panther7

That police horse probably deserved it. Seriously, those mounties are dicks on game day...

If you are considering your guests as unwanted ones, that's going to pretty much explain your behavior, now isn't it? I'm not trying to justify anything.... I'm trying to put it in perspective. I want to make that clear. We know we come across rough, and it's intentional. It really is. But it's done in jest. We don't take it seriously. We're just talking smack for the sake of talking smack and aren't going to get offended when you talk it back (in a non-hostile manner) The end result is talking football or buying drinks (i bought a round of the nastiest shot i could request for a group of husker fans after the game... I told them I'd help them in their effort to forget that game forever). And yes. Don't doubt there is a badger fan somewhere that wishes he had your ticket that you used. It's not like if you didn't use your ticket, that seat would remain empty. And as a student, I would want them to have it over you. The best way to look at our rudeness is to realize it's not personal. It's more like a family member who beat you down in a fantasy football match and has called you every day to remind you of how terrible your team is and that your ineptness led the way for your failure. You can sit there and be miserable, or you can get into the game and give it back. It's far more fun when there's a little adrenaline pumping and anticipation for the next matchup you get.

It's definitely the perspective of the loud group (which is what I'm trying to explain to them), but I wouldn't call it a "minority." And the .2 was a little exaggeration. Half of them might be at .1 near the end of the game.

Oh, you're a packer fan too? *high-five*

I read through this as I was curious as to what the consensus was based on some incidents I saw... then I read some comments and I think some explaining needs to be done. A few things I feel should be clarified before I lecture... First off, I am a student. A grad student, but a student. I'm on the older end. Second, I know nothing about your school's football culture (other than that you guys are big fans and have a long tradition with football). A short story first: On friday night, I had to make a trip up and down state street several times. During these sober trips, I witness three intense NU/UW confrontations (only one of which devolved to a fist fight). And despite what you might be thinking, none of these were the fault of the UW student. All of them were the fault of the NU person (mind you, I was sober). However, I have no doubt that the NU person thought they were the victim of some travesty perpetrated by some drunk kid. I don't see this sh#t with Mich or tOSU, or even iowa or minny. And there are several reasons for it, which I hope I can shed some light on. LESSON 1.) State street is not the place for pissed up adults. I know you hear all the time about how state street is a thing that defines Madison, and it's true, it is. But at 1am on a friday night, that is the COLLEGE STRIP. It's not a place to bring family values after 9pm. Also, don't bring Grandma to the KK. It's like a priest walking into a strip bar and being offended by nudity. Know what you're getting into. There are bars for older people further up state street by the capital. Go to the bars on the square or the near east side if you get offended by teenagers hurling insults. Please, on the same note, learn how to hold alcohol when you're over the age of 30. I saw an ungodly amount of you blackshirts unable to stand despite being upwards of 40. It seemed like everyone got the same tips for "places to go" and then proceeded to get wasted at them en masse on friday night. Also, drinking on state street is social until 11pm. You don't get wasted drunk before then. Because when you do, you irritate all the sober badger fans having a nice evening. Most importantly, friday night is not a football night for us, it's a get-drunk-and-find-girl-on-dancefloor night. We're not thinking football yet (for the most part). We're still on a college friday night, which you're ruining it by going to party bars and spouting your pride instead of facilitating our real desires (hint: it's meeting your daughters, not you). You irritate us when you break up our night, and because of that...... LESSON 2.) This is our house. And we WILL protect it. You were seriously up there with tOSU fans for obnoxious self aggrandizing behavior. I heard that stupid "goooooo biiiiiiiig reeeeeeeed" chant like every 15 seconds in the two hours i was out. It's fine that you have that, I applaud the spirit. But that sh#t does get obnoxious at some point. You can't come to our house and think we're just gonna sheep up when you basically are calling us out in our home every third storefront/commercial break. You're going to get it dealt back. You have to expect this. Maybe it wasn't you being the obnoxious one, but someone from your team pissed us off first. I'm not saying this as a generalization of your people, but I think it's necessary to make you aware of behavior that came from your side. In the big ten (or at least in madison), a guest should be humble. Fly your colors, but also remember that you are also the guest... and a generally unwanted one at that. LESSON 3.) Loosen up. Our rude and vulgar humor IS our way of welcoming you. I understand that a lot of people find this tasteless and such, and we get crap from alumni/administration for it, but it's just the way it's done here. The part you need to understand is that it's not mean spirited. I can totally understand how it is taken the wrong way a lot of the time if you don't understand that it's a joke or light-hearted in nature. The correct response isn't to flip the bird. It's not to get up in their grill or initiate physical contact.... the correct response is to sheepishly take it or respond in similar banter (emphasis added for preferred response). When we're out, we're out to have fun. Not to start fights, not to simply be dicks. We are the same way if we are undefeated or using our season to do our best Minny impression. It's very tongue in cheek (as are most traditions due to our history). We just happen to be good now and I think you mistake this behavior for arrogance. Be a little looser and you'll find yourself having a hell of a lot more fun. LESSON 4.) It's a party, with a football game happening. Now maybe you don't like the way we do things... I get that. But I think understanding what they are and where they come from is important to understand our football culture. Other B1G teams have been around enough to understand that this is just what we do and they at least understand the WHY. Our team used to be TERRRRRRIBLE, and the party was the reason students went to games. And despite our recent success, it still is. We wake up at 8am to start drinking. By gametime, most of us are in the bag. If you want nice polite sendoffs, you're not going to get one. Not because we're bad people, we're just waaaay to drunk to have sportsmanship cross our mind. Despite the alcohol ban, there is still an obscene amount of liquor in the student section during a game. We're not dropping below .2 the entire time (and I'm being generous). Now if you don't remember what it's like to be at a raging party when you're 20-21, I'll remind you. You can't see straight, you don't think, you live in the moment, you make plenty of questionable decisions, and anytime you're told to do something by authorities - you do the exact opposite. That's what the student section is. We're partying, and we don't give a damn about you, your kids, or your expectations of our behavior. From my limited knowledge of the Big 8/12, this is the biggest culture difference. We're not there for the game -- we're there for the party. Post game party will be the same, win or lose. Winning just means we get to taunt you for a bit, kind of like when you beat your little brother in your head to head fantasy football match. LESSON 5.) Party with us. I think this one needs to be said, because I just didn't see it. On Friday OR Saturday night. You were doing your own things on friday night and just getting in our way, and you were all waaaay too serious about the football game on saturday. I understand that may be the way you do things, but if you're going to have fun visiting madison, you'll have to suspend that attitude for a weekend or you're going to have a lot less fun than you should be having. Just a note from some horror stories: Yes, there will be the occasional kid who will take it to far. Just tell him straight up "that's not cool." and move on. They are doing it to rile you up, and they are drunk. And oftentimes, so drunk they aren't making it home on their own. Sometimes a line gets crossed, and they just need to be reminded that they crossed it. With 80k, you're going to have a few bad apples. I'm not condoning behavior such as homophobic slurs, racial slurs, or anything of that nature. I don't think any of us would, and if I ever heard someone using that in an inappropriate way I would stop them. Don't for a second think that's representative of us as a whole. tl;dr version: We'd rather your tickets were going to badger fans, but since we have to deal with you... you might as well joing the f'ing party and have a good time without stepping on our toes.