It’s a Beautiful Day to Be a Badger – Even in Defeat
Despite a heartbreaking loss, UW fans left Pasadena with plenty to cherish.
From the first whistle to the last, the 106th Rose Bowl Game was as thrilling as any before it. Which made the result – a 28-27 loss to Oregon, the fourth Rose Bowl defeat by a touchdown or less this decade – all the more devastating for the Badgers.
But for UW–Madison fans who made the pilgrimage to Pasadena – many for the first time, a few for the eighth or ninth – the Rose Bowl experience couldn’t be defined by a win or a loss, let alone football itself.
At the UW’s pregame tailgate, Megan Rollo and her wife, Jordan Wilde, sat in contrasting colors: Rollo in cardinal red, Wilde in forest green. Despite their allegiances, they had no real disagreements. Both predicted Wisconsin would win because of its stout defense, and save for this matchup, the Seattle couple cheer for both teams.
They determined to make this their first Rose Bowl because of its larger meaning. Wisconsin is where they met – Rollo attended UW–La Crosse, Wilde coached women’s basketball at UW–Parkside. As self-described football fanatics, they had watched every game of both teams this season.
But Rollo insisted that a loss wouldn’t affect her Rose Bowl experience. “It’s 70 degrees on New Year’s Day,” she said.
The warm weather inspired the Rose Bowl Stadium, holding 90,462 fans (and more Badgers than Ducks), to play U2’s “It’s a Beautiful Day” just before kickoff. The teams responded aptly with a scorching start – Oregon sprinting down the field on its first drive, and Wisconsin answering with an opening kick return for a touchdown.
Returner Aron Cruickshank, a one-man stampede, was the Badgers’ surprise standout. His 95-yard dash down the left sideline was the second-longest scoring play in Rose Bowl history, and just the third kick return for a touchdown.
Wisconsin’s familiar faces, including running back Jonathan Taylor and receiver Quintez Cephus, also starred in the back-and-forth affair. But four team turnovers proved to be too many. Oregon scored 21 points out of them, including the decisive touchdown midway through the fourth quarter.
The week in Pasadena showed that Badgers fans have just as much affinity for the UW Marching Band as they do for the beloved football team. The band’s halftime performance, a melodic tribute to the military branches, stole the show and earned a standing ovation from fans of all stripes. The crowd went wild when band members formed the shape of a plane and simulated the sound and exhaust of afterburners with jet-pack props.
During a break in the third quarter, the band played the “Friends” theme song – a subtle but touching ode to its renowned songwriter, Allee Willis. The UW alumna and Hollywood native died unexpectedly on Christmas Eve at 72. For band members, it was a personal homage. They had just met Willis in September, when she returned to Madison to serve as a guest conductor in Camp Randall Stadium, leading them in the same tune.
I’ll be there for you
’Cause you’re there for me too
For those who recognized the gesture, it served as a poignant reminder that being a Badger is about much more than a football game. It’s about community. It’s about what connects us. And for that, we can all leave Pasadena grateful.