Since first stepping on the UW-Madison campus as a student in the fall of 2013, I’ve had the good fortune of experiencing numerous memorable Badger sports moments that have helped create memories that will last a lifetime.
However, from the perspective of both a fan and a beat writer for The Daily Cardinal, nothing can compare to the memories made thanks to the Wisconsin men’s basketball team’s remarkable run over these past two seasons.
For me personally, it’s almost impossible to select a singular moment to put above the rest, as the whole ride has been something I’ll be able to look back on with great fondness years and years from now. During my first year in Madison, I bought season tickets to watch the team I had grown up rooting for all throughout my childhood.
That season included highlights such as Frank Kaminsky’s school-record 43-point performance against North Dakota, but nothing could compare to the Badgers’ overtime victory over Arizona that sent them to the Final Four for the first time since 2000. The celebration on State Street that followed was unlike anything I have ever been a part of and is my favorite memory from my freshman year of college.
However, this past season took my experience a step further, as I covered the team as a beat writer for the paper. As every Wisconsin fan knows, this particular team was made up of a tight-knit, fun loving, supremely talented group of players, and having the opportunity to cover them was the thrill of my life.
In addition to covering UW’s home games during the regular season, my role as a beat writer brought me to Chicago for the Big Ten Tournament (capped off by the Badgers’ exhilarating comeback victory over Michigan State) and Omaha, Neb., for the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
After the Badgers punched their ticket to a second consecutive Final Four, I learned that I would be unable to get a press credential to cover college basketball’s final weekend. Instead, I bought a student ticket and joined a group of friends for a road trip to Indianapolis, where we witnessed Wisconsin gain a measure of revenge by taking down the undefeated Kentucky Wildcats.
Watching the Badgers during the Final Four as a fan for the first time all season was a surreal experience, but being able to witness arguably the biggest victory in program history in person and celebrate the win with the other Wisconsin fans that had made the trip was indescribable.
Just to have been a student at Madison during this unprecedented two-year stretch of Wisconsin basketball is incredible in and of itself, but to have had the chance to cover the team and then be on hand to witness the Badgers’ monumental win over Kentucky was beyond a dream come true.
