Christmas memories all about ‘family’

BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider

SAN DIEGO – The solemn refrain was heard more than once on Friday as members of the Wisconsin football team climbed out of charter buses and made their way onto a ramshackle practice field.

To salutations of "Merry Christmas" came a forlorn-sounding answer: "It doesn't seem like Christmas."

The sentiment was understandable.
Instead of being home for the holiday – wherever that might be – the Badgers were headquartered here at a harbor-side hotel prepping to face Southern California in the Holiday Bowl on Dec. 30 at Qualcomm Stadium.

Instead of celebrating the season in traditional ways – vibrantly wrapped presents under the Fraser, festive lighting all around the house, an aromatic feast in the oven – coaches, players and support staffers were living out of suitcases.

Instead of relaxing amid the joyful din – getting reacquainted with seldom-seen loved ones – the Badgers staged another practice as everything but Christmas music thumped through the sound system.

Those are some of the inherent trade-offs that come with trying to end the 2015 season on an upbeat note.

"Christmas has kind of become the forgotten holiday for us," senior quarterback Joel Stave said. "It's not ideal but there's definitely worse ways to spend your Christmas than with your teammates.

"For me, I'm getting kind of used to this because over the past five years we've been playing in some bowl game, so we're either flying out on Christmas Day or the day before."

The Badgers (9-3 overall) are making their 14th consecutive bowl appearance – the longest active streak of its kind in the Big Ten Conference and the seventh-longest nationally – but this is the first time in six years they've played in one prior to New Year's Day.

That meant packing up a 747 and heading here on Thursday, Christmas Eve. That meant an hour-long practice session on Friday, Christmas Day, at a facility so makeshift that team managers held up PVC pipes to mimic goal posts for special teams work.

"I wasn't able to spend Christmas Day with my family," junior outside linebacker Vince Biegel said of his gang back in Wisconsin Rapids, "but these brothers have become my family over the years, so I am spending Christmas with my family."

The holidays are supposed to be about fellowship and that's the case with the Badgers.

Senior outside linebacker Joe Schobert said after practice Friday that those in his position group – 18 strong – can plan on having a "Secret Santa" exchange at some point during the trip.

"I don't think we've set a time or date with it yet, but it'll be sometime this week," he said. "I think we got here a little late to go shopping yesterday – with Christmas Eve and Christmas Day I'm not sure anything would be open – but there'll be a little exchange of gifts around the table."

Names will be drawn from a hat and, according to Schobert, the newly anointed first-team All-American and the team's Most Valuable Player, there will be no spending limit.

"I don't think we'll do that just to see what people think of each other," he said with a tone of mischief in his voice. "Somebody might get an Xbox. Somebody might get a deck of cards or something. We'll see."

The objective is not to mock, though.

"We're not spending Christmas with our family family; we're spending it with our football family," Schobert said. "So we have to do something special to keep everybody bonded and having fun on Christmas."

Biegel said he's already participated in a "Secret Santa" exchange in his campus household, rattling off the names of sophomore brother Hayden, junior defensive end Arthur Goldberg, junior guard Logan Schmidt and junior tackle Walker Williams.

There was a $20 limit. Vince Biegel wound up with what he called a "snack pack" of food that he described as being stuff "I really shouldn't be eating."

Biegel smiled broadly as he told the story.

"We're a really tight-knit group over there and it's just nice to spend the holidays with your friends," he said.

The holidays are supposed to be about sharing a meal with loved ones and that was the Badgers on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Stave said the welcome dinner at the Manchester Grand Hyatt on Thursday night – ham, turkey, dressing and all the trimmings – was particularly memorable.

"Fantastic," he said. "That was as good a Christmas Eve dinner as I've had in a long time. That was nice."

The holidays are supposed to be about everlasting memories and that's also the case with the Badgers.

Asked for a favorite gift-giving experience, Schobert recalled being in fourth-grade when he saved up and bought his mom, Christine, a necklace.

"I remember going to the store with my dad and picking it out," he said.

Her reaction?

"She was surprised," Schobert said.

Stave said he tends to give his sister, Rachel, gifts that demand a unique delivery process.

"A lot of times I give her gift cards and stuff like that, but I always try to find fun, different ways to give it to her," he said. "Whether it's in a bunch of boxes or something old and junky and I'll tape it inside. She has fun with it."

Biegel's favorite moment is poignant and enduring. A year ago he learned that a woman, a diehard Badgers fan living in Wisconsin Rapids, was losing a battle with cancer. He and Hayden visited her in hospice care wearing their Wisconsin jerseys. Vince gave her a pair of autographed game-worn gloves.

"She was the biggest fan of ours," he said. "It was a moment I'll never forget. It was very spiritual – she was a very spiritual person.

"The response I got is something that will stick with me for a while. It was a great moment I'll never forget."

University of Wisconsin Athletics

Christmas memories all about ‘family’

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Vince Biegel

Arthur Goldberg

Logan Schmidt

Joe Schobert

Joel Stave

Walker Williams

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