Collegiate athletes have a naturally profound effect on their communities. However, this emotional relationship that the athletes share with their fans is often hidden beneath the game-focused routines that each athlete holds during their respective seasons. Still, despite the busy schedules that these athletes maintain, their desire to improve the lives of the members of their communities was never more present than at the “Badgers Go Bald” event at Camp Randall Stadium this past Friday.
For the second year in a row, the Badgers Give Back organization at UW hosted an event where many athletes devoted their day to spending time with children who have been affected by cancer. Many members from the Wisconsin football, men’s rowing, wrestling, women’s track and women’s golf teams spent the day with these young children and their families, giving them tours around the locker rooms and the suites at the stadium. And as the highlight of the day, many of the children got a chance to shave the heads of some of their new favorite athletes—making their idols look a little bit more like themselves.
“It’s a great opportunity,” redshirt junior wrestler Rylan Lubeck said at the event. “These kids come in and have fun and shave our heads and it doesn’t matter what you look like, as long as you have fun and just be who you are. It’s great inspiration for the kids.”
Many of the athletes whose heads were shaved have little in common. Many of them play different sports, and many of them had different reasons for being there. Still, on that day, all of the athletes collectively took almost as much away from the event as the kids did.
Matt Miller, a student assistant and former offensive lineman on the football team, came to the event not only to help these children, but also to honor members of his family who have been affected by cancer.
“[As] someone who’s been touched by cancer personally through my father and my sister, it added up for me,” Miller said. “This can help heal some old wounds. It’s definitely heartbreaking, but at the same time very touching to meet some of these kids and their families. I’m going to look in the mirror and see my bald head and have a great appreciation for what these kids go through.”
Sophomore golfer Ali Nageotte holds a similar experience with Miller.
“A very close family friend at home has brain cancer. He’s six now, and we have a shaving event at home, but I’ve never been able to participate. When ‘Badgers Go Bald’ approached me with the opportunity to cut your hair and donate it, I thought it was the least I could do to help out,” Nageotte said after getting her hair cut just above her shoulders. “You just have to admire the fight in them. As athletes we strive to be the best in our sport, so these kids are just so inspirational to see what they are going through, and how they always have smiles on their faces, and how they just persevere through the struggles. It makes what we do look like a piece of cake, so it really puts things in perspective.”
Unlike Miller or Nageotte, senior quarterback Bart Houston did not come to the event to honor anyone in particular. Rather he returned to shave his head for the second year in a row because he realized the significance that the event held last year.
“The reason why I’m doing it again is because last year I did it in the hospital and I saw the smiles on the kids and it’s really fun for them,” Houston said. “I know we get some good press for it, but it’s for them, and they're having a great time. It may not do much, but it just shows them that it’s beautiful being bald.”
Badgers Give Back knew immediately after last year that this event would continue on into the distant future. This rare opportunity for these kids to get out of the hospital and interact with athletes that desire to sacrifice their day and their hair to put a smile on these kids faces is something that will be cherished for years to come.
“The athletes have such big hearts,” said Brittany Steers, an intern with Badgers Give Back. “They realize the impact that they have on the kids, but the kids have a big impact on them as well. It’s definitely a mutual relationship. We go to the children's hospital a lot, but this is an opportunity to bring them here to give them that experience. For them to get out of there and come to a different environment, it’s just a time for them to make memories and have fun.”
As intended, this event will clearly leave a lasting impression on both the kids and the athletes.
“They always put a smile on my face. Just seeing the excitement they have for something like this and just for life in general,” said Connor Udelhoven, the long snapper for the football team. “I swear they're the most positive people I run into, and you can learn a lot from these kids. Their zest for life, it’s pretty special.”
