Each and every football season, the UW Badgers have one home game that stands out. It is in effect "the game of the year". In past years, Grasshopper No. 4 seems to dominate in terms of attending that special game. He saw the Badgers beat Michigan in the last minute. He saw the Ohio State Buckeyes go down with a long pass late in the ball game (I think he soaking wet in the rain that night). I could go on and on.
Last Saturday had all the ingredients for being the game of the year. Michigan State was coming in with an unbeaten record of 4-0. The Badgers had stumbled to a 4-0 record. Michigan State was coming off a big victory over Notre Dame. Michigan State has big people on their team. Very big people!
Well Grasshopper No. 4 did not have tickets to this one! Grasshopper No. 1 and the special guy in her life attended. It was one of those days. Warm summer temperatures of 72 degrees. High cirrus overcast. The Outback blimp hovering over the stadium to give televised shots of Camp Randall in all it's glory. Nice breeze out of the south. You couldn't script it any better.
The game was non-stop action. The score at the half was 24-21 with Badgers leading. The achilles heal of the Badgers is they give up a lot of points. That means they have to score a lot of points. The second half did not disappoint and the outcome was in doubt right down to the last minute. Yep. The Badgers eeeked a victory 37-34. That game may turn out to be pivotal for the Badgers in their march to a Big 10 championship and National acclaim.
The thing that was different was that Grasshopper No. 1 replaced No. 4 as the luckiest Badger fan. She probably saw the game of the year. I think she and Tom got the lucky tickets.
The script is not finished. The Badgers have 3 more home games. It is possible that the year ending Michigan game could be the "grand-daddy" of this season. Time will tell. Who will get the Michigan ticket? Maybe I'll go out on "ebay". If the Badgers continue to win, that game may fetch $400-$500 per ticket. I guess then you could say, I had the lucky tickets.
The lesson Grasshoppers is that life comes at you fast. You just never know when you will be fortunate enough to pull the lucky ticket. Smile No. 1.
Love
Dad