in that game I think half the state of Wisconsin would be there too! But, as you say, the SOS will likely do us in. We just have to keep taking care of business & hope someone ahead of us loses. In the meantime, welcome to the Big Ten. Good luck next week against Ohio State. I don't know if you noticed the cheering when the scoreboard announced they'd been beaten by Michigan State. We all feel SO SORRY about that!! They, Michigan & Michigan State are the scary ones this year.