Just another game?

[MU Avenue]

I have read this morning that some Wisconsin players insist this is just another basketball game to them, and that it is much more meaningful to Marquette and its many fans.

We all know that those who attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison have an amusingly bloated impression of the school and, thus, of themselves. Theirs is a campus filled with 43,338 of the nation's best and brightest.

Not surprising, some Badgers players do this dopey routine where they see no rivalry with Marquette. It is just another game. It just happens to be an in-state game. So what? Rivalry, what rivalry?

Silly and sad.

[ecompt]

We should never question the brilliant minds of those attend the Harvard of the Midwest.

[ChuckyChip]

We all know that those who attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison have an amusingly bloated impression of the school and, thus, of themselves.

Thankfully Marquette students and alumni don't suffer from this affliction.

[MomofMUltiples]

They believe they are above this silly little game with an in-state"mid-major" and that for us it is our "super bowl" and even if we win we will be sitting on the couch watching them in the national championship game come March. Funny thing, they made similar comments about Creighton, who then came back and whipped their butts.

One thing that is interesting to note - unlike other in-state recruits lost to other programs, some UW fans express flat-out disappointment for missing out on Sam Hauser. No "we cooled on him," "has difficult parents," "not smart enough to go to Madison."  Instead there is a genuine attitude of "Bo blew it." Perhaps they are discovering that their erstwhile hero did, in fact, make mistakes.

[tower912]

Wisconsin is a team that has gone to back-to-back final 4's.    They want another.    For them, this is another step in the journey.    If we are lucky, in a few years, MU will be chasing another final 4 and this game will be just another challenge. 

[4everwarriors]

Dis game doesn't have da intense rivalry aspect of past MU vs UW matches. 'til MU gets its chit together dats da wey its gonna be, ai na?

[fjm]

You can gauge if games are rivalries and what players/fans think about it based on their reactions.

That being said, if the MU-UW game is "just another game" to UW fans and players, then some of the reactions by fans after last years game and their hatered toward me as I walked out of the game was quite surprising.

The UW players seemed pretty dejected and upset after the loss last year also.

Its definitely a rivalry game.

[T-Bone]

Didn't our victory over the rodents last year force Bo to retire early? (They did beat a cupcake after we destroyed their evilness). So Devastating.

[Hards Alumni]

Thankfully Marquette students and alumni don't suffer from this affliction.

nailed it, mate.

[Goose]

The game is far bigger to MU than UW at this stage of the rivalry. MU needs to get much better on the national scene to make it big for both parties. UW will play a slew of bigger games than this one this year. We need this game more than Bucky.

[muguru]

My biggest problem with this "rivalry" is..i hate to say it but MU fans are too soft. There are way too many MU fans that root for both teams except "one game a year". Thats total BS. Heck they will even get tickets for their "badger fan friends". This SHOULD be a rivalry filled with hate by fans and players alike. Ask Louisville fans what they think of Kentucky and their fans..Or what Xavier and Cincy think of each other. Now those are rivalries with some juice and hatred to them. Not this one though..its too soft, especially on MU fans part. With Louisville and Kentucky you either bleed red or you bleed blue..there is no "in between". Unfortunately with this one there is A lot of "in between". Makes me sick

[79Warrior]

Dis game doesn't have da intense rivalry aspect of past MU vs UW matches. 'til MU gets its chit together dats da wey its gonna be, ai na?

tru dat!

[Herman Cain]

There is a bit of revisionist history with the UW people. I can remember back in the day when they would draw about 3,000 people to a Big Ten game.  Their program sucked for a long time. The Grinch was a good coach who happened to come along at a time when many of the historical strong schools in the Big Ten were down.  They have only had a true top ten level team the last few years when they had a unique situation with Kaminsky blossoming late.

Yes we are down now, we will be back up though in due course.  When we become too strong for them to regularly beat, Gard and Company will move to take our game off their schedule.

In the meantime we need to put it all together today and get the job done.

[Lennys Tap]

Wisconsin is a team that has gone to back-to-back final 4's.    They want another.    For them, this is another step in the journey.    If we are lucky, in a few years, MU will be chasing another final 4 and this game will be just another challenge.

This is true. UW vs MU is and has always been a rivalry game, but it's more important to the weaker program. Unfortunately that's us right now.

[Babybluejeans]

The game is far bigger to MU than UW at this stage of the rivalry. MU needs to get much better on the national scene to make it big for both parties. UW will play a slew of bigger games than this one this year. We need this game more than Bucky.

I think this is right but I think the biggest factor is they have bigtime football and we don't. So, by nature of being our Big Sport, most basketball games mean more to MU than any bball game means to UW. For that reason I think this game will always mean more to MU, especially since we always play this game during college football season when Badger fans are still obsessing over their slightly-underachieving football team.

[GGGG]

My biggest problem with this "rivalry" is..i hate to say it but MU fans are too soft. There are way too many MU fans that root for both teams except "one game a year". Thats total BS. Heck they will even get tickets for their "badger fan friends". This SHOULD be a rivalry filled with hate by fans and players alike. Ask Louisville fans what they think of Kentucky and their fans..Or what Xavier and Cincy think of each other. Now those are rivalries with some juice and hatred to them. Not this one though..its too soft, especially on MU fans part. With Louisville and Kentucky you either bleed red or you bleed blue..there is no "in between". Unfortunately with this one there is A lot of "in between". Makes me sick

You have no clue what fans of those teams are like with regards to their rivalry.  The ESPNesque stories lead you to believe a narrative that doesn't really exist.  Believe me...it's not that much different.

[breadtree]

The Grinch was a good coach who happened to come along at a time when many of the historical strong schools in the Big Ten were down. 

During the Bo Ryan era the Big Ten had 11 Final Four appearances.  No conference had more.

[GGGG]

During the Bo Ryan era the Big Ten had 11 Final Four appearances.  No conference had more.

And zero national championships.  No conference had less.

[wadesworld]

It's the biggest game of the year for both teams today.

Hopefully we are treating it as such and they are just treating it like another pickup scrimmage in their quest for bigger things to come. 

If that's the case, we win big.

[cheebs09]

You can gauge if games are rivalries and what players/fans think about it based on their reactions.

That being said, if the MU-UW game is "just another game" to UW fans and players, then some of the reactions by fans after last years game and their hatered toward me as I walked out of the game was quite surprising.

The UW players seemed pretty dejected and upset after the loss last year also.

Its definitely a rivalry game.

It's funny if their players said it's just another game. I believe in the past, their players have said how the game has extra meaning. Especially the in-state guys.

Judging by the reactions of their fans after the games. It means a lot to them too.

[rocky_warrior]

If it's "Just another game"  why would so many Badger fans try to get tickets?  Did UWM sell out when Bucky played there?

Answer nope, never
http://mkepanthers.com/sports/2015/2/2/MBB_0202154359.aspx

[muguru]

You have no clue what fans of those teams are like with regards to their rivalry.  The ESPNesque stories lead you to believe a narrative that doesn't really exist.  Believe me...it's not that much different.

Read their message boards once...that should give you a pretty good idea.

[We R Final Four]

And zero national championships.  No conference had less.

BOOM!!!

[breadtree]

And zero national championships.  No conference had less.

*fewer

The point is that there were plenty of good teams in the Big 10 during Bo Ryan's time and it's self-delusion to pretend otherwise.

[GGGG]

Read their message boards once...that should give you a pretty good idea.

Right.  Because their message boards are indicative of their fanbase at large. 

And I love the fact that someone who is a fan of a team from a Catholic university thinks we should show more hatred of a rival - because of basketball.