Fifth Quarter Celebrates Quarter Century
November 20, 2003 | Football
This fall, Wisconsin's famed post-game celebration, affectionately known as the Fifth Quarter, celebrates its 25th Anniversary under the direction of Michael Leckrone. Since its inception, the Badger Band has amazed crowds throughout the nation with its charismatic football finales. Win or lose, thousands of fans stay after the game to celebrate with the Band, making the Fifth Quarter one of Wisconsin's most beloved traditions.
Under the direction of Michael E. Leckrone, the band, and its reputation, has flourished. Despite constant demand as a clinician, guest conductor, and adjudicator for bands throughout the United States and Canada, Leckrone remains the backbone of this gridiron ritual. 'The Fifth Quarter is the fun part of what we do,' says Leckrone. 'It gives us a chance to blow-off some steam after a hard week of precision drills and rehearsals. Ultimately, our biggest reward is when the crowd responds.'
Nowhere can you find thousands of devoted fans who stay after the game, sometimes in excess of 45 minutes, wrought with anticipation for Fifth Quarter classics like On Wisconsin, You've Said It All, and Varsity.
Conceived in 1977, the Badger Band began to attract the attention of both students and the media with their unique approach to gridiron denouement. However, it was not until 1978 that the Fifth Quarter Club truly emerged.
One autumn afternoon, it was announced that the Band would delay playing You've Said It All for 10 minutes after the game had ended in an effort to allow the `weak-of-heart' to escape the upper deck before the `swaying ' began. As the post-game repertoire grew, so did the `choreography.' Band members began adding artistic interpretations of their own. Through their innovation, rolling on the ground, playing while standing on their heads, and flailing legs became the norm.
Twenty-five years later, as the Beer Barrel Polka, Dance Little Bird (Chicken Dance), Tequila, and Space Badgers carry the Fifth Quarter Club into the new millennium, students, avid fans, and the corporate elite alike will continue to celebrate the Badgers, win or lose, long after the final whistle blows
