For years we heard the excuse.
It's that damn ticket lottery. Too many unworthy fans and non-fans who just want to scalp tickets got them. That was why the student section was never full at kickoff and often didn't come close until deep into the first quarter.
So what's the excuse now?
The game's too early? The opponents are not good enough? The ticket website somehow screwed the dedicated fan out of his rightful ticket?
Well, Northern Illinois was in the late afternoon. Michigan State and Fresno State were both good opponents. Yet in every game this season, the student section was less than half full (and often far less) when the game began.
Nothing was fixed because the lottery was never the problem. The first-come, first-serve apologists ignore the fact that having to get up early on one morning would probably not deter any student who wanted to sell their tickets (in fact, based on the attendance, extra money would probably be a better motivator than actually having the opportunity to go to the game).
But in truth, the problem here is much simpler than that.
Wisconsin's student fan culture does not give a crap about the football game.
Only in Madison will an undergrad post a Facebook status saying ""I'm the biggest Badger fan ever, how could I not get season tickets?"" and months later, think nothing of rolling into Camp Randall 20 minutes after the game starts.
That extra beer bong, that extra game of pong, that is what matters to most UW student fans on football Saturdays. There seems to be a disconnect between the idea of being a fan here and that idea anywhere else. Students assume that being a fan means getting as trashed as they can and then stumbling into the stadium, only to leave after ""Jump Around"" so the drinking can resume.
Almost no other Big Ten stadiums see the sun shining off row after row of empty student bleachers at game time, and certainly none of the stadiums that actually sell out deal with it.
Now some people won't see this as a problem. They'll argue that they have the right to come late because they (or their parents) paid for the ticket, or because they make the most noise at the end of close games (assuming they stay for the fourth quarter). But those boasts just seem immature in the end.
Clearly the athletic department wants something to change. The players don't like seeing the north end of the stadium more than half empty, and the coach even made a call for students to actually show up last week.
And nothing happened.
So what should be done?
The athletic department should create a system that punishes students for not showing up. Say a student arrives even a minute after kickoff three times, and the tickets are revoked and resold to the highest bidder. Then charge a fee for losing the tickets to keep students from buying them and then cutting their losses in a losing season.
That should get fans to at least try to arrive on time. If it doesn't, threaten to take section P and J away from the students. If the threat doesn't fix anything, then follow through on it.
The athletic department benefits from the extra money since student tickets are deeply discounted. The team might get to play in front of a packed house for all 60 minutes. Many stadiums still generate noise plenty without big student sections (the loudest in the country, Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon, has under 7,000 student tickets).
And those students who are left out? Well they get another three hours to drink without having to actually bother with the strenuous task of actually attending the game. It might even be a relief to not carry that hefty responsibility.
Or maybe, just maybe, the student section could try to rebuild its image. Of course the cheers will still be vulgar, this is still Madison. Of course they will be drunk.
But perhaps the students could turn from a sheer embarrassment into something that improves the stadium atmosphere. All it would take is the will to look at a watch, put down a drink and aim to be in the gates by 10:30.
Shockingly, all that booze will still be cold after the final whistle.
Think Ben's too hard on the students? Tell him about it at breiner@wisc.edu.
