Importance of beating Wisconsin

[muwarrior69]

If the Giants or the Jets are not in the Super Bowl I might catch the last few minutes of the game. So even the Super Bowl is not my Super Bowl.

[Scoop Snoop]

I am an old guy, and my hearing is not as good as it used to be, but I could swear I heard the "color" analyst while watching the game on FOX say this could be the last time we play UW. I hope I heard wrong because it is a great rivalry, but with conference realignment and big money, rivalries like this are going by the wayside.

Any talk about this or did I just hear wrong?

It would be a very good guess that you heard wrong. This board would have lit up and stayed lit.    I'll add another guess...the guy was talking about the last time the 2 teams played, and you caught only part of it.

[muwarrior69]

I don't recall hearing that.

So, no talk about ending the annual rivalry.

[tower912]

I am an old guy, and my hearing is not as good as it used to be, but I could swear I heard the "color" analyst while watching the game on FOX say this could be the last time we play UW. I hope I heard wrong because it is a great rivalry, but with conference realignment and big money, rivalries like this are going by the wayside.

Any talk about this or did I just hear wrong?

You heard it wrong. 

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

Living in Madison, it definitely takes on a little more importance. Not with my actual friends that went to Wisconsin, but with the Walmart Badger fans and media meatheads that like to act all dismissive towards Marquette.

Last week, they were all running their mouths- "Of course, Wisconsin will beat Marquette." Today, radio silence as if the game never happened.

The sportstalk show this morning is talking Brewers offseason. They just had a segment complaining about the fans of Tower's second favorite team (the Lions, not the Badgers). Now people are calling in to talk about the Packers game from Thursday!

Next segment is going to talk about the Badgers new offensive coordinator. Maybe they'll briefly talk about the game at the end of the segment.

Maybe they'll talk about it tomorrow when they preview Badgers playing Illinois. Maybe they talked about the game in the 6 o'clock hour and I missed it. Just kinda funny that they'll talk anything BUT Marquette beating Wisconsin.

[The Sultan]

So, no talk about ending the annual rivalry.

As I said, I don't recall hearing that and haven't heard a word that would suggest that they are considering ending it.

[brewcity77]

So, no talk about ending the annual rivalry.

Marquette is not planning on ending the rivalry. I asked Broeker about that specifically in regards to expanding conference schedules and he said there are no plans to end the Wisconsin series.

[Newsdreams]

I'm glad these two great academic institutions had their best student athletes compete in a decent, friendly, Christian game and avoided any major injuries.

[JakeBarnes]

It's a nice to have. It doesn't hurt to get a win against what should be a top half team in the Big10.

I'd rather a win at Uconn though. 

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

Update:

As expected, Madison sportstalk radio briefly glossed over the game. Even then, it was framed as "Marquette finally beat big brother. Shaka Smart 1-3 against Wisconsin."

The "big brother" stuff is always comical to me, a little brother who pretty much bested my big brother at everything.

Anyway, they barely talked about the game. Too many 2nd half turnovers, Steven Crowl needs to score more, and then already looking ahead to the Badgers next game. No mention of the Badgers Swiss cheese defense.

The fact that losing to Marquette makes these talking heads shut up warms my heart. Now, onto bigger and better things.

[mileskishnish72]

It's no "Super Bowl." When I was at MU the Badger game was no big deal. The ND contest was the big one, no question. I had no particular animus vs. Wisky, but I have developed it since getting on Scoop because I sympathize with the guys living in Wisconsin. They have the same interest in bragging rights as I do after a UConn or PC defeat. So while beating
the Badgers is no "Super Bowl" it's still a pretty damn good win and immensely enjoyable.

[GoldenEagles03]

Related to a thread on Dodds board...

Is beating Wisconsin your Super Bowl?


For me, it is not.  It has a little extra juice, maybe, but I feel like MU has played and will play more important games this season.  This year, it was just another step in the journey.
   To me, the importance was a bounce back game after a loss and putting another win against a high major on the resume.   And then joking about them being a mid major.

So, what say you?  Super Bowl?  A little extra?  Just another win in a pre-season of big wins? 

No. I just get pissed off losing to them because we often have the better roster/team in that matchup.

Like every opponent on the schedule from UW to Stoneill win any way and I'm happy.

[forgetful]

Means more than your average game, because I have enough UW fan-friends that are insufferable, especially if UW wins.

It meant more to me when Bo was coach...hated him, and seeing him get so upset when he lost added a bit to the win.

But in the end, there are usually bigger games on the schedule.

[CountryRoads]

I think an effective way to judge the importance of a game to the fan base is to simply analyze the ticket broker sites and see how much tickets are going for and how much inventory is available relative to other games.

What you'd find looking at MU games this year is that demand for MU basketball is at an all time high across the board. Badger fans were complaining about being priced out of the lowers, but if you look at our other weekend games you'll see that the prices are the roughly the same for lowers and it's just as tough of a ticket. There's no evidence that this is some outlier type of game for us, even though for me personally it's probably the one I want the most when the schedule comes out.

[muwarrior69]

Marquette is not planning on ending the rivalry. I asked Broeker about that specifically in regards to expanding conference schedules and he said there are no plans to end the Wisconsin series.

Thanks, and glad to hear it.

[#UnleashSean]

The "super bowl" comes from whiny Badger fans who need to grasp onto something when they lose. So the "super bowl" was born.

[Skatastrophy]

It mattered more to me when I lived in Wisconsin with the neighborhood Walmart plastic fans talking their crap. In Chicago I don't have anyone in my circles that's a UW-Madison grad, so it doesn't matter as much.

[The Lens]

What makes it a big game for me is we only play them once.

If UConn or Creighton were single game series, those would have more meaning but we usually get another shot at them. I expect to lose 4-5 conference games.  But I really want to go 1-0 vs. Wisconsin.  Logically I know conference games are more important but UW as a stand alone game ups the significance, even if I know that's not the case.   

[Scoop Snoop]

The "super bowl" comes from whiny Badger fans who need to grasp onto something when they lose. So the "super bowl" was born.

Bingo! I will not go so far as to say that there are no whiny Marquette fans after a loss. That would be a huge lie. But...I think a very large majority are Big Boys (or Girls) about it. At least there are currently no UW squatters on Scoop like Fieldhouse.

[willie warrior]

Now that I'm really starting to dislike some of our conference brethren (looking at you, Providence and Creighton) my hatred for RED has dialed back some. But anyone saying this doesn't have some extra juice to it, or that it's just another game, is lying. On our side or theirs.

I was sick of losing to them with a better team, and was ecstatic when MU just overwhelmed them in the second half.

I'm just hoping Viper livestreams Christmas at the in-laws. It would be truly uplifting holiday content.

Don't forget UCONN and Pitino led St. Johns

[muwarrior97]

I consider Wisconsin to generally be the most important non-conference game. I appreciate the bragging rights for the week after the game, but that's really it.

Ultimately, I think the "Super Bowl" perspective is always how the losers of this game frame it for the winners when the reality is it's the down program for whom it matters more. At the moment, because Wisconsin is down compared to where they were in recent years, it has outsized importance. Their basketball first fans, which is a small but very vocal group, no longer have the perennial top-4 Big 10 and national title contenders they had under Bo, so this game is their biggest game.

I do think this game had more importance for us under Wojo because we weren't competing at the level we are now. From 2014-2022, we really weren't in the mix nationally very much, so the Wisconsin game became more important. Ellenson in Madison, Rowsey/Howard/Hauser all going off when we routed them, the Justin tip-in, when you aren't going to matter much in March, winning your rivalry game in December takes on more importance. Today, I care a lot more about Big East titles and NCAA runs than I do the Badgers.

But this is probably their one shot to make national noise. The past two years, they went NIT followed by NCAA one-and-done. Their biggest moment in both seasons was beating us. If we go back on the decline, if they find their way back to the heights Bo Ryan had them at, that will likely flip. But for now, it's simply a bigger game for them than it is for us.

Glad to have won it, though. Better than losing.

Couldn't say it better, this is spot-on!  Had a great day on Saturday after the win, all my WI co-worker texts and the ones from the WI in-laws were so delicious 

[Galway Eagle]

It mattered more to me when I lived in Wisconsin with the neighborhood Walmart plastic fans talking their crap. In Chicago I don't have anyone in my circles that's a UW-Madison grad, so it doesn't matter as much.

Walk into wills northwoods and get bragging!

[cheebs09]

Now that I'm older and don't interact as much with my friends that went to UW, the game means a little less. Still a fun one to win though.

[MuggsyB]

Living in Michigan, I get to see the Muchigan/MSU/Ohio State stuff up close and personal.   I just can't generate that level of hate toward sports teams

Hatred is underrated.  Perhaps I can tutor you Tower and increase your wrath towards certain people, organizations, teams, universities, governments, and a plethora of other animate and inanimate objects? 

[DefinitelyNotPorterMoser]

I am a strong believer in the idea that two things can be true.

This game means a great deal to me as someone who has a lot of friends and family members that are big Badgers fans. I'll be honest: It is my Super Bowl. I, personally, wanted MU to win this game so bad that I was telling my buddies that I would trade a Sweet 16 appearance for this game.

But that's just me, and I recognize that.

From a program standpoint, this game does not mean any more than any other marquee game, and probably less than it does a game against UConn, Creighton, etc. It's on par with Purdue or Iowa State. As others have mentioned, the healthier the program, the less you need one game to validate your place in the college basketball landscape. That is one of the amazing things about Shaka's tenure here. It used to be that one or two of our early season nonconference games were almost a referendum on the legitimacy of the program. That's no longer the case. Marquette doesn't need to prove it belongs.

TL;DR - The game means a lot to me because I put a lot of meaning on it, but it doesn't mean any more to the program than any other Quad 1/2 opportunity.