Madison Experience

[Huskerzoo]

So I'd like to add my input this.

 

I found a small group of Husker fans pre game and we ended up sitting in the student section together. We were in section p around the 5th row up (row ten, but there were a few removed rows). My experiences were as follows: Gameday: a few groups of people giving us the "A-hole" chant, but a really nice group of student (or young 20ish) fans who apologized for their colleges and were quite polite. About half way through, we switched sides (to stage right) where their seemed to be more Husker fans. On this side of the field, the badger fans were obnoxious at best, kept obnoxious jokes running too long and wouldn't shut up. Also one of this group blew smoke in a Husker fans face.

 

Gameday experience with badgers fans grade: C, some good fans some obnoxious fans.

 

After gameday, went to a bar kept on getting greeted by people (all 40 or older) all very nice, good conversation and pretty knowledgeable. There was good beer and no one hassled us, was quite enjoyable overall. We did have a number of people shouting things out of cars at us, usually related to sexuality or sucking. Obnoxious but not bad.

 

Pre-game experience: B, older fans were great, no one really bugging us.

 

Game experience in the student section. This was where I figured things would get bad, on the more tame side of things I was expecting the "A-hole" chant pretty regularly, I also was expecting a lot of the more screwed up stuff people had been talking about. While waiting in line about 2 hours before the game, I chatted up a UW student who proved to be really helpful. He explained which gates were good to go to and why, as well as a bunch of the schools traditions. We had one "A-hole" chant, but it was by a guy I was talking to, he said he felt obligated because we were opposing fans in their section, we laughed about it afterwards. Got into the section and low and behold everyone around us was really enjoyable. Spent the game talking to talking to just about every UW student around us, and none of them said anything bad. Even when the Huskers were up for a while, everyone was enjoyable, and asking questions about how we played. I think about 3 or 4 times during the game we got the "A-hole" chant, but we took it in stride (there were 6 husker fans in a row). I wish I had gotten the students names around us to say thanks, but whatever, wasn't really in the mood by the end of the game.

 

Overall: A, great experience, no complaints.

 

Postgame was a whole different story. Once we were out of the student section into the stadium, we had students intentionally running into us, and a lot of vitriolic insults and comments. This would be nothing compared to what we got walking to our friends house after the game. Walking by parties, we heard more of the same, go die, I hope your car crashes, lots of random pejoratives for homosexuality, and just general nastiness. Had a few guys try to provoke me into a fight despite me not saying anything to them.

 

Overall: F, this is where I really had problems, people should be a little graceful in victory, or at least not threaten people. At this point I was in a bad mood, and just plain tired, I didn't need that garbage.

 

So overall I think the problem is this. The younger (not just students, cause the students around me were great) fans get their jollies not by holding up their team, but by throwing sand in the eyes of the other teams fans. I by no means expect to have a red carpet rolled out for me, but I do expect some common human decency, something that I did not frequently see. I do want to give out a shoutout to student section P, overall really classy group of people, even after the game walking to the exit, I was able to just say congrats, good luck on the rest of your season and have them say the same.

 

Edit for typos and grammar. I'm really tired, just got back to Michigan.

Edited October 3, 2011 by Huskerzoo

[Stormcloud]

I will say this. Badger fans that come to Lincoln next year, might want to keep their gear at home in case Wisconsin wins. Based on what I've seen in the past, wearing opposing team gear at Memorial Stadium is like wearing a target on your back if your team wins.

[Badger_HB]

You'll have to excuse some Badger students. They haven't graduated from 4th grade yet, nor have they learned to control their alcohol consumption.

 

Sorry about your postgame experiences, Huskerzoo.

[beanman]

I will say this. Badger fans that come to Lincoln next year, might want to keep their gear at home in case Wisconsin wins. Based on what I've seen in the past, wearing opposing team gear at Memorial Stadium is like wearing a target on your back if your team wins.

 

You're joking right?

[Badger_HB]

I will say this. Badger fans that come to Lincoln next year, might want to keep their gear at home in case Wisconsin wins. Based on what I've seen in the past, wearing opposing team gear at Memorial Stadium is like wearing a target on your back if your team wins.

 

You're joking right?

Haha don't they stand and applaud the other team as it leaves the field, win or lose?

 

Sounds real hostile to me.

[Stormcloud]

I will say this. Badger fans that come to Lincoln next year, might want to keep their gear at home in case Wisconsin wins. Based on what I've seen in the past, wearing opposing team gear at Memorial Stadium is like wearing a target on your back if your team wins.

 

You're joking right?

 

Nope. Dead serious. Is it really surprising that the media in this state doesn't report anything negative about Husker fans?

[beanman]

I will say this. Badger fans that come to Lincoln next year, might want to keep their gear at home in case Wisconsin wins. Based on what I've seen in the past, wearing opposing team gear at Memorial Stadium is like wearing a target on your back if your team wins.

 

You're joking right?

 

Nope. Dead serious. Is it really surprising that the media in this state doesn't report anything negative about Husker fans?

 

Examples?

[Excel]

A little off topic but it fits here with "Madison Experience"...a gallery of yesterday's action...some very cool pictures of both sides.

 

 

One of my favorites...

 

 

Is he a regular at home games? Kind of corny but still funny.

[Stormcloud]

I've seen visiting fans(including kids) verbally attacked, spat on, sodas dumped on them, and I've even seen Husker fans trying to start a fight with them. All this was between the stadium and the parking lots.

[TAW]

OK, I'll put it on the line. I hereby extend an invitation to tailgate with my group for the next Nebraska game in Madison. I want you to have a good time and, while we are not as young as we sometimes think we are, we still have fun and love college football. When people are new to a city, it can be hard to figure out areas to avoid without a guide (and every community has these). I love Madison and UW and want you all to enjoy the experience.

 

If there is some way to private message on this board, let me know how to do it. If not, I will post my "public" email address, although that can get a bit messy.

[hopittome]

Pretty sure the only vulgar chant I took part in was the "f#*k Lee Corso" one. I can guarantee that Badger fans will never let him forget his choice yesterday.

 

Also, you guys are in desperate need of a bar guide! You took over the super-sh**ty bars on State Street--Mondays, Whisky River, etc. Next time you go to Madison, hit up Maduro or the Old Fashioned. They're much nicer bars and aren't filled to the brim with undergrads.

[TomDace]

A few things here...

 

Huskerzoo, I am curious as to what you (or anyone else who was there) specifically thought about the stuff that happened in the stadium that doesn't get talked about. Jump Around is what gets the publicity but the singing, the interplay between sections, the wave, etc. I've had friends come to games there from all over the country....SEC and Pac12 schools is what they know and they've scratched their heads, laughed, scratched their heads some more and still talk about it.

 

I don't condone the vulgarity and as others have said don't let that give you a bad impression of UW fans. Most thing the ES-FU stuff is childish and you should ignore it but it's become so ingrained in the students carrying it on year after year that it's something that won't go away so you have to live with.

 

With that said, I am going to call out anyone who was shocked by the ES-FU and the a-hole chants because all you had to do was just a little bit of homework. Ask on the UW boards what a game is like for a visiting fan and you would've heard about this stuff. I know I saw it on here in the past few days and maybe months ago also. You'll find threads upon threads and mentions about how this is stupid.

 

As UW fans a reason why we might be skeptical of the horror stories is because of the chairleg thing I referenced earlier. A few years ago there was a ridiculous claim made by a Minnesota fan about an incident where a Badger fan was harassing a guy's wife and they got into a fight. If I remember this right this Gopher fan then fought off the perp by breaking apart a chairleg in a restaurant and jamming it into the eye socket of this Badger fan. This was posted on the gopherhole and others bought it hook line and sinker. It was quickly shown to be spawned from the delusional mind and it has become a running joke. I'm pretty sure that thread is archived on Buckyville somewhere and will give you a peek into the minds who you have to deal with when you face Minnesota.

 

Anyway....it's unfortunate that there were some bad things that happened and I'm not going to defend the actions of a few. Crappy stuff happens everywhere. A bunch of years ago a Tennessee fan was killed in a fight in Gainesville. That's not an indictment on all Gator fans, it's just proof that there are jerks wherever you go.

 

I have two related theories as to why the ugliest of the ugly things might have happened. 1) Nebraska wears red. Some of these younger Badger fans might have been too lubricated or haven't been paying attention to know that this was a red team not from Columbus, Ohio. Revisit this thread after you go there to compare. You'll think your time interacting with us was mild. and 2) Nebraska is west of Wisconsin. We are new to this whole "when visitors come from the west we should get along with them" idea. It's impossible to take Minnesota seriously as they try to tell us that they have the better program because they won games during the Great Depression and the Wisconsin-Iowa thing is a result of both programs being mirror images of each other and it feels like a sibling rivalry with the brother you absolutely despise.

[Excel]

A few things here...

 

Huskerzoo, I am curious as to what you (or anyone else who was there) specifically thought about the stuff that happened in the stadium that doesn't get talked about. Jump Around is what gets the publicity but the singing, the interplay between sections, the wave, etc. I've had friends come to games there from all over the country....SEC and Pac12 schools is what they know and they've scratched their heads, laughed, scratched their heads some more and still talk about it.

 

I don't condone the vulgarity and as others have said don't let that give you a bad impression of UW fans. Most thing the ES-FU stuff is childish and you should ignore it but it's become so ingrained in the students carrying it on year after year that it's something that won't go away so you have to live with.

 

With that said, I am going to call out anyone who was shocked by the ES-FU and the a-hole chants because all you had to do was just a little bit of homework. Ask on the UW boards what a game is like for a visiting fan and you would've heard about this stuff. I know I saw it on here in the past few days and maybe months ago also. You'll find threads upon threads and mentions about how this is stupid.

 

As UW fans a reason why we might be skeptical of the horror stories is because of the chairleg thing I referenced earlier. A few years ago there was a ridiculous claim made by a Minnesota fan about an incident where a Badger fan was harassing a guy's wife and they got into a fight. If I remember this right this Gopher fan then fought off the perp by breaking apart a chairleg in a restaurant and jamming it into the eye socket of this Badger fan. This was posted on the gopherhole and others bought it hook line and sinker. It was quickly shown to be spawned from the delusional mind and it has become a running joke. I'm pretty sure that thread is archived on Buckyville somewhere and will give you a peek into the minds who you have to deal with when you face Minnesota.

 

Anyway....it's unfortunate that there were some bad things that happened and I'm not going to defend the actions of a few. Crappy stuff happens everywhere. A bunch of years ago a Tennessee fan was killed in a fight in Gainesville. That's not an indictment on all Gator fans, it's just proof that there are jerks wherever you go.

 

I have two related theories as to why the ugliest of the ugly things might have happened. 1) Nebraska wears red. Some of these younger Badger fans might have been too lubricated or haven't been paying attention to know that this was a red team not from Columbus, Ohio. Revisit this thread after you go there to compare. You'll think your time interacting with us was mild. and 2) Nebraska is west of Wisconsin. We are new to this whole "when visitors come from the west we should get along with them" idea. It's impossible to take Minnesota seriously as they try to tell us that they have the better program because they won games during the Great Depression and the Wisconsin-Iowa thing is a result of both programs being mirror images of each other and it feels like a sibling rivalry with the brother you absolutely despise.

 

QFT and on the "Crappy Stuff happens everywhere note" a fan died at the Carolina-Bama game last year after a fight at a tailgate and in the LSU-WVU game this year a Pregnant woman and her Husband were beaten so you just have to put it into perspective.

[Huskerzoo]

A few things here...

 

Huskerzoo, I am curious as to what you (or anyone else who was there) specifically thought about the stuff that happened in the stadium that doesn't get talked about. Jump Around is what gets the publicity but the singing, the interplay between sections, the wave, etc. I've had friends come to games there from all over the country....SEC and Pac12 schools is what they know and they've scratched their heads, laughed, scratched their heads some more and still talk about it.

 

I don't condone the vulgarity and as others have said don't let that give you a bad impression of UW fans. Most thing the ES-FU stuff is childish and you should ignore it but it's become so ingrained in the students carrying it on year after year that it's something that won't go away so you have to live with.

 

With that said, I am going to call out anyone who was shocked by the ES-FU and the a-hole chants because all you had to do was just a little bit of homework. Ask on the UW boards what a game is like for a visiting fan and you would've heard about this stuff. I know I saw it on here in the past few days and maybe months ago also. You'll find threads upon threads and mentions about how this is stupid.

 

As UW fans a reason why we might be skeptical of the horror stories is because of the chairleg thing I referenced earlier. A few years ago there was a ridiculous claim made by a Minnesota fan about an incident where a Badger fan was harassing a guy's wife and they got into a fight. If I remember this right this Gopher fan then fought off the perp by breaking apart a chairleg in a restaurant and jamming it into the eye socket of this Badger fan. This was posted on the gopherhole and others bought it hook line and sinker. It was quickly shown to be spawned from the delusional mind and it has become a running joke. I'm pretty sure that thread is archived on Buckyville somewhere and will give you a peek into the minds who you have to deal with when you face Minnesota.

 

Anyway....it's unfortunate that there were some bad things that happened and I'm not going to defend the actions of a few. Crappy stuff happens everywhere. A bunch of years ago a Tennessee fan was killed in a fight in Gainesville. That's not an indictment on all Gator fans, it's just proof that there are jerks wherever you go.

 

I have two related theories as to why the ugliest of the ugly things might have happened. 1) Nebraska wears red. Some of these younger Badger fans might have been too lubricated or haven't been paying attention to know that this was a red team not from Columbus, Ohio. Revisit this thread after you go there to compare. You'll think your time interacting with us was mild. and 2) Nebraska is west of Wisconsin. We are new to this whole "when visitors come from the west we should get along with them" idea. It's impossible to take Minnesota seriously as they try to tell us that they have the better program because they won games during the Great Depression and the Wisconsin-Iowa thing is a result of both programs being mirror images of each other and it feels like a sibling rivalry with the brother you absolutely despise.

 

I actually spent 8 years in Milwaukee and graduated from UWM, so I knew exactly what I was getting into. I liked the interaction between student sections, it's clear they have fun with it. It was kind of annoying because I really wanted to focus on the game, but I knew that was a part of it. The ES-FU chants and stuff like that I have no problem with at all. I don't have a problem with the a-hole chant either. I was actually trying to get them louder so that people knew there were Husker fans everywhere. The singing was fun too, the students just seemed to be having fun. There were a few times that I remember being confused, like the "chomping"...still don't get where that started, I get its function though.

 

But yeah, I did my research and had a background in the state, so none of the traditions surprised me. The things that caught me a bit off guard were the constant pejoratives of homosexuality that were thrown around (I know Madison as a very liberal/progressive city) and the I hope you die an awful death stuff/fighting attitude at the end of the game.

 

Getting way too rambly, it's bed time. Will reply more tomorrow.

 

@ TAW click on a user name to send them a private message.

[panther7]

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.