Although I was raised to be a Badger by my parents — who met at UW in the 80s — I did not attend a football game at Camp Randall until my junior year of high school.
I was right in the middle of my college decision. I had wanted to be a Badger for a long time, but growing up in St. Louis had made me consider other universities closer to home.
That doubt melted away the second I heard the UW student section belt out their rendition of “Build Me Up Buttercup,” continuing to sing at maximum volume after the music had stopped playing over the loudspeaker.
It was absolutely phenomenal. Collectively, Badgers are fantastic singers, but the tradition is bigger than that. For a group of students to come together and sing in seemingly perfect unison for the whole rest of the Camp to enjoy was a moment I won’t forget. I was sold: I had to be a part of that student section.
Three years later, I have been to numerous Wisconsin games at Camp Randall and I can say with utmost confidence that the experience within the student section is truly unlike any other. Yes, sometimes it has a tendency to get out of hand. People get too drunk and make poor decisions that reflect badly on the university, like when snowballs were thrown at the cheerleaders and band members last year.
As a whole though, no sports experience can come close to an afternoon in Wisconsin’s student section. The traditions are unique, rowdy and yes, even raunchy. Sure, Eat S***, F*** You is pretty nasty and yeah, there’s a lot of young children at the game who shouldn’t be hearing those vulgarities. But, in an odd way, yelling obscenities at each other is a great way to bond with fellow Badgers.
Jump Around, the most well-known Camp Randall tradition, is as great as it looks on TV and hopping around with your best friends like madmen can make even the surliest Badger smile.
One of the more underrated rituals is the student section race: A game on the jumbotron where animated letters representing the various parts of the student section compete in a sprint. If your section wins, you go just about as crazy for that as a Vince Biegel forced fumble. Side note: I’ve only been in the winning section one time and I’m pretty damn bitter about it.
Ultimately though, what makes Badger game days so special is simply the atmosphere in Madison on those fall Saturdays.
It’s waking up to the band playing “On, Wisconsin” right outside of your dorm room and rising with your fellow Badgers to drink terrible light beer at 9 a.m.
It’s being surrounded by a sea of red in every possible direction.
It’s wearing red and white striped overalls with no shirt.
It’s staying for the Fifth Quarter and doing the polka with that cute girl down the hall.
It’s continuing to do the polka out of the stadium with the band as they play all the way down University Avenue.
It’s singing varsity with 80,000 other die-hard Badgers.
It’s high-fiving the random people in front of and behind you when Wisconsin scores and then counting out Bucky’s push-ups.
It’s knowing every word of “Build Me Up Buttercup” by heart.
It’s game day in Madison and it’s right around the corner.
Get ready for the best Saturdays of your life, baby Badgers.
