The Badger Experience

On Saturday, September the 12th, I went to one of the craziest events I've ever gone to. That event was hosted at Camp Randall stadium with 81,000 people attending. If you were a college football fan, you would know that I am talking about the Badgers game against Fresno State. On paper, it was just a college football game played between two unranked schools, but in actuality, it was a monumental game in which fans of Wisconsin cheered and chanted throughout the game. I was not ready about what was about to happen when I stepped through the gates of Camp Randall stadium.

As soon as I arrived through entrance, I was in aw of what the stadium contained. Since we arrived early, there was just a sea of bleachers waiting to get filled. Two of my friends and I found our place on the benches and waited around for the game to start. As we were waiting, my friend told me about some of the traditions that the student section did during the game. The most notable traditions are: the wave with a twist (after the whole wave goes around the stadium, the students begin a slow motion wave), jump around dance between the third and fourth quarters, and some chants that are definitely not school appropriate. After a long forty-five minute wait, the kickoff finally began. The poor badgers got unlucky and were down 0-14 midway through the second quarter. From that point, I thought that the Badgers were going to get blown out, but they made a quick comeback right before half time. After the two quarters were done, I must admit that I was a little tired from screaming out, "ooohhhhhh!" every time the defense had the ball and was thirsty due to the mid-eighty degree weather throughout the game. From the third quarter and on, I decided to lay low so that I could have a voice the next day. After the third quarter was done, the Badgers were in the lead and everyone was awaiting the "Jump Around" song and sure enough, it did. The students raised their hands and began to jump wildly in the stands. I started to jump just like everyone else, but it was awfully hard to do consecutive jumps cause the benchers were very narrow and were also bending, making it hard to stay on them. The rest of the game was filled with big plays and drama, finally coming to an end in the second overtime with the Badgers winning 34-31. After the game, everyone was excited and flocked out of the stadium. My friends and I went to the college cafeteria, got a drink, and reflected on how the game went. Overall, my first college football game was a great success and can't wait to go to more games in the future.