The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s biggest game of the year against Alabama on Sept. 14 saw students, families, alumni and friends lined up as early as 5:45 a.m. in front of a Madison classic, The Kollege Klub Bar.
While our football team may not be undefeated anymore, that doesn’t mean we can’t carry on the tradition of what MPR news calls the number one party school in the nation. This didn’t prevent Bucky’s biggest fans from spending nearly 10 times the asking ticket prices just to watch our precious Badgers get crushed by the Crimson Tide.
For the past three weeks, the “KK Waffle Gallery Group Me” has bounced off the walls with people trying to sell their student section football tickets. Constant vibrations fill Ingraham Hall with Badgers paying more attention to the cost of tickets than what Michel Foucault had accomplished in their Anthropology 104 class.
But Alabama’s fried green tomatoes at tailgates are just one cultural difference in attending an SEC game over a Big Ten game. Badger fans throw on red and white pants, sneakers and striped overalls in support of their team.
Alabama does it differently. Their typical get-up is reminiscent of a prep school uniform with a few more floral dresses. Bucky’s biggest fans were not intimidated by this look, as the Crimson Tide were now on their home turf.
Wisconsin fans trailed behind the entrance of the Kollege Klub five hours before kick-off as they saw State Street decked out in Badgers paraphernalia and people hoping that quarterback Tyler Van Dyke would be our chance at winning this highly anticipated game, or at least keeping it to the 16-point loss, according to CBS.
Now five hours until kick-off, champagne bottles are being popped and shotskis are flying everywhere. If anyone knows how to tailgate for a team that isn’t favored to win, it's the Wisconsin Badgers.
After hours of endless cans of Spotted Cow and Miller Lite rolling in and out of every trash can in sight, people finally walk up to Camp Randall Stadium. On the walk from The Kollege Klub to Camp Randall, fans pass Regent Street — which hosts countless tailgates. It’s only 10 a.m., but you’ll see Badger fans grilling up Wisconsin classics like brats, cheese curds and even scrambled eggs.
At 11 a.m. the fighter jets flew over Madison, signaling the start of the game, where blood, sweat and beer fell down the faces of fans in the stadium. Some resemble tears of joy and sadness, while others were probably a New Glarus overdose.
Win or lose, no one knows how to do it better than the Badgers. Even after a devastating loss, all of Madison's favorite bars including Wandos, the Double U and Mondays still had a party going on.
