My spring break was overshadowed by one question: to go or not to go?

I was in Florida with my parents[1], and was planning to leave for Wisconsin by car on Friday afternoon. Which meant we would be driving through Indianapolis Saturday evening, just in time for the Final Four. It was too perfect to pass up, right?

Well my dad, the Marquette alum, pointed out several reasons why it wouldn’t work. For one, it would suck getting around Indy on my freshly sprained ankle. Our neurotic black lab Lady[2] was with us, which posed another problem. And obviously tickets and hotel rooms were going for somewhere in the range of one million dollars.

My mom, a fellow badger, and I would not be deterred. Yes, tickets would be expensive. Yes, we would probably have a shitty view. Yes, our psycho dog would probably have to sit alone in a hotel room for several hours. Yes, much like Lauren Carlini, the gritty and pulchritudinous[3] setter for the Wisconsin volleyball team, I would have to fight through an ankle injury to try to get to the final four. But it’s the final four! We have to go!

In a last ditch effort to dissuade us, my dad told the story of his trip to the 1983 elite 8 game between UNC and Georgia. He and some friends drove to the Carrier dome in Syracuse- a stadium comparable to Lucas Oil. Their seats were so high that they could hardly see the game. The message was supposed to be that football stadiums are terrible for watching basketball, but what I took away was that he saw Michael Jordan play in the NCAA tournament.

We were going.

And it was absolutely worth it. Here’s why:

It was an amazing atmosphere

We got to Lucas Oil about an hour before the Duke-Michigan State game and the place was buzzing already. Michigan state fans and Badger fans were united under the Big 10. Red and green high fives were exchanged all over the place. It felt kinda like Christmas[4].

Kentucky fans generally lived up to their southern hospitable reputation- I exchanged a few good luck’s in passing. Duke fans were duke fans. They got nothing.

We bonded with fellow Badgers

When we got to our seats we were pleased to find a strong contingency of badgers in our section. Right behind us was a family from Kentucky who had bought their tickets in November. Of the four kids, one played in his Nintendo DS the entire time, another texted the entire time, and a third fell asleep half way through the first game. Kentucky Fans suck.

We ignored them for most of the night and got to know the State and Wisconsin fans around us. By the end of the night the guy behind me was shaking me by the shoulders after every big play.

I don’t think I even learned anyone’s names, but there was definitely a bond in section 227.

We felt the momentum swings

Once the first game was underway it became clear that TV time outs have a huge impact. Michigan State came out and hit their first four three’s. With 15 minutes to go in the first half Sparty was up 14-4 and Big 10 fans were LOUD. But then the first commercial break came, and all their momentum was gone. It was downhill from there.

Obviously the place was kind of deflated by the end of the first game- Michigan state fans were sad and everyone else was disappointed. But, wow-it got loud for our game.

The crowd was probably about 60% Kentucky fans, but they didn’t have that much of an impact on the game. There were a few occasions were KU got on a run and their fans were going nuts. Thankfully the TV timeout effect helped us out a couple of times. Three consecutive shot-clock violations didn’t hurt either.

It was clear that the Grateful Red is superior

When you’re in our student section all the crazy stuff we do kind of gets taken for granted. The state fan next to me was shocked at how well choreographed the students were. Everybody sings, “if you want to be a badger” and “you’ve said it all.” Everybody hops and claps for “Space Badgers.” There are so many more traditions that you don’t even think about- you just do them.

The other schools didn’t have any of that stuff. Michigan State does some weird Gagnam Style thing every once in a while, but that’s about it.

There’s no such thing as over the top

Of the 20 types of fans[5], I’m usually in the “non-reaction” to “catatonic” range, depending on the magnitude of the game. I prefer to stay quite for fear of losing focus or saying something that will jinx my team. But last night at different points I was #2, 4, 5, 9, 13, 18 and 19. The atmosphere just brought it out of me. I was in a glass case of emotion. But it was fine because so was everyone else[6].

Wisconsin’s victory last night was one of the most exciting sporting event’s I’ve ever experienced. As great as it would have been no matter where I watched, being there was incredible. Never in my live have I been so engrossed in a sporting event, felt so close to complete strangers, or hated Michigan State so little.

The Final Four is awesome. If the Badgers are lucky enough to make it back in your lifetime and you have a parent that can be shamed into buying you a ticket, I highly recommend it

[1] Yeah, I went on spring break with my parents. What of it?

[2] Blame my sister Caroline for the name.

[3] I borrowed that one from Nigel.

[4] In an attempt to build camaraderie my mom kept saying, “go Michigan” to State fans as they passed. She couldn’t figure out why they were so offended.

[5] Which I think applies to all fans, not just those who are depressed

[6] Well, maybe not #13. Waving the dirty dub in a four year old Kentucky fan’s face may have been a little over the top.