Been meaning to post this for several weeks now...
One of my sons good buddies from school and his family are from Wisconsin. Over the past couple of years, the families have gotten to know each other better, and we hang out from time to time. A little before Halloween, the dad and I were on their back porch having some drinks and hanging out... He was talking about Lambeau, and I mentioned how I'd love to go see it. He took it to heart, and within 24 hours he had some tickets on standby, and was asking about travel arrangements! Our boys are only about a week apart in age, and it was that time of year, so we justified it as a birthday trip for them!
Along the way, the other dad realized that Wisconsin was playing Nebraska the Saturday before Green Bay vs. the Chargers. We were all about that, so we got some damn cheap tickets off of SeatGeek. So, our early arrival into Chicago could be put to even more use!
Madison, WI
After handling some things we had to take care of in Chicago, not the least of which was some Al's Italian Beef and meeting up with an old college buddy of mine who lives in the area who was tagging along, we hit the road for Madison. It was a good 3.5 hour drive, including the usual gnarly Chicago traffic. Once we got out of Illinois, it was like crossing from Alabama, Louisiana or Arkansas into Mississippi... roads were eleventy billion times better and we hauled ***. Lots of toll roads, though.
We arrived, and Madison seemed to be a very quaint Capitol city and college town. 2 nice lakes that oppose each other, bike lanes everywhere and low-rise architecture... I liked the overall feel of the town. The students were decked in their colors, and lots of them in the white and red overalls. Lots of school pride, and I really appreciated that. Lots of energy in the air, but not the threat of sh1rt going south like at a Lootie game. Frat houses across from the main entrance to the stadium was cool to see, but the houses were in rough shape. It's also a normal B1G campus that is spread throughout the city instead of being isolated.
We get into the stadium, and our first thought is "lets find our seats and find some beer"! We accomplished the first objective with ease, but not the 2nd: no beer sales at Camp Randall. That caught us off guard, especially with Wisconsin being the most drunken state in the Union! And, we didn't even prepare ahead by getting airplane bottles... But, we persevered and had some hot chocolate and some really awesome stadium food: brats, pretzels, cheese. They had an awesome variety, and we saved a pile of bank by not drinking.... So, we weren't too disappointed.
We had seats on the 7th row, which we all figured would be a pretty good view. In actuality, we were on the 3rd row from the rails, and not nearly the vantage point we thought we'd get. So, we watched the video board most of the night. Davis Wade has far more modern amenities than Camp Randall, IMO... But, it felt very nostalgic there. That was really cool.
The student section was magnificent. All in the endzone. My god. All their cheers were done in unison, and it didn't sound like a jumbled mess. "Jump Around" was worth the price of admission alone. Holy hell.... And they all stayed.
The football game was pretty atrocious, actually... 2 mediocre teams facing off, and we had lots of obnoxious Cornholers around us. Sconnie won it OT, but we left early to beat traffic and get us closer to Appleton, WI where we were staying.
Green Bay and Lambeau
We got up early on Sunday for the relatively short drive to Green Bay. Green Bay seems a lot like Tupelo, if it had an NFL team. Really interesting.
Just like the Sconnie game, my buddy hadn't been in a while and things change. We couldn't get to the Packers HOF without entering the stadium. But, there was tailgating and concessions all around so we had no problem staying occupied. My son and I, both wearing Dak gear, got some Packers gear to wear. We even ran into a Cowboys couple from Fort Worth who travel to games, and got a pic. Before you go in, they have a selfie station where you can grab a pic with the MASSIVE 50-foot Lombardi trophy. That was pretty damn cool.
After a few 10 AM-ish beers and Bloody Mary's, we decided to enter the stadium and go check out the Packers HOF. It was really cool to see, but you gotta pony up $12 per to check it out. I think it was worth it, overall.
It's an old stadium that has had some upgrades. All bench seating, but you can rent a chairback.... which I like. We had amazing seats on about the 35 yard line, and we were in the sun. It was a gorgeous day, but the folks in the shade had to have been freezing. Concessions were really good, and varied though the stadium. Not as much beer selection as I would have thought, but not a huge deal.
The crowd noise was LEGIT. It was real. I go to a couple or more Cowboys games a year, and that is fake noise. This was a lot of fun, and they play this cool old school riff all game long: Plus, they are very, very, very vigilant on when to tell the crowd to make noise and when STFU.... it's playing across the video boards, it was effective and really not a bad idea.
The Wisconsin Experience
After the game, a nailbiter that the Packers won, we headed to my buddies sisters house that was in the vicinity. Leaving the stadium wasn't painless, but not the worst for an NFL experience.
It was dark when we arrived at my buddy's sisters house. We made our introductions, and hung out with the family for a while. Then, they started cooking an amazing Wisconsin feast: deer backstrap that she broiled like a steak, fried walleye, brussels sprouts... everything they cooked was from the fruits of their own labor. Damn... it was amazing.
It was a Sunday night, and even though my son and his buddy were off for the week for Thanksgiving, the daughter of the house had school the next day. Yet, we still played poker until about midnight. I lost my a$$, but at least it wasn't real! It was a really heartwarming experience, and we were glad to have been included.
Headed Home
We ended the night and headed back to our AirBnB. The next morning, we had plans to go see another of our friends relatives, but that all fell through. So, we began our trek back to Midway in Chicago to get home.
On the drive back, my buddy would point out things like "Hey, here is where every Playboy magazine in the world is printed" and "Here is where all cereal boxes are made" at these factories. Wisconsin is a very blue collar state, and they don't let their small towns go without industry. The topography of driving around where we were was so much like the MS Delta... except that they have work for their residents. The people were very much like the folks you'd run into in MS, too... very salt of the earth.
I looked it up on the way back... UW Madison has over a $4B endowment. From what I could tell, few SEC schools even have $1B... That was an eye-opening observation.
Closing
It was a great trip, and I'd recommend both Madison and Green Bay as places to visit for anybody! The elephant in the room, though, is that my buddy had just recently gone into remission from Stage 4 cancer. Even though we never brought it up as a factor for the trip, it was a given that we needed to take our boys on a trip like this. Life is too short.
Just today, he was given the news that the cancer has returned to some spots of where it was before, although it hasn't spread to new areas. He'll have to start chemo again. He's a fighter, and my main concern is that his son that has to worry about this right now during the holiday season.
This guy takes off with his son every summer for camping trips across the country. Been doing it for years, and just got back from one this past weekend. I just want to encourage all of you to never take spending time with your loved ones for granted... memories last forever for the ones you make them with.
One of my sons good buddies from school and his family are from Wisconsin. Over the past couple of years, the families have gotten to know each other better, and we hang out from time to time. A little before Halloween, the dad and I were on their back porch having some drinks and hanging out... He was talking about Lambeau, and I mentioned how I'd love to go see it. He took it to heart, and within 24 hours he had some tickets on standby, and was asking about travel arrangements! Our boys are only about a week apart in age, and it was that time of year, so we justified it as a birthday trip for them!
Along the way, the other dad realized that Wisconsin was playing Nebraska the Saturday before Green Bay vs. the Chargers. We were all about that, so we got some damn cheap tickets off of SeatGeek. So, our early arrival into Chicago could be put to even more use!
Madison, WI
After handling some things we had to take care of in Chicago, not the least of which was some Al's Italian Beef and meeting up with an old college buddy of mine who lives in the area who was tagging along, we hit the road for Madison. It was a good 3.5 hour drive, including the usual gnarly Chicago traffic. Once we got out of Illinois, it was like crossing from Alabama, Louisiana or Arkansas into Mississippi... roads were eleventy billion times better and we hauled ***. Lots of toll roads, though.
We arrived, and Madison seemed to be a very quaint Capitol city and college town. 2 nice lakes that oppose each other, bike lanes everywhere and low-rise architecture... I liked the overall feel of the town. The students were decked in their colors, and lots of them in the white and red overalls. Lots of school pride, and I really appreciated that. Lots of energy in the air, but not the threat of sh1rt going south like at a Lootie game. Frat houses across from the main entrance to the stadium was cool to see, but the houses were in rough shape. It's also a normal B1G campus that is spread throughout the city instead of being isolated.
We get into the stadium, and our first thought is "lets find our seats and find some beer"! We accomplished the first objective with ease, but not the 2nd: no beer sales at Camp Randall. That caught us off guard, especially with Wisconsin being the most drunken state in the Union! And, we didn't even prepare ahead by getting airplane bottles... But, we persevered and had some hot chocolate and some really awesome stadium food: brats, pretzels, cheese. They had an awesome variety, and we saved a pile of bank by not drinking.... So, we weren't too disappointed.
We had seats on the 7th row, which we all figured would be a pretty good view. In actuality, we were on the 3rd row from the rails, and not nearly the vantage point we thought we'd get. So, we watched the video board most of the night. Davis Wade has far more modern amenities than Camp Randall, IMO... But, it felt very nostalgic there. That was really cool.
The student section was magnificent. All in the endzone. My god. All their cheers were done in unison, and it didn't sound like a jumbled mess. "Jump Around" was worth the price of admission alone. Holy hell.... And they all stayed.
The football game was pretty atrocious, actually... 2 mediocre teams facing off, and we had lots of obnoxious Cornholers around us. Sconnie won it OT, but we left early to beat traffic and get us closer to Appleton, WI where we were staying.
Green Bay and Lambeau
We got up early on Sunday for the relatively short drive to Green Bay. Green Bay seems a lot like Tupelo, if it had an NFL team. Really interesting.
Just like the Sconnie game, my buddy hadn't been in a while and things change. We couldn't get to the Packers HOF without entering the stadium. But, there was tailgating and concessions all around so we had no problem staying occupied. My son and I, both wearing Dak gear, got some Packers gear to wear. We even ran into a Cowboys couple from Fort Worth who travel to games, and got a pic. Before you go in, they have a selfie station where you can grab a pic with the MASSIVE 50-foot Lombardi trophy. That was pretty damn cool.
After a few 10 AM-ish beers and Bloody Mary's, we decided to enter the stadium and go check out the Packers HOF. It was really cool to see, but you gotta pony up $12 per to check it out. I think it was worth it, overall.
It's an old stadium that has had some upgrades. All bench seating, but you can rent a chairback.... which I like. We had amazing seats on about the 35 yard line, and we were in the sun. It was a gorgeous day, but the folks in the shade had to have been freezing. Concessions were really good, and varied though the stadium. Not as much beer selection as I would have thought, but not a huge deal.
The crowd noise was LEGIT. It was real. I go to a couple or more Cowboys games a year, and that is fake noise. This was a lot of fun, and they play this cool old school riff all game long: Plus, they are very, very, very vigilant on when to tell the crowd to make noise and when STFU.... it's playing across the video boards, it was effective and really not a bad idea.
The Wisconsin Experience
After the game, a nailbiter that the Packers won, we headed to my buddies sisters house that was in the vicinity. Leaving the stadium wasn't painless, but not the worst for an NFL experience.
It was dark when we arrived at my buddy's sisters house. We made our introductions, and hung out with the family for a while. Then, they started cooking an amazing Wisconsin feast: deer backstrap that she broiled like a steak, fried walleye, brussels sprouts... everything they cooked was from the fruits of their own labor. Damn... it was amazing.
It was a Sunday night, and even though my son and his buddy were off for the week for Thanksgiving, the daughter of the house had school the next day. Yet, we still played poker until about midnight. I lost my a$$, but at least it wasn't real! It was a really heartwarming experience, and we were glad to have been included.
Headed Home
We ended the night and headed back to our AirBnB. The next morning, we had plans to go see another of our friends relatives, but that all fell through. So, we began our trek back to Midway in Chicago to get home.
On the drive back, my buddy would point out things like "Hey, here is where every Playboy magazine in the world is printed" and "Here is where all cereal boxes are made" at these factories. Wisconsin is a very blue collar state, and they don't let their small towns go without industry. The topography of driving around where we were was so much like the MS Delta... except that they have work for their residents. The people were very much like the folks you'd run into in MS, too... very salt of the earth.
I looked it up on the way back... UW Madison has over a $4B endowment. From what I could tell, few SEC schools even have $1B... That was an eye-opening observation.
Closing
It was a great trip, and I'd recommend both Madison and Green Bay as places to visit for anybody! The elephant in the room, though, is that my buddy had just recently gone into remission from Stage 4 cancer. Even though we never brought it up as a factor for the trip, it was a given that we needed to take our boys on a trip like this. Life is too short.
Just today, he was given the news that the cancer has returned to some spots of where it was before, although it hasn't spread to new areas. He'll have to start chemo again. He's a fighter, and my main concern is that his son that has to worry about this right now during the holiday season.
This guy takes off with his son every summer for camping trips across the country. Been doing it for years, and just got back from one this past weekend. I just want to encourage all of you to never take spending time with your loved ones for granted... memories last forever for the ones you make them with.
