What a rush!
December 02, 2009 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 2, 2009
MADISON, Wis. - Duke University's Cameron Indoor Stadium may provide seating for more than 1,200 students (AKA "Cameron Crazies"), but nothing can compare to the "Grateful Red" that disperses itself throughout three tiers and 11 sections of the Kohl Center.
Needless to say, the Badgers 73-69 victory over the Blue Devils was one of the most momentous wins the Grateful Red has seen in quite some time. The Wisconsin fans provided the Badgers with electricity and Trevon Hughes career-high 26 points was the surge that handed Duke its first defeat in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
The Badger student section took advantage of the opportune win and rushed the court for the first time since the Badgers defeated Penn State in March of 2008 to claim the Big Ten title.
However, Wednesday night boasted quite the win and Badger fans were ready for the challenge several hours before tip-off.
In fact, I was planning on showing up to the Kohl Center at roughly 6:45 to check on the students waiting outside. Before I could even change out of my street clothes and into my dress pants after class, I spotted three Badger fans sporting the famous cardinal and white striped overalls.
UW seniors Joey Greenstone, Aron Braverman and Josh Cantor were briskly walking to the Kohl Center at 4:30 p.m., when I remembered that my recorder was in my backpack. I quickly asked them if I could talk to them for a few minutes and they responded with, "Yeah, if you can walk and talk on the way to the Kohl Center with us." I obliged and was able to find out why these three Badger fans were heading to the Kohl Center almost four hours in advance.
The three were lining up outside of the ticket office where students were able to get a number for the seating lottery. Each group of four was randomly given a number and their assigned number corresponded with the order in which they would be able to pick their seat. The seating selection was assigned at 5:15 p.m. and then students had to wait outside the Kohl Center until 6:45 p.m. when they would finally be allowed inside the doors.
Cantor, a four-year student ticket holder considers the Wisconsin vs. Duke game well worth waiting out in the cold for a couple of hours.
"I have been waiting for this game my entire life," Cantor said. "I have been a Badger since I was 10-years-old. It has really been something that I have been looking forward to."
For Wednesday's highly anticipated Big Ten/ACC Challenge game against the Duke Blue Devils, student tickets were selling on the online ticket market for over $100 dollars. With a lofty ticket price like that, it is safe to say that Wednesday night's "Grateful Red" representatives were the most loyal of the bunch. Many stretched their wallets to see Wisconsin men's basketball history in the making as the Blue Devils traveled to the UW campus for the first time ever.
UW senior Daniel Stoller developed his Badger pride in an unlikely spot. Stoller found his love for the Badgers when he first began playing video games. At the time, his favorite player was former guard, Mike Kelley.
"When I was a little kid I loved playing with the Wisconsin Badgers in NCAA video games," Stoller said. "This is the only thing I would wait in the cold when it's 30 degrees for three hours. I would easily wait overnight for a Badger game if I had to."
Whether it was through video games or following the Badgers through their television screen, each year the Grateful Red seats some of the biggest Wisconsin fans in the state.
Just as the Grateful Dead performed Bob Dylan's famous song several times throughout the band's years of touring, the "Grateful Red" will always remain "Forever Young."
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Wisconsin Athletic Communications, Allison Metcalf
