Scored some tickets to the OSU @ Wisconsin game. I've never been up there so I was wondering if anyone here has. Any advice on what to expect? Good places to eat, park? Also, does anyone know when the kickoff time will be announced?
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- Kickoff time probably won't come out until the Mon or Tues the week before (the 5th or 6th) but I have a hard time believing it'll be anything other than 3:30 (2:30 up there)
- If memory serves, parking within striking distance of the stadium is a crapshoot (mostly parking at houses/apartments, few massive surface lots or garages, at least close)
- My recommendation would be to search for Madison bars that have shuttles available (there are actually a lot of them) or look for a hotel that you can walk from
- Hopefully you're sitting in an OSU section; otherwise, Godspeed
I have had luck parking at a UW Health Systems lot on the southwest corner of Regent & Park.
It's between the Kohl Center (basketball) and Camp Randall. I think it was about $20 and not a far walk to the stadium.
As you walk west down Regent to Camp Randall, there are several bars along the way. The Big Ten Pub, Lucky's Irish Pub as well as others (some put out tents on gameday to accommodate more). Sometimes some of the fringe fans can be jerks, but I've seen it all over.
I hope this helps.
We have two seats in the OSU section and two seats with UW alumni. Two years ago our seats were in the OSU section and we ran in to the people we tailgated with before (near the parking structure @ Regent & Park), we just walked up to some other Buckeyes that were there already and partied with them. If you tailgate, make sure you know the alcohol rules in the area that you are in.
WIBUCKEYE
props to you for making it up there. would love to hear about the tailgating, gameday, and stadium atmosphere
If you're sitting near a majority of UW fans, don't cheer or wear OSU affiliation. Wisconsin fans' general boredom with their state combines with building sexual frustration to create an animosity the likes of which the world has never known.
I went up there to watch a game in the early 90s. The atmosphere was pretty electric. Unfortunately, there were some idiots putting stuff in marshmallows and throwing them at OSU fans. Kind of spoiled it for me somewhat. Would be interested to hear how things have changed at Camp Randall over the last 20ish years.
I don't think we're in an OSU section (section A) and my buddy already expressed concern about being pelted with batteries. But I'm proudly wearing OSU gear either way.
Thanks for the parking tips, guys.
We decided to do the B1G road trip and hit an away game every year. This will be our first stop.
Fan of bacon since 1981
Good luck. Hope you survive. One of the nastiest fanbases in the country.
thats the one thing ill say about wisconsin, they make it very very unfavorable for other fan bases... i recommend being in a group of 6 or more
mark may wins douchebag of the year... again
Wear a raincoat......
I would definitely bet a 3:30 p.m. game. There is no other B1G marquee game. Michigan plays Iowa, Michigan State playw NW and Nebraska plays Minnesota. Also B1G does not do any night games in November so I would bet 3:30.
Unbelievable place to watch a game---was there for the 2008 game when TP ran it in with just a minute or so remaining ...not an exper on what to do before, although I had fun at brat's.....jump around is far and away the coolest thing I've ever seen
My advice would be similar to that offered in the Godfather about leaving the gun and taking the cannoli - so here it is: leave the stadium - take the bratwurst. Sorry for the lousy comment but this is for my 50th helmet sticker.
Good call on the start time, SJ52. Didn't think to consider that the B1G won't schedule night games in November.
Fan of bacon since 1981
if you plan on tailgaiting late into the night after the game, be sure to stock up on beer bc gas stationns/cvs stop selling at 10pm. learned that one the hard way
I am more of a reader then contributor but I had an interesting experience at Camp Randall...
I went to Camp Randall in 2010 to cheer our our newly ranked #1 Buckeye's. It was an 8pm game and my trip was both good and very bad (besides the obvious):
Then the opening kickoff was runback... Immediately the crowd turned on us - I have never been told to F'off, Go F myself, so many times in my life...the comments were constant. OSU battled back which shut the fans up a bit, but once we lost, an older family sitting behind me tapped my shoulder and suggested my buddies and I leave for our safety.
Once out of the stadium, people were running up to us, continuing to yell "GO Home, F'off", some OSU fans in front of me were drenched with what I hoped was beer - it was a mob mentality (the stadium emptied out + the fans around), fighting back was not an option just due to the numbers. This continued all the way back to the car which unfortunatley was near the capital.
We finally made it back to the hotel- got into the elevator when another set of OSU fans walked on- they looked at us and said "I am glad we made it back alive!" as they experienced the same mob.
What a difference a day makes...I am guessing the 8pm game was the cause, but they are sore winners...
Damn! Hope that was beer, too. I would imagine the reaction you got was contributed to the fact it was a night game and everyone was wasted from drinking all day. Also, it's easy to go crazy when you beat the #1 team in the country. That said, I think we'll try to find other Buckeye fans to walk with on the way into and out of the game. Thanks for the heads up.
Fan of bacon since 1981
Sounds like things are changing for the worse in Madtown. When I was there, they were throwing thigns at us but I didnt see any direct confrontations. It was more people were using the crowd to remain anonymous.
I was there in 2002, and my advice would be watch your back. The night before and pregame was pretty calm. Similar to some comments above, just had to deal with some sh*t talking and a few d-bags. Walking past the greek houses on the way to the game and sitting in a section that was not OSU friendly was a whole different matter. It was pretty intense, and after Gamble intercepted the ball to seal the game, we tried to get out of there pretty quick. The walk back from the stadium after they lost was pretty crazy. We basically tried to avoid fights for the couple miles we had to walk back due to being outnumbered. If you go out after the game, especially if we win, I would recommend wearing something neutral and just drink and have fun.
I've only known one person who went up there, and it was for the 2003 "Gamble-bit-on-the-out" game. He came back hating Wisconsin fans more than Michigan. I'm pretty sure it is a sentiment that he still holds to this day. So, be careful. Don't open your mouth. Just smile and laugh along with them.
I'll bet that they're going to be pretty keyed up after last year's Hail Mary game, so it might be extra hostile for Buckeye fans. If I had tickets to that game, I probably wouldn't go. But then again, I'm a wuss.
MRTIMT12 - My wife and I were at that game as well. We were in the OSU section as I said earlier so it wasn't as bad during the game. When we left, we met up with another Buckeye couple to walk back to the parking ramp. A couple of meathead badgers confronted the other female and started talking smack, but her man and I jumped in to ask them if they had anything to say to us. They slithered away, luckily, cause I know there were a lot of other badgers around and we would be toast if we started something.
The key is to have fun, but stay level headed, there is a lot of police around (similar to near the Shoe after a game) so you can always get help from them.
The 5th quarter after the game is really pretty cool, but two years ago, after they took us down (as the #1 team in the country) they rushed the field and the band didn't do it.
WIBUCKEYE
I've got nothing as far as the game day experience but I've been to Madison several times and have the recommendations which follow:
Best place to stay - Hotel Red. It's directly across from the stadium. The owner is from San Fran and has created a wonderfully out of place boutique environment. Service is great as are the cocktails at their bar. Otherwise, anywhere in the square is recommended as you can stumble to / from many great bars / restaurants very close by. As a Marriott guy, I often stay at the Courtyard Madison Marriott East. (Fact: one of their bartender / servers go-go dances on the side).
Best place to eat - Harvest. It's in the aforementioned downtown square. It's farm-to-table style so everything is fresh, local and seasonal. Drinks and beers are great as well. A little more out of the way is The Weary Traveler which is a funky spot with good eats.
Best beer - Most will say the renowned Spotted Cow which you'll find just about everywhere. It's a good pounder; nothing fancy but goes down very easy. However, I prefer the selections from Ale Asylum. Hopalicious is especially recommended if you're an IPA fan. The most lively bars are Brats which Alex referred to (it's a jock-ish Badgers rah-rah kinda joint) as well as The Great Dane (downtown location) which is a brew pub with a large menu to boot.
Any other particular questions, just let me know as I'm friends with some locals as well as being familiar with the area.
Whatever you do, make sure to hit someplace that has fried cheese curd (shouldn't be hard). If the first place you go to doesn't have it, pay for your drink and move on to the next one -- it's the best thing about Madison.
"The revolution will be televised."
State Street Brats . . . I would stay in Middleton and take shuttle over.
Fans are rough there good luck. Go Bucks!
Been to a dozen games there. No problems, that is, if u can keep walking when a fan runs up and starts yelling in your face. I just laugh and keep walking.
Boynamedtracy has some very good suggestions, albeit a little scattered and out of the way. Hotel red would be a coup, but prob too late to get a room there. Some of the places mentioned are on the Capitol square, which I would say you should absolutely do.
Park near the Capitol, then walk down State St, dozens of bars on the way. If ur in Madison, you should probably stop at st. Street Brats. When you hit the end of state st, you're pretty much at the union. Go checkout the terrace and the lake, grab a beer from the rathskeller there. Then beeline to the stadium, and enjoy the circus on the way. There are plenty of characters and outfits- the girls really put on a show with the outfits.
parking will be easier to find by the capitol, and by walking state st, you'll get to see the most unique part of Madison. If you survive the game, Sunday morning brunch at Bluephies on Monroe st (a few block SW of camp Randall) is the bomb. Though Harvest is good too, but a little pricey. I could give more direct info about where to park if you want. Hell, I'm gonna be there too
WB
My story is very similar to MRTIMT12
Friday night we make the 9 hour drive there and stay with some friends that go to UW. We started with a few shots and went up and down State and University street to go out. I recommend you try Ian's pizza and stop at the bars. When I went, the people there were nice enough to buy us drinks, so not all are bad.
Saturday, the gameday crew was there so we went to Camp Randal and got some TV time. Afterwards we went to Mickey's Dairy Bar, I highly recommend you go there for breakfast. This place was featured on ESPN and has portions of food so large for $6-$8 you can't finish it. Its similar to Nancy's in Columbus on N. High.
Midday we got a chance to check out the campus and its very nice. Its like campus in city and from the Bascom Hall front lawn where Abe Lincoln is you can see the Capital building. It has several great views and to me is my favorite campus in the B1G. If you're a runner and like to exercise before a game, take a run down by Lake Mendota which is by the university. They have a great trail that extends around lake and school. If you get a chance check out the streets surrounding the campus going toward the capital building. Its probably one of the second best state capital buildings I seen but the architecure is nice. And if you're a Green Bay fan or goofy like I am buy a cheesehead. You only get one chance to do this....
Now here is where the horror story comes to life...
This entire time we were having fun, checking out the school and eating, the students were drinking, drinking, drinking. So we joing in on the debauchery of the guess we were with, grab some more stuff from the store and head back. Side note the liquore stores close at 9pm CT. One our way back you see people drinking while on their pourch and its just crowds of people there. Try to walk fast because they singled us out and started throwing stuff. So we go back, join the convivial and then head out... The door shuts and then next thing you know you see a bunch of drunk zombies wearing red and white jerseys, cheeseheads atop and badger hats all sloth forward slowly to the slaughter house. We didn't experience problems walking there, thus I highly recommend you wear scarlet to blend in and go with a large group.
We line up with, tickets in hand and outside of the stadium and band starts to play the erie music of "On Wisconsin", which singnaled our demise. We get our stadium food (which by the way is excellent), split from our group of 7 to 3 (2 osu people and 1 uw guy) and walk to our section... As we begin to walk up the stairs past the security guard I ask my friend, "How bad could this be". The guard replies, "for OSU fans this is going to get ugly, it is they who will have judgement over you". I turn around to see who they are and behold I see a crowed Bucky's minons by score board and I realize that this isn't going to be fun... Our friend from UW lead us right into a death drap of the student section.
So we get to our seats and have to stand the entire game no problem. Kick off start and que the pain. Before you know it were down 21-0, the band starts playing Hot Times in the Old Town Tonight which singals a uniform movement of the student bodyon every touchdown, and everything the annoucner says pisses you off. At this point every OSU fan sitting in the student section gets singled out and gets the verbals fireworks: A-hole, P.O.S., it's all your fault, you F'd up. Doesn't help when your friend rats you out. I do remember turning around to the students and antagonizing them to say go ahead and keep the fireworks coming we don't care. At some point in the game they started chanting F*** you eat s*** and said O sucks to the tune of a song by Steven Miller called Swingtown. At first I thought it was directed to OSU but found out later it was directed to the freshman section.
Fastforward to end of the 3rd quarter and you get to get off your feet and JUMP AROUND. The 4th quarter begins and Monte Ball runs in the go ahead TD which pretty much insures our defeat. One of Bucky Minos' says, "You want some of what I'm drinking, I recommend you start drinking now". Umm, no thanks. Fast forward to the last few minutes and the chants of overrated come flying from over the stadium. There was even a guy right over my sholder taunting us and said, "this is a result of your overate a** team, we just taught you how to bucky". At this point we leave but on our way out Bucky possessed minons now enraged start throwing things at us, the 5th quarter begins, students rush the field and everyone goes nuts... As we exit the snake pit aka Camp Randall, we notice groups and packs of OSU fans getting taunted, having things thrown at and leaving.....
We get back to my friends house and change our clothes and wait to til the other group meets back. In that short amount of time parts of the band are scattered throughout the streets playing On Wiscosin while people go nuts. We all go out and never rememmebr the night again...
While my story was drawn out to entertain whoever read it, I can honestly say that I absolutely despise Badger fans more than Michigan and will always cheer for the Rodents to lose whoever they play. Lets go 2-10 Badgers. They are poor winners, bad losers and unwelcoming host to the visiting team. It probably has a better sports atmosphere than Columbus (yes I just said that) but their fans make it so hostile. This story and other parts of OSU vs. Wisconsin (ie. 2005, Badgers dance on OSU logo after the win) are the reason why I will root for them to lose.
Some tips for a good time
-Get there early so you can see State/University both at night and during the day
-Tour the campus and check out the state capital building
-DO NOT sit in the student section. If your tickets are in the student section, you should try to exchange them while you have time.
-Stay for 5th quarter. I heard them perform it in 2007 when they played at OSU, lots of great songs. Their band is on par with OSU and my second favorite in the conference. They do a good job of playing older tunes people know (Little Chicken Dance, On Wisconsin, Roll out the Barrel, Build Me up Buttercup and more).
-Have a change of clothes handy
-Get whatever you need to drink before the stores close, if not you'll be forced to go to the bars.
I hope we beat them down like Penn State did in 2008. That would be awesome. :)
Go Bucks. OFF Wisconsin.
Ohio State's band SLAUGHTERED Michigan's band. If this were a football game, it would have been Florida State vs. Savannah State. - SB Nation following OSU vs. UM 2012
Wisconsin fans in general are obnoxious and act like they are on par with the most elite teams in the nation, yet, Wisconsin has won nothing. Very odd to have such a huge ego as a fan base when the team can't win a BCS bowl game against the likes of TCU and Oregon or even be good enough to be thought of as a National Title Contender.
Tomorrow
The students show up mid-2nd quarter so if you happen to score some GA tickets (not sure if they do this anymore), you can easily get a great seat by showing up around gametime. #OverratedStudentSection
Just in case anyone is going to the game, I thought I bring this forum back from the graveyard...
Ohio State's band SLAUGHTERED Michigan's band. If this were a football game, it would have been Florida State vs. Savannah State. - SB Nation following OSU vs. UM 2012
I personally would never go to this hell hole. Avoid the students as much as possible and you should be okay.
"if irony were made of strawberries, we' d all be drinking a lot of smoothies right now."
I'm planning on purchasing tickets to this game tomorrow... Does anyone know where the "Ohio State section" is? After reading these comments, I really don't want to be sitting in the wrong section.
Buckeye Nation
Go to Essen Haus and get a Boot!
"Because the rules won't let you go for three." - Woody Hayes
THE Ohio State University
Ive been offered 8 pairs of tickets in the last week. For face value. Hunting season starts this week, and that takes precedence here in the land of beer and cheese! I also think most fans want to see them beat OSU, to legitimize their trip to Indy, but they seem less excited than a normal tilt with the Buckeyes, but as someone mentioned above, if they win, THEY ARE SORE WINNERS!!
Will be interested to hear how your trip goes. Bring hand-warmers (or a flask)-it's gonna be in the 30's by the 2nd 1/2. But the day will be nice and sunny, and nearly 50 when the suns up. Should be a great atmosphere. Should we win, you'll be glad to have had that experience.
WB
Just offered tix as well. Everyone going hunting. I went two years ago. Everyone was cool before the game but it turned after. I had a couple female porkers talk smack to my wife on the way out. I know a lot of fat jokes though . . . Also a guy so drunk he could barely stand challenged me to a fight. All in all it was fun other than the loss.
There's a good amount of students making the trip up; hopefully BuckeyeNation will be represented well!
Not sure where the OSU section is but we're in "A" row 15. Probably going to tailgate before the game at corner of Park and Regent before bar hopping our way to the game. If anyone else is going and wants to tailgate hit me up.
Fan of bacon since 1981
Just bring mace. That's my motto for away games. You never know if you may need to tame the locals.
@buckeye12 I did some searching before gettting my tickets as well: http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/little-help-here-where-sit-wisconsin