Wisconsin fans come strong for GameDay
February 14, 2009 | Men's Basketball
What are some of the things that you can only find at the University of Wisconsin ' A few banana suits, a man dressed as a hotdog, red cheese heads, yellow cheese heads, painted chests, a giant highlighter, 'The Real PJ Hill' and of course an abundance of red. Those are just a few of the things that encompass what it means to come out and support the Red and White on game day. Today is not just any game day. Yes, the Badgers face the Buckeyes of Ohio State in the main event, but Saturday marks the first time UW was the proud host of ESPN College Basketball GameDay.
postid=1923"> --> Read Brian Mason's live blog from the set of GameDay.
mid=3061"> --> Check out video highlights of the show as well.
Beginning as early as Friday night, about 20 die-hards braved the snow to camp out and 440 people were waiting outside the doors of the Kohl Center before they even opened at 8 a.m. I caught up with some of the most devoted fans this morning to see why they faced their 6 a.m. alarm clocks to show the nation why we have the best fans in the country. Young and old, the crowd of almost 2,500 people proved that Wisconsin will always have the highest caliber of support in the nation.
My first stop was with Lance Tarnutzeo, an 8th grader at Lake Mills Middle School. It would be an understatement to say that Tarnutzeo was wearing typical Badger clothes. He was decorated from head to toe.
'I got up at 6:30 this morning,' Tarnutzeo explained. 'I have on red under armor, my red and white striped overalls, my red and white Badger zip-up, and of course my wig. I have had this wig for two years. I have been a Badger fan for all of my life. I just love the players and following the team. I have been to a lot of basketball games and football games, but GameDay is definitely one of the bigger events that I have been to. I'd say that my favorite game was when Marcus Landry had his 1,000th career point. That was pretty cool.'
College resembles some of life's best times. As a college student myself, I think that most students at UW can agree that the weekends are the best times here at Wisconsin. We work hard during the week and when Friday night roll around, it's time to have some fun. No matter how much fun a Badger fan has the night before, nothing will ever stop them from coming out to support an amazing event like ESPN College Gameday on a Saturday morning.
Several members of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity woke up at 6 a.m. this morning to ensure that they were ready to go as soon as the Kohl Center doors opened. I caught up with Drew Butula, a sophomore member from Milwaukee, who has been a Badger fan all his life. Butula reminisced about some of his favorite Badger sports memories and what it is like to be a Badger.
'The '94 Rose Bowl against UCLA is my favorite memory,' Butula explained. 'I just remember how great that was. For basketball I have season tickets this year. One of my favorite memories from this year was the Texas game. It was great even though we didn't win. The Illinois game last week was great too. We were on a losing streak and it was great to come back and win a game. It's all about being a Badger fan-it's almost like a personality. When you tell people you are a Badger, you are proud to be a Badger fan. People respect that.'
Badger fans come from all of the place. Many of the students are certified 'Sconnies' from birth, but some fans travel long and far to come to this great academic institution. I met two Wisconsin graduate students. Katie Kowalski is from the short drive of 2-hours as a native of Appleton, WI. Her friend Brandon Bernardin is one of the few students from the southern state of New Mexico.
'Being a Badger fan means everything,' Kowalski said. 'My favorite thing about being a Badger is before football games everyone is having a good time out on the streets and portions of the band will come around and play for you. It 's just so much fun with everyone dancing in the street starting at 9 o 'clock in the morning.'
Bernardin may be from New Mexico, but as the son of an alumni, he has been a Badger fan his entire life.
'In 2000 it was my senior year in high school,' Bernardin reminisced. 'I was in the pit in Albuquerque when the Badgers were playing the Boilermakers to see who would make it to the Final four. Jon Bryant came out and hit three 3-pointers in a row. The Badgers ended up winning the game to make it to the Final Four.'
One of the former players from Bernardin's 2000 dream team was actually here today. Dave Mader, a former Badger forward is now a State Farm representative and one of the sponsors of today's GameDay festivities.
Mader is only one of the alumni present at today's celebration. The last man that I talked to had so much Badger pride that I am not sure I can even begin to portray it. I picked him out in the stands as he was enthusiastically doing all of the hand motions and singing to the traditional Badger song, 'If you want to be a Badger.' As a 1947 UW grad and a native of Madison, Lewis Harned is a man who bleeds Wisconsin Red.
'I have been a Badger fan since I was about 12 years old,' Harned explained. 'Back in 1939 I went to my first Wisconsin game. I tell you it 's the most exciting thing in my life to follow the Badgers. I am a true Badger fan. My favorite Badger sports memory was when Ron Dayne got the rushing record against Iowa. Today, I came here for the atmosphere to see the GameDay show and just to be part of the tremendous excitement and to support Wisconsin and by gosh we are going to beat Ohio State tonight. '
Young or old, banana suit or hotdog, here at UW, we are all Badgers and nothing will ever stop this tradition.
