“On Wisconsin…” and Other Thoughts

Last weekend Amber and I ventured back to her homeland. We drove into the very heart of the land of cheese and Badgers. My uncle was good enough to get us some Badgers homecoming tickets. The Gophers ably played the roll of homecoming patsy, coughing-up a fumble that was returned for a touchdown on the first drive of the day. For those who didn’t see the game… it got much worse for the Gophers. When the carnage stopped, the score was 48-12. Ouch. I wanted to burn the bright gold “MINNESOTA” sweatshirt I was wearing.

The Gophers are a bad football team. I knew that. That did not surprise me. But I was surprised by my sudden and deep jealously of missing out on a Camp Randal-esque experience in college. The Camp Randal student section, bathed in the early afternoon sun, teemed with intoxicated exuberance. The kind of intoxicated exuberance that is usually only found at Marti Gras and really good college house parties.

At the end of the third quarter, the PA played House of Pain’s “Jump Around.” (Which I understand has become a tradition at Camp Randal) The entire student section convulsed with energy. From a distance it looked like a mosh-pit at a Danzig show. Students bounced violently, the stands pulsed. (It probably helped that the Badgers were up 20+ points and it was homecoming weekend.)

I just hope that officials from the University of Minnesota have taken good notes on the “college atmospheres” around the Big Ten. They need to think about what goes into a great football program as they begin the construction process of the new on-campus football stadium and the area around it. Because the U of M is in a major metropolitan area it will never have the same charm as a Happy Valley, or a Madison. But the administration, the athletic department, and those in charge of the stadium construction should do all they can to foster feelings of pride and excitement. Build a tradition.

If done the correct way, the University of Minnesota will be able to compete with the elite programs in the country. And as Wisconsin has proven, if your athletic programs thrive, so to will your academic programs. Because former Chancellor Donna Shalala realized and believed this, the Badgers have built one of the best all-a-around college experiences in the country.

I just hope that one day the “Gopher-Experience” will rival the Badger-Experience.”