Women’s Basketball

Charlie Healy

Next time you go to Indianapolis, Charlie Healy and the Wisconsin Band suggest you experience Alcatraz Brewing Co.

    March Madness is a fun time for everyone involved. The fans enjoy picking their brackets, or following their favorite teams from city to city. The team gets to travel across the country, playing neutral-court games on the road to the Final Four. One of the fun things about the neutral-court games is the opportunity to see multiple games back-to-back, and the chance to get a glimpse of the game-day atmosphere of both teams. A prime part of that is the band.

      As a member of the Wisconsin Band, I got to travel to Indianapolis to cheer on the Badgers in the Women’s Big Ten Tournament. Per NCAA rules, the band is limited to 30 members, so a tournament trip is a special opportunity for a small group.

      Our first game was on Thursday at 12:00 against Northwestern. After leaving Madison at 4am, we arrived in Indianapolis in time to check into our hotel and change into our uniforms-Black pants, white shirt, and sweater. We then drove over to Conseco Fieldhouse at about 11:00 in time to set up and begin playing at 11:30. The Northwestern Band was also there, so throughout pre-game (and the game) we would alternate who got to play.

      Conseco Fieldhouse is a nice facility. Home to the NBA’s Indiana Pacers, it has three levels, though the top was curtained off for the women’s tournament. Unfortunately, this being a 12:00 game, there were only about 1,000 fans in attendance. There were several sections full of elementary and middle school children, which was a nice touch to the gameday atmosphere. Wisconsin didn’t play particularly well, but pulled away with a victory, and would play Michigan State the next day.

      After the game, we all went back to the hotel and caught up on some much needed sleep. We met for dinner that evening, and went to a nice restaurant called Alcatraz. It has slowly become a tradition in the past few years for the Women’s Big Ten Band to have dinner there as a group. If Wisconsin were to loss Friday vs. Michigan State, we would go home after the game, so we made sure to enjoy what could be our only night in Indianapolis.

      Friday the game started at 11:30, so we left our hotel at 10:30 for the 5-minute ride to the Fieldhouse. Wisconsin is the visiting team today, so the band is on the other side of the arena. We had to walk through the bowels of the arena to get to our seats. There is fan seating directly behind us, so during the game we are not allowed to stand up, which is unfortunate. Sitting in 3 rows behind the cheerleaders on the floor level, most of us had trouble seeing the action, and it seemed harder to cheer and yell when you’re sitting in a nice padded chair.

      Just before the game started, Michigan State’s Band was playing, and we needed to play “Hot Time”. They finished their fight song, and we started playing. They continued to play, though, so as the game was still delayed, a “battle of the bands” ensued. They continued to play, and we battled back with “If You Want to be a Badger” and “You’ve Said it All”, at which time the game started. It turned out to be a fun battle between the 2 bands as we tried to see who could get the most in before tip-off. Of course, the game was just as exciting, as the Badgers were able to pull the upset and defeat #2 Michigan State, ensuring us another day in Indianapolis.

      That extra day would turn into two days as the game would be at 6:00 Saturday night, and we would stay the night after the game, win or loss. After the game ended at 1:30 on Friday, we would have a lot of free time before the next game. Most of us spent that time touring the city and studying. Friday, a few of us walked around the city. Our first stop was the state capital building. The building is beautiful inside, with a stained glass dome and an open hallway that opens up three floors across much of the building. Our next stop was the Indiana War Memorial in the Monument Circle. Just down the street from the capital, the memorial is a large tower around a circle street, similar to Madison’s Capital Square. We climbed the 200 or so steps to the top of the monument and enjoyed a fantastic view of the city and surrounding area. At that time, it was nearly time to meet up with everyone else for dinner. It being a Friday night, many of the restaurants were busy, and couldn’t accommodate a group as big as ours. We ended up going to a fun place several blocks from our hotel with video and arcade games to keep everyone occupied while we waited for our food

      Saturday morning, a few of us went to the South Bend Chocolate Company in Monument Circle for breakfast, which served the most amazing hot chocolate. We then walked around the main part of the city. We also checked out the mall and convention center, which was connected to our hotel. We then went back to our hotel and did some studying before getting ready to go to the game at 5:00.

      The game did not go as we had hoped, and we couldn’t pull a second upset over Purdue. There were probably 5,000 fans in attendance, which was a very nice change from our two previous games. Purdue far outnumbered us, but that was expected considering the short distance from West Lafayette. The atmosphere was fantastic, especially as the Iowa and Ohio State fans started to arrive for their game after ours.

      We left for Madison early the next morning so we could get back for the Men’s Basketball game that night. In the end, we all had a fantastic time, particularly because the team did well, and a trip that could have ended Friday after the game lasted until Sunday morning. Tournament trips are always a fun time for everyone who gets to go, especially when it’s in a nice city like Indianapolis… and your team is doing well.