Zetlin:

The Wisconsin football team has one game left on its schedule, and it won’t be played in Camp Randall Stadium. But that doesn’t mean we can’t discuss the most glaring issue that looms around Monroe Street on game days: students not showing up on time.

I don’t want to beat a dead horse, but the reason 13,000 seats remain empty at kickoff — no matter what time of day it might be — is because there’s really nothing worth seeing. For those of you who don’t know — which I imagine is the majority of you — the Badgers walk down the tunnel to the tune of U2’s “Where the Streets Have No Name.” When the song hits its climax, Bret Bielema jumps up and down, the music stops, the band cuts in with the fight song, and the players storm onto the field.

Chlorophyll? More like bore-o-phyll.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m a fan of “On Wisconsin,” but it doesn’t belong as the entrance music. I wouldn’t exactly call it pump-up music. Instead, the Badgers need something exciting like USC’s Trojan Horse entrance, Colorado’s Buffalo or Texas Tech’s Masked Rider. Bucky waving the Motion ‘W’ just doesn’t do it for me.

Letting a real-life Badger roam the Camp Randall turf isn’t the answer, but something exciting needs to happen pre-kickoff to convince students to show up on time. Fireworks would be a start.

Sorry, Mase, this is the 21st century. The band just doesn’t create enough pre-game hype. Don’t take it personally, though; you’ll be a retired trumpeter during the next home game.

Mason:

C’mon, Zet, why the jabs at the band? You march a game in my cleats, then we’ll talk.

I’ll admit, I don’t necessarily think “On, Wisconsin” is the best way for the team to come onto the field. I can understand how a song over the PA would get the team more pumped up. But the fans?

I think pre-game music and entrances are the least of our concerns with putting fans in the seats before kickoff. If the Badgers were to have an entrance similar to USC or Texas Tech, do you really believe more kids would show up earlier?

Please.

There are essentially two reasons deterring students on this campus from arriving promptly at Camp Randall. Oftentimes they’re too busy tailgating to care about the game. Only when the game actually starts does it sink in to some fans to head over to the field.

Playing non-conference teams like Akron and Western Illinois doesn’t help either. Bring in a school like USC or Florida (never gonna happen, I know), and I guarantee the bleachers will be far from empty at kickoff.

But that’s not the theme of this argument. We’re supposed to come up with something different to attract fans. Fireworks would get old after one game.

It’s something you see done on the professional level, and even sometimes here at UW: pre-game giveaways. Each week, make it something different, but make it a first come, first served basis.

Crocs shoes have worked before at women’s hockey and volleyball games. That’s always an option. Or maybe, just maybe, for one game only, give out 100 iPods. You don’t think kids would be lining up for that?

Everyone loves free stuff. Everyone on campus loves the Badgers. Put the two together, and everyone will love showing up on time.