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Band's Postgame Party Is Part Of Wisconsin Experience

Photo by Jeff Miller

Fans attending the Outback Bowl will be treated to an extra performance from the Wisconsin band.

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By MICK ELLIOTT | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 27, 2007

Updated: 12/27/2007 09:55 pm

TAMPA - Although this particular incident at the University of Wisconsin's Camp Randall Stadium took place years ago, the time frame is of little importance simply because in some form or fashion the story repeats itself pretty much every Saturday of every Badgers football season.

The only difference here is Badgers coach Bret Bielema, whose 9-3 Big Ten team faces the Tennessee Volunteers in the New Year's Day Outback Bowl, is the storyteller. He's recalling being a freshman defensive lineman at Iowa and making his first trip with the Hawkeyes to Wisconsin. That's important, because among visiting fans in the stands was Bielema's father.

Now the second-year coach of the Badgers is recounting the story just as he has heard it from his dad. And it gets better by the years.

The Hawkeyes rolled that afternoon, and as the final seconds ticked off the scoreboard, visiting fans rose to applaud their victory only to witness a strange happening on the field below.

The Wisconsin band not only began to play, but took the field with all the discipline of an angry anthill - running, dancing, rolling on the ground. Cheerleaders clapped. Badgers fans cheered.

Sitting in the stands, Arnie Bielema watched the festivities and turned to a nearby Wisconsin fan.

"What's all that?"

"It's the Fifth Quarter," came the reply.

"OK, but what do you do when you win the game?"

"The exact same thing."

And the band played on.

'Organized Chaos'

Among college football's many embraceable traditions, there is little to rival Wisconsin's postgame celebration of good times.

"I think the band director probably thinks people come to the game just to watch the Fifth Quarter," Bielema said. "That's OK. People in Wisconsin like to have a good time."

The simplest explanation for Wisconsin's Fifth Quarter, and we mean this in the nicest way, is absolute silliness.

For as long as 45 to 50 minutes after the game's final whistle, fans remain in their seats to watch as Wisconsin's Marching Band returns to the field to perform. And it plays music, too.

"It's kind of organized chaos," said Jeff Wendorf, a former Wisconsin band member who now is a vice president in the school's alumni association.

The performance begins with "On, Wisconsin," and is followed by the opposing school's fight song. After that, favorites include "You've Said It All," known affectionately as "The Budweiser Song," the "Beer Barrel Polka" and "Tequila."

Are you starting to see a pattern here?

"That's Wisconsin for you," said Badgers senior captain Ben Strickland.

Through the years, students have developed different choreographed dance moves for each song. Meanwhile, down on the field, band members have added other personal touches, everything from the tuba section marching in circles around a single security guard, to human barrel rolls.

"The cheerleaders are involved and they invite the opposing team's cheerleaders to join in," Wendorf said. "We just love Badgers football. We can have pretty rabid fans, but generally at the end of the game it's our fans and our rivals getting together and letting bygones be bygones and celebrate the football game."

Possibly the greatest testament to the show's entertainment value is that Wisconsin's marching band is regularly invited to take its act on the road for away games, including Tuesday's Outback Bowl.

"When we talk to bowls, we talk about a package," Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez said. "We talk about our football team, our fans and our band. It is part of our football program. It is part of who we are. We are very proud of our bands. I know that sounds funny for a football coach to talk about. But we have a great relationship.

"They have a tremendous tradition. There was a time when they said we want a football team our band can be proud of. They've always been good even when the football program wasn't so good."

Outback Will Get A Fifth Quarter

These days, admiration can be found on both sides. The Badgers are making their 13th bowl appearance in the last 15 years. And with a 9-3 postseason record there's been a lot to celebrate.

Following Tuesday's game with Tennessee, the Badgers players will remain on the field to participate in the party - a break from the regular-season routine.

"We embrace it and let our kids enjoy it," Bielema said. "It's an honor for them after our last game. It also means a lot to our fans. And anytime something means a lot to the fans, it means a lot to us as well."

Legend says the tradition - as most good ones usually do - began somewhat by accident.

In the early 1970s when the band played "The Bud Song" for the first time at a football game during a fourth-quarter comeback win against Oregon, fans responded with such enthusiastic dancing that the upper deck of Camp Randall Stadium began to noticeably sway.

After officials decided it was not a good idea to cause a stadium - literally - to dance to the music, the song was not to be played except after the game.

"That game against Oregon really not only gave 'The Bud Song' its takeoff, but it became the basis for the Fifth Quarter," Wisconsin longtime band director Mike Leckrone said.

"We had been staying and playing for the crowd afterward, but it didn't have the kind of raw activity that we've got now. One sort of led to the other."

Reporter Mick Elliott can be reached at (813) 281-2534 or melliott@tampatrib.com.

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