Wisconsin
Charlie Healy
Who would've thought U-Dub's most exciting win would be over Cal Poly?
As the 2008-2009 season comes to a close, it’s time to take a look back at the year that was. Of the over fifty games that I attended this year, the following is what I will take away from this season.
Most exciting win:
Overtime, cold football weather, back-and-forth action, each team matching the other’s punch. That’s everything you want in an exciting college football game, which is what we got on November 22. Well, we got everything except the enticing opponent. Not even Cal Poly could prevent it from being the most exciting game of the season though. In a season full of crushing defeats and underachieving performances, everyone seemed to forget that we were playing a member of the Football Championship Subdivision. It wasn’t Minnesota or Ohio State, but that didn’t matter. We were fighting for our season, and it was an exciting game. While this isn’t a game many people will remember, I’ll remember it for the fact it symbolized the end of a hard-fought, grueling season. Plus, who doesn’t like a few snowflakes falling towards the end of the game?
Most exciting road trip:
It was supposed to be a 2-day, 2-game trip, but it turned into 4 days and 3 games. The women’s basketball team went into the Big Ten Tournament as the 7th seed, playing Northwestern. As expected, they won. Surprisingly, they beat 2nd seed Michigan State in one of the most exciting games of the year. The win gave us an unexpected 3rd game against 3rd seeded Purdue. Unfortunately, Wisconsin lost, but those extra few days in Indianapolis is what made the trip so much fun. Coming off of the excitement from the upset of Michigan State, we had nearly two full days to spend touring the city, seeing everything that it had to offer. From the Capital building to the Civil War Monument, we saw it all. It was a trip where we learned to expect the unexpected, and one that I’ll never forget.
Most embarrassing defeat:
A 42-13 loss to Florida State in the Champs Sports Bowl was possibly worse than the other 6 losses combined. A virtual home game for the Seminoles, the Badgers were outplayed, outclassed, and outdone by a Florida State team that wasn’t that much better than Wisconsin in the regular season. Wisconsin simply didn’t show up. Sure, the trip was fun, and it was nice to get away from the frigid Wisconsin winter for a few days, but it almost would’ve been better if we skipped the game altogether. If nothing else, we would have saved ourselves from hearing the FSU War chant five hundred times.
Full day of basketball:
On February 14, ESPN aired their College Gameday preview show from the Kohl Center. The nationally-broadcast show was open to the public, and a good number of Badger fans attended the live broadcast. The show was the start of what would be an exciting day of basketball. That night, the Badgers faced Ohio State, pulling out a 55-50 win in one of the most exciting games of the year. It was a fitting end to an exciting day. Badger fans got an opportunity to show the nation what Wisconsin is all about, and the basketball team got a win that helped secure an NCAA Tournament bid.
Business as usual:
Despite a six-game losing streak, Bo Ryan continued to go with the game plan. The one-game-at-a-time philosophy was followed the entire season, from the 12-3 start, the six-game losing streak, and ultimately a 7-3 finish that would land them in the NCAA Tournament for the eleventh straight season. Ryan refused to dwell on any loss, or get too excited about a win. Win or lose, Ryan and his team kept on moving on to the next game, staying extremely focused. I think this approach is why the Badgers were able to finish strong at the end, and grab one of the last spots in the Tournament and steal a win from Florida State.
Most dominating performance:
Any Women’s Hockey game was an example of domination, but a 7-0 win over Dartmouth at the Kohl Center was the complete example of what Wisconsin Women’s Hockey was. The NCAA Quarterfinal win would propel the Badgers to their third National Championship in four years, sending the seniors out in style as arguably the most successful student-athletics in school history. The Badgers seemed in control of every game, putting on a clinic for their opponents and the fans. It was a thrill to watch the season unfold, knowing something special could happen at any moment.
The one game I wish I had seen:
I would have traded nearly every game I saw this year to be in Boston for the Women’s Hockey Frozen Four. Instead, I was stuck in Madison at the WNIT, watching the game on the Kohl Center TV in the concourse. It’s not every day that a fan gets to watch their team win a National Championship, let alone in such a convincing way. To have been there in Boston would surely have been a memory any Badger fan would remember forever. Hopefully, we’ll have plenty of chances in the near future.
Biggest question to ponder over the summer:
Will the football team rebound from a 7-6 season, or will Bret Bielema’s season-by-season record continue to fall? Bielema has gone 12-1, 9-4, and 7-6. If Bielema struggles, is he on the hot seat at Kellner Hall?
The question everyone is asking:
How will the current state of the economy affect the Athletic Department and ticket sales? Will everyone renew their season tickets? If not, are there enough fans willing to buy those season tickets, or will there be empty seats? As for the Athletic Department, how much can they cut costs without it directly influencing the student-athletes and fans? Are they able to creatively save money while still providing the things necessary to run one of the nation’s most successful athletic programs? Only time can answer these questions, though it’s important to remember that every university is dealing with these same problems.
Now it’s time to spend the summer resting up for what surely will be another exciting year of Wisconsin Athletics. On Wisconsin!
