New Trophy Game vs. Wisconsin

[knapplc]

I am sure the first 5 years those were introduced people didnt care.. takes time for these things to become meaningful... if the trophy is something unique ala the axe) eventually people might care.

The Governor's Cup rivalry has roots to the 1800s, so those fans were invested in it from the beginning. Paul Bunyan's Axe dates to the 1940s, replacing the old "slab of bacon" (not kidding) trophy, so there's another the fans have been invested in since the inception.

 

Basically what I'm saying is, don't say, "Here's a rivalry and here's the trophy you're going to play for, so start caring.... NOW!" Let it grow, let the trophy have some kind of meaning, let the rivalry actually matter before starting up these trophy games. It makes more sense and feels more natural.

[Redux]

Im sure that Paul Bunyans axe means a hell of alot more to the players than it does to the fans. Sure the fans wanna see it carried off by their team, but its the players who earn it and get to see it every day. The next week the fans mostly forget about it.

 

Its more for the players. The fans get bragging rights at the checkout line.

 

Geez knapp, first you dont want it, now its for the fans? Which side of the fence are you on sir?

[papersun87]

 

I am sure the first 5 years those were introduced people didnt care.. takes time for these things to become meaningful... if the trophy is something unique ala the axe) eventually people might care.

The Governor's Cup rivalry has roots to the 1800s, so those fans were invested in it from the beginning. Paul Bunyan's Axe dates to the 1940s, replacing the old "slab of bacon" (not kidding) trophy, so there's another the fans have been invested in since the inception.

 

Basically what I'm saying is, don't say, "Here's a rivalry and here's the trophy you're going to play for, so start caring.... NOW!" Let it grow, let the trophy have some kind of meaning, let the rivalry actually matter before starting up these trophy games. It makes more sense and feels more natural.

 

please bring this back.

[knapplc]

Im sure that Paul Bunyans axe means a hell of alot more to the players than it does to the fans. Sure the fans wanna see it carried off by their team, but its the players who earn it and get to see it every day. The next week the fans mostly forget about it.

 

Its more for the players. The fans get bragging rights at the checkout line.

 

Geez knapp, first you dont want it, now its for the fans? Which side of the fence are you on sir?

 

 

You're sure the Axe means more to the players - despite not talking to either players or fans involved. There's a bit of a problem with that logic that should be pretty obvious. It doesn't take much work on google to find articles, forum discussions & the like discussing these rivalry games - among fans. Do that, read some of those discussions, then come back and let's talk about who's more interested, the players or the fans.

 

I was watching Husker Football 20 years before any of our current players were born. I'm going to go ahead and say I've got a bit more of my life invested in "Husker" things than some college kids who only chose to come here within the last five years, at most.

 

My stance on this has been pretty clear throughout this thread. The discussion of who's more interested in these trophies has nothing to do with the discussion of whether pre-fab "rivalries" should exist (they shouldn't).

 

It's like buying a suit - bespoke is always better than off the rack.

[BIGREDIOWAN]

Great, another trophy game, quit trying to force rivalries B1G! Just let them happen over time and develop over time!

[GSG]

I can't get the image of a little Barry Alvarez trophy out of my mind

[papersun87]

I can't get the image of a little Barry Alvarez trophy out of my mind

"Little"? No, sir. LIFE-SIZE.

[knapplc]

 

I can't get the image of a little Barry Alvarez trophy out of my mind

"Little"? No, sir. LIFE-SIZE.

 

Carved from a single, flawless, giant red ruby.

[NUpolo8]

How about the traveling team just stops at one of the few hundred roadside porn stops in between the two schools and picks up a little something to play for each year?

 

2014 Nebraska v Wisconsin IN THE BATTLE FOR THE OLD OAKEN FLESHLIGHT

[Redux]

Oh cool, the age argument....

 

So these forums you speak of, the players voice their opinion just as much as the fans? And I was just using that one as an example. Pick any of the B1G trophies and I would have to assume it means more to current and past players and coaches than it does to most fans. Sure some fans get pretty invested in rivalries, but how many ever actually touch the trophy?

[Wisconsin33]

Do Badger fans care about The Axe? Absolutely!

 

That behemoth was introduced in 1948, as another poster alluded to, to replace the Old Slab of Bacon trophy that had disappeared a few years before that. The Axe commemorated what was already an extremely heated rivalry that already had 57 meetings. That means that it already had extreme significance to both players and fans.

 

Today (and since 2003) The Axe is displayed in a massive glass trophy case in the middle of the Wisconsin locker room to serve as year-round motivation to the team. For fans, the significance is visible when thousands stick around after the Minnesota game to watch the goalposts get chopped down, and as the sidelines are packed with people who want to get a chance to touch the trophy as the players take a lap around the stadium with it. The Axe is also brought and displayed across the State during various festivals, The Wisconsin State Fair, county fairs and Badger athletic events.

The trophy with Iowa also took some immediate significance because it also commemorates a preexisting rivalry and history, but it is certainly less important than The Axe.

[huKSer]

Bucky's opinion is ;. . . .

[NUance]

I can't get the image of a little Barry Alvarez trophy out of my mind

 

The similarity is remarkable.

 

_____

[sd'sker]

 

As a fan...you probably shouldn't care. I think it's more for the players involved, who walk by it every day and relive the win in their heads. I dunno. I never understood the point but I don't think it's for the fans as much as it is for the players who are actually playing the game.

ExactlY. Its for the players. Not grumpy dudes on a message board.

 

this does not make sense. most fans grow up hating their rival and there is history there. most players are from out of state and just want to perform well and win. of course the trophy and bragging rights mean more to the fans. bob stoops had to educate his players on why the nu-ou rivalry was important because otherwise they would have never known. and, you seem more concerned about forming a rivalry than anyone, player or fan.

[knapplc]

Do Badger fans care about The Axe? Absolutely!

 

That behemoth was introduced in 1948, as another poster alluded to, to replace the Old Slab of Bacon trophy that had disappeared a few years before that. The Axe commemorated what was already an extremely heated rivalry that already had 57 meetings. That means that it already had extreme significance to both players and fans.

 

Today (and since 2003) The Axe is displayed in a massive glass trophy case in the middle of the Wisconsin locker room to serve as year-round motivation to the team. For fans, the significance is visible when thousands stick around after the Minnesota game to watch the goalposts get chopped down, and as the sidelines are packed with people who want to get a chance to touch the trophy as the players take a lap around the stadium with it. The Axe is also brought and displayed across the State during various festivals, The Wisconsin State Fair, county fairs and Badger athletic events.

 

The trophy with Iowa also took some immediate significance because it also commemorates a preexisting rivalry and history, but it is certainly less important than The Axe.

 

 

Thank you. There's only so much sense you can speak without being believed. An outside opinion is what we needed. Much appreciated.