Is it just me or was Saturday's effort by the UW student body the lamest attempt to juice up a team since Bill Veeck thought blowing up disco records at Old Comiskey Park would get his players going?
Well, the ensuing riot at Comiskey resulted in a forfeit for the White Sox, but what went down at Camp Randall Saturday afternoon had to be the complete opposite of a riot, so we're just lucky the players didn't fall asleep.
I know a game against Western Illinois isn't the most exciting sporting event in the world, but that doesn't mean some of the best college fans in the nation should act like they just walked out of the Packers-Bears game this past Sunday.
That of course wouldn't apply to you if you were a Bears fan, like I am. Bears fans had much to celebrate on Sunday, but in my opinion, no more than a UW student waking up Saturday morning.
It was the first game day of the year, folks. Jump around.
There is a reason SI On Campus said Wisconsin has the best game day atmosphere, but if you were inside Camp Randall Saturday you might not have seen it out of sections J through P.
Madison was its usual exciting self on Saturday, with every bar and business on Regent Street hopping with cardinal and red. Houses up and down Breese Terrace were filled with students getting ready for the first game of the season.
I don't care who you are playing, the first game of the season is always exciting.
The atmosphere was just as electrifying as it could be for a home opener. I guess the students just forgot the game was starting.
This is my third season of Badger football, and I have never seen the student section completely full at kickoff. It's always been a pet peeve of mine, because really the only reason that students aren't there is because they are too busy drinking. That reason doesn't seem very valid because it's no secret that the students aren't the only ones drinking before the game, but the fans occupying the other 60,000 plus seats in Camp Randall have no problem getting there on time.
There was the Wisconsin student section on Saturday, however, with only Section O filled to the top. Section N was half empty, Section M was more than half empty, and all the student seats in J, K and L were completely empty. Upperclassmen, you aren't off the hook either, because I walked into the stadium about seven minutes before kickoff and was able to get a ticket for row 30 of Section P.
I guess it is ironic that with so many student seats empty, the seats set aside for the band were actually filled with students.
I'm not saying there is anything wrong with consuming a few beverages before a football game. Beer, brats and tailgating have been a more significant part of college football than the BCS has (well at least a part that makes more sense).
Tailgating is to be done before and after the game, however. From kickoff until the end of the game, the fans have a large effect on the game. At Wisconsin, the student section drives the fan base, so when they don't show up until the second quarter it really shouldn't be a surprise if the team starts slow.
Now, Jarvis Minton's decision not to switch the ball over to his opposite hand on the opening kickoff wasn't the students' fault, but that fumble could have proved more costly against a Big Ten team. With lethargic fans comes lethargic football, and if the team isn't pumped up before the game, how can they recover from a slow start?
Obviously a game against Michigan is going to get people to the game earlier than a game against Western Illinois, but those stands weren't full at kickoff for that game last year either.
There have always been those students who are more into drinking and participating in ""Jump Around"" than the game itself. That is quite ironic as well because those students are likely to be falling around rather than jumping around.
It also doesn't make much sense to spend $35 to show up at halftime and stay for one quarter of a football game just so you can hear a song that really has nothing to do with the game.
With that said, when big games go down to the wire at Camp Randall, I certainly pity the road team. Quite frankly, Michigan didn't have a chance last year when the Badgers got the ball for one final drive.
Some of the best fans in college football showed up for that game and it paid off.
There is no reason those same fans can't show up for kickoff.
If you are planning on showing up to the game Saturday at halftime and leaving after ""Jump Around,"" please sell your ticket to one of Adam's roommates who badly want to go to the game. You can contact him at hoge@wisc.edu.
