We arrived on campus. Barely in time. It was worth the mad dash from our parking spot on University Avenue to the pregame band concert at Union South. Few attempted to dodge the drizzle as the masses gathered to soak in the weather and the sounds of the UW band. I brought friends of mine – supporters of The Hoosiers and I’m glad they were part of the action – literally. Famed band director Mike Leckrone asked if any Indiana fans were in the crowd – naturally, I shouted and pointed out my friends who suddenly had thousands of Badger eyes glaring in their direction. Leckrone shared that he was from Indiana and our friends made the “IU” symbol with their arms, to which Leckrone replied, “None of that now!” It’s kind of a welcome by fire.
The slow covering blanket of precipitation never let up all afternoon. The temps were tolerable, but the rain kept a few fans away – it took a little while for the early morning crowd to pep up, but the team wasted little time. James White ripped off a school record 93 yard TD run on Wisconsin’s first offensive play of the game. That set the tone. Indiana never recovered and fell 51-3.
The 3 points was the story. Indiana came in carrying one of the nation’s strongest offenses. Not today. The Hoosier field goal did lift my Indiana friend out of his seat to mockingly celebrate his team’s only offensive output of the day, much to the delight of surrounding Wisconsin fans who chuckled at his silly display.
Despite the dampness, the blowout, and slightly more sullen crowd, the Badger game day brought forth much enjoyment – especially the Jump Around. It almost seemed as though the crowd swelled to capacity moments prior to this highly anticipate tradition. Once Camp Randall finished shaking with 80,000 fans bouncing amongst the raindrops, half the crowd quickly fled to the exits. In a rainy blowout, the Jump Around is clearly the highlight. I stayed to watch the Badgers finish out the domination of Indiana and what appears to be another outstanding season.