The Tribe

Also spent the weekend touching base with the old tribe, University of Wisconsin Badgers. While in school there, I had season football and hockey tickets. So we splurged on football tix, scrimped on hockey and caught three Badger games in two days. Homecoming parade, beers at the Rathskeller, walking State Street. And the Band, man. The Band.

I’m happy to report the rituals remain alive and well. Chants, cheers, polkas, rattling keys and pointing at that sieve goalie. The students have carried on better than I ever could. Is a house party a ritual? Enough choruses of Varsity to keep me stocked up for a few years. And the band is under official sanction for lewd behavior.

The hockey Badgers performed well in two contests versus the powerhouse Fighting Sioux. The football Badgers did fine against a Gopher team that failed to mount a respectable performance. But the perfect football weather practically overshadowed activity on the field. We just basked in the atmosphere of the place. In all, you couldn’t script it better.