In my short life, I have made a few travels. In my short time working as a sports writer, I have made even fewer travels. However, in those travels I have learned a few things. And I’ve learned even fewer things in the last day since I arrived in Las Vegas to cover the Badger game. Yes, I am three days early for the game — but it’s Vegas, right?
Recently I’ve become aware of the fact that you can stay at ridiculously nice places in Las Vegas for cheap if you put a few extra people in the room. When planning the trip, we were quoted prices just about twice as high for four people as for “two college students in a suite.” Whoever would believe that, I don’t know, yet it worked.
You would think there might be some security people that check to make sure you are registered at these places. There’s not. Honestly, its tougher to get a girl past the night monitor at Witte Hall than it is to stay in Vegas at half price.
The second thing I’ve learned is that gambling kicks my ass and does it at a rapid pace. I had just lain down at the pool, determined not to blow too much money while I was here. I figured it was a beautiful day, and who wants to sit inside at the casino? Well, it didn’t take long until one of my friends came by and told me stories of fame, riches and glory.
Apparently one of our group had sat down and played cards for 10 minutes and won $1000 — then he forgot to tip the waitress. What horrid etiquette, but that is beside the point. Ben and I took one look at each other and said, “Let’s go gambling.” With dollar signs shining in our eyes, we headed for the casino, determined to win.
Well, needless to say, when I retired for the evening many long hours later, I no longer had these visions in my head. As I parted with each new $20 bill, my expression became more pained. Suddenly Vegas wasn’t the happiest place in the world for me.
Let’s just say that I lost somewhere between $0 and $1000. You will have to let your imagination do the rest, because certain parties that read these columns help me pay for my college education. I’m thinking maybe the Herald will comp me for “researching my column.” Yeah, that sounds like a good plan.
Aside from gambling, aside from big buffets, aside from concrete monuments and little men handing out pornography every 15 feet on the street, this trip has shown me one thing I guess I already knew — that Wisconsin fans literally stand as legends in some parts of the country. Las Vegas and the West Coast are two places they are certainly regarded by locals as the best fans in the country.
Locals tell stories that I know are not actually possible regarding the Wisconsinites. The fans are almost regarded as a mythical beast.
An example: 3 p.m. Aug. 28. A bartender, who is not drinking, politely informs me that Wisconsin is bringing 100,000 people to Las Vegas for the game. Knowing this is not true and that the UNLV stadium holds around 40,000 people, I ask how many people can fit in the stadium. 40,000, he tells me.
Clearly he is not stupid — he realizes 100,000 people can’t fit in the stadium. He and others around him really believe that the Wisconsin fans are just that dedicated. They’ll spend $1000 with no assurance of seeing the game. They just want to be there.
In truth, Wisconsin fans are known for taking over road stadiums. Bowl games and non-conference foes fall victim to this particularly often. The two Rose Bowl wins over UCLA are good examples of this.
Don’t think this sort of thing doesn’t matter. After being defeated in the Rose Bowl, several UCLA players did talk about how demoralizing it was to come into a home stadium and be outnumbered by a Badger-dominated crowd.
UNLV has tried to guard against having this happen, just as it did last time these two teams played in Vegas. The UW allotment of tickets was small and sold immediately. After this, some Badger fans went so far as to buy entire season ticket packages from UNLV to get their hands on the UW game ticket. As of late, I have known several groups that have been able to successfully buy tickets from a UNLV ticket website. I’m sure some will also pay an arm and a leg to scalpers.
The only weakness of the Badger fan on the road is a propensity to party a little too hard. A reporter at the Big Ten basketball tournament told me a story of how he had never seen such crazy fans in such numbers the last time he was in Las Vegas.
However, when he was in the press box watching the game he took out his binoculars and had a look at the Wisconsin section, only to find a good number of the patrons passed out in their seats. It is hard to be intimidating when you are passed out.
If the number of tickets sold for the all-you-can-eat-and-drink Badger tailgate is any indication, the fans may have a repeat of that situation. Then again, that is part of the Badger legend.
On a side note, the Badgers are a 4.5-point favorite at the moment. If I weren’t a totally unbiased sports reporter, I would take a piece of that action.
