When an incoming freshman is deciding where they want to go to school, a big selling point for UW-Madison is Badger Football game day, and what’s there not to love about it? It’s thousands upon thousands of students tailgating at every corner of the monstrous campus in celebration of their beloved men in red playing one of seven yearly football games at Camp Randall.
You’re drunk, you’re yelling, you’re sweaty, and you’re watching football. It’s paradise.
Game day here at Wisconsin has always been about football, but it seems that the tides are turning, or has already turned, on the true definition of a Badger game day.
If you haven’t already known, our basketball program has also a consistent force in the college basketball world. Prior to last season, the Badgers had made the NCAA Tournament every single year, but never to the national semifinals (otherwise known as the Final Four), coming up one game short in 2006.
That is, until last year.
Last season might have been the most memorable in modern Wisconsin basketball history, as the Badgers reached that Final Four for the first time in 14 years. Unfortunately, they came up short, losing on a last-second shot. But this year, they are hungry to redeem themselves and take home that national championship that they felt they deserved.
What makes this season even more exciting is that this Badger squad might be even better than last year’s. They bring back every player from last year’s team except for just one, the sharp-shooting Ben Brust, and are currently ranked no. 4 in the first preseason NCAAB poll.
Believe me, the hype is real and you should absolutely be apart of it. The excitement for football season has always outshined that of basketball, but this year, that is so far from the case.
Don’t believe me? The season tickets for football sold out both last year and this year somewhere between 30 minutes and an hour. On the other hand, season tickets for basketball last year sold out in around two hours. This year? Five minutes.
You read that right. Five minutes. You could have watched just the introduction to Game of Thrones and you would have lost your chance at basketball tickets.
Again, the hype is real, and it is as real as it has ever been on this very campus.
Now, say you don’t like basketball. Don’t worry, you will. And it will all be because of one game this year. Even if you hate basketball, make the promise to yourself that you will pay attention to at least one game this year.
Mark Wednesday, December 3rd on your calendars. It doesn’t matter if you have an exam the next day, or a meeting, or anything that would usually take priority. Get to a bar, get to the Kohl Center, or just get to anywhere that has a TV. On this very night the Badgers will take on the Duke Blue Devils on national television in what is the most hyped-up game not only for Wisconsin’s season, but also for all of college basketball.
The matchup will have two top-five teams, three top-five players, and two legendary coaches. You don’t want to miss it, and there may not be a way to miss it. The city will be alive, and this game right here will change your entire perspective on the game of basketball.
So, go on, do your research. Find out everything you need to know about superstars Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker and the rest of this Badger team. It will all be important to know.
Because the hype is real, and it’s spectacular.