Rivalry: Part Two

The Big 10 has incredible rivalries. My favorite, of course, is OSU and Michigan. However, all Big 10 teams play competitively with each other. That is why when I was asked if I would like to go see OSU and the Badgers on Saturday, it was a quick "You bet!" as a response.

My friend Corina, who I work with at Waunakee, and her husband are both UW grads, so they have strong ties to UW. We had planned to hang out and watch the game together anyways. So, when tickets from her husbands work fell into her lap, we leapt at the chance to go to the game.


As we arrived in downtown Madison, we were so excited to witness a virtual sea of red pulsing with excitement down the roads. Everywhere you looked vibrant reds dominated the eye. I was pleased to only be verbally assaulted a few times wearing my Buckeye shirt in Badger land.

Corina and her husband had four seats: two in the loge and two in the stands. Corina and I took the first half outside. Our seats were only 18 rows from the Buckeye bench on the 40 yard line. The tickets were amazing! We were so close to the field, and could see every move the players made. It was humorous watching us in the half as I would stand and cheer for the Buckeye first downs and scores, while Corina and the rest of the nearby crowd would cheer for the Badgers.

The half quickly passed, and we switched spots with our hubbies and watched the second half from the loge. One of my favorite moments is a Badger tradition where between the 3rd and 4th quarter, they play "Jump Around" and the student section just jumps up and down. It is so incredible to watch thousands of students jump up; even the Buckeye players caught the fever and jumped a little!

Near the end of the game as the Buckeyes were getting ready to score, I was a little tense; I wanted to win! Chris said that as he and Corina's Chris watched the Buckeyes score, my Chris literally jumped up mimicking the Touchdown motion, while her Chris buried his head in his hands.

It was an incredible game. We had so much fun and were so grateful that we could witness this remarkable rivalry with such wonderful people!