Big 10 Football Tour

Walking into Camp Randall stadium, I was really expecting a good game.  Purdue was on a roll and Wisconsin had been solid all season.

The man responsible for making Wisconsin football relevant once again.  Since 1990, he became the winningest coach at Wisconsin and led the program to 3 Big Ten Titles and subsequently, 3 Rose Bowl wins.  This statue was dedicated to him in 2006.

When a game is a clear blowout, how do you keep the fans in their seats until the start of the 4th quarter?  The Jump Around tradition of course.  Before the start of the 4th quarter, the song "Jump Around" by the House of Pain is played.  Fans throughout the stadium jump up and down, but the student section goes absolutely nuts!

Also located in Kellner Hall Plaza is a bronze statue of Pat Richter.  This statue was dedicated in 2006 and on the same day, Pat's jersey #88 was retired at Camp Randall Stadium. 

His most remembered accomplishment is recruiting Barry Alvarez from Notre Dame, but he was also responsible for rennovations to Camp Randall Stadium and the construction of the Kohl Center.

This was another stadium in which the concourse was absolutely loaded at any break in the action.  It seemed that the most popular t-shirt was the one that simply read "Jump Around."

The big "downer" for this particular game was the lack of competition and that really reflected on the typical Wisconsin traditions as few people were extremely excited to participate in all.

Wisconsin had just lost its first two games of the season and Pufdue had just won two, including the big win over Ohio State.  While the first quarter remained relatively competitive, Wisconsin blew it open in the 2nd quarter by posting 17 points on top of the 7 it had scored in the first quarter.  The Badgers went into halftime with a 24-0 lead.

The second quarter was highlighted by a blocked punt by David Gilbert that was picked up by Aaron Henry and run back into the endzone for a Badger touchdown.

The second half consisted of another Wisconsin touchdown and two more Badger field goals to conclude the beatdown at 37-0.  Among this blowout, was John Clay rushing for 123 yards and 3 touchdowns.  Somehow, the Badger quarterback Scott Tolzien managed to only complete 6 passes for 87 yards!

There are definitely some of the more memorable moments of a Wisconsin Badger game, including "the wave," which moves about the stadium at a variety of speeds.  While I participated in the wave, it wasn't too noticable on this day.  I think that many of the fans were so frozen solid that they didn't want to get up out of their seats or raise their arms in the air.

Also noticable are two of the distinct chants that they do at Camp Randall.  The first is the "G-Rated" battle cry that they engage in before kickoff.  It goes something to the effect of "when you've said Wisconsin, you've said it all."  On the other hand, there is a part when the fans get a bit more vulgar.  The east side of the stadium yells "eat shit" while the west side chants "fuck you."  No Kidding.  I'm sure the Wisconsin staff would love to end this tradition, but once it takes hold, it's hard to stop.

Lastly to note, is the "5th quarter."  After the game, the band stays to perform.  Thousands of fans remain in the stadium for another 20 minutes after the game to enjoy the band perform songs such as "The Chicken Dance" & "Hey Baby."