Badgers are everywhere and nowhere
Growing up in Wisconsin I was a big fan of UW Madison, especially their Badger sports teams. Young athletes dreamed of running on the grass of Camp Randall, and young nerds dreamed of getting a degree on Bascom Hill. Overall, the town of Madison has a reputation as the place to be in Wisconsin. It’s the party town, the land of hardnosed sports ball, the place to protest, and a cosmopolitan oasis in a desert of deer hunters. The Onion was created there.
I think this status we’ve given Madison may have gone to our heads sometime. During college (I actually went to the University of Minnesota, but that’s another story), I visited my friend Beans in Madison. We bought some beer, and then Beans decided to take me to one of his favorite local restaurants and bars. We got to the door, and I asked, “Are you sure we can go in here with beer?” He replied, “Dude, it’s Madison. They won’t care.” Well, my concerns were spot on. They kicked us out of the restaurant the moment we stepped in.
When I was younger, I visited Madison on a few occasions. The first time was to see a college football game. It was the first week of school, in early September, and the weather was still warm. In the days before the game I would sit in my chair, look out the window, and daydream about the upcoming event. Everybody in my hometown raved about Camp Randall. Football stadiums in the USA are kind of like religious pilgrimage sites.
Well, I went to the game and loved it. The sun was out, the atmosphere was rowdy, and the game was exciting. They played the Akron Zips and their future NFL quarterback Charlie Frye. It was another future NFLer though, Lee Evans of the Badgers, who broke the deadlock with a 99-yard touchdown and won the game. Fun fact: The name badgers comes from lead miners, not the animal. I’ve never seen either in the wild.
State Street
The most famous spot in Madison for walking around is State Street. It is completely closed to cars, and spans roughly 8 blocks from Bascom Hill to the Capitol building. Wisconsin’s Capitol, as I learned in school, is the largest of the state Capitols in the country. It also has a bronze statue of lady “Forward”, which points toward Washington DC and is an emblem of Wisconsin’s motto.
State Street hosts venues for the highbrow crowd, like Orpheum Theatre and the Wisconsin Historical Museum. It also has its share of shops and bars for those seeking sense pleasures, like Chocolate Shoppe and Mackesey’s. Of course, it wouldn’t be Wisconsin without the cheese. Wisconsin Cheese Shop has it covered.
The last time I was on State Street was one evening over ten years ago. I was with high school friends, eating ice cream, when we saw another old friend bike by on a pedicab. He was living the dream, hanging out on State Street and giving people rides around the area. Just two weeks ago, residents completed a project of painting the pavement with murals, adding yet another chapter to State Street’s iconic history.
One of my favorite songs is “Madison Blues” by Elmore James. I first heard it sung on the radio by a more recent artist, and assumed it was about Madison, WI. Not so, I’m afraid. It’s about Madison Avenue in Manhattan. Once a Wisconsinite, always a Wisconsinite.
