Saturday turned out to be a perfect day in Madison. The weather was beautiful—a welcome change from the week where it rained nearly every day—and Badger football fans flocked to Camp Randall Stadium with a universal feeling of excitement.
It was more than just another gameday at UW. It was the 122nd meeting of Wisconsin and Minnesota—it was the Border Battle. The Badgers won, of course, and retained Paul Bunyan’s Axe for the ninth straight year with a final score of 38-13.
Even with what on face appears to be a one-sided outcome, the game gave fans a healthy dose of surprises.
For a large number of students who attended the game, highlights are all they will have for some of these moments as the student section failed to completely fill until late in the third quarter. At kickoff, close to half of the 14,000-seat section remained empty.
I have never before been embarrassed at being a Badger fan—that changed Saturday.
It is no secret that while Wisconsin has one of the best and most active student sections in the country, there is another reputation the Badger faithful have—tardiness.
The university has long tried to combat this problem by urging students to show up early and show their support by filling the stands by kickoff.
But new seating policies this season have been a step in the other direction.
The university and athletic department have decided this season to strongly enforce a seating policy which could result in students being ejected from the game just by being in the wrong seat.
In all the years I have been going to Badger games I have never once been in the seat on my ticket. It is impossible to do so.
The threat of ejection is just the root of the problem. Students will still attend the game regardless, and attend on time. Where this new policy fails is in the process of getting to your seat.
From the time I stepped in line at the student gate Saturday to when I actually reached my seat, approximately 10-15 minutes had passed by. That is unacceptable.
I was first asked to remove everything from my pockets prior to entering the stadium. Not unreasonable, but when I forgot to take the tube of Bert’s Bees out of my pocket, the security staff yelled at me to remove it. If you had a jacket, you had to open it up and show security. If you had a hat on, you had to take it off.
If you had tickets for anywhere except the student section, none of these things would have been asked of you.
After going through what seemed like a TSA security check and getting your ticket, you had to show a dozen people your ticket before you even got to the section you are seated in, Then they slowly herd you into a row with no regard for the size of the group you are in.
I have been attending games in the student section for five years now and it has never taken so long to reach my seat.
The university will never convince the entire student section to show up for the game on time, but those who do should be able to reach their seat quickly. What I saw Saturday should not only be embarrassing for students, but also for the university.
The next time the university complains about the student section not being full by kickoff, I will say to them they are to blame for that.
If you want students to get to games on time, you have to make it possible. With the strict enforcement of the seating policy, I do not see how the student section could possibly fill up before the game begins.
Have you fallen victim to UW’s seating policy? Does it take you too long to get to your seat too? Let Matt know what you think at: sports@dailycardinal.com
