WISCONSIN’S GOT THE FOOTBALL SPIRIT
On Saturday, November 8th, I had a first-time experience at a sports game. Hundreds, if not thousands, of UW-Madison students huddled together in the freezing cold bleachers while it was snowing to watch a nail-biting football game.
The game was against the Washington Huskies, and, unfortunately, the fans in the stands and watching on TV did not have high hopes of victory. The record this season has been 2-5, with our team ranked at the bottom of the BIG10 standings. Suffice to say, we haven’t been having a great season. Because of this, many student sections at the games have been underattended and tickets have been going around for cheap.
Within the first half of the game, things were not looking good with our quarterback injuring himself and getting carried off the field and the score remaining 3-10. Our hopes started to look up in the third quarter when we got a touchdown, which brought our team into the lead by 10 points.
While at most games you can observe a majority of the student section leave after the 3rd quarter, famous “jump around,” this night I looked around to see very few gaps in the stands. This lead in the score, while slight, felt significant to us fans. Most people stuck around and would be glad they did. After a kick that brought the final score to 13-10, the crowd erupted into cheers. While the game might not have been spectacular or even good by football standards, this felt like a huge victory to the team and its student fans.
Within minutes, the student section started to move forward at a rapid pace. Many others and I had to rush to keep up. Many people, including myself, jumped over some railings, slipped a few times, but eventually made it to the field.
I wasn’t expecting to experience a rush-the-field moment at this game or at college in general, but it was an experience I won’t forget. My friends and I were cheering with thousands of other students alongside the entire football team. I may have lost the feeling in my toes and fingers for a few hours, but it was worth it.
I feel that this experience encapsulates the energy of what it feels like to be a student at Wisconsin. To other schools, this victory might’ve been seen as over-celebrated, but to us it was important, and we made our own happiness. Our team might not be going on to win any championships anytime soon, but the spirit and energy will remain constant.