This is the final post in a week-long series sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011.

NCAA Football 11 is available now and as your run out to buy the game today we would like you to read this final message from EA Sports:

When you go to particular school or grow up a around college football you are more than just a fan. It’s who you are. We thought we could leverage this pride in your roots and show that ‘where you come from’ is more than just a statement about geography. By positioning NCAA Football 11 as a game that understands this pride and is authentic to these traditions, the takeaway should be that anything that is in college football is in NCAA Football11.

And this doesn’t just include game play (though that’s a huge part of it). It’s rivals and mascots; it’s legends and stories. It’s those things that are at the very fabric of the game itself. Of course the game is great this year as well. With authentic entrances, mascots and specific offenses for each team the term "where I come from" takes on a much larger meaning. While playing NCAA Football 11 is ultimately a great sports sim, it should also give you a sense of the pride and emotion one has for being a fan of a team they will never not be a part of.  

This is the sixth in a week-long series of posts sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011.

Today we wrap up our week-long EA Sports "Where I Come From" Series by looking ahead to the season in front of us. By now a number of well respected preview magazines and web sites have weighed in on their expectations for the Badgers and there is one giant consensus: expectations are high.

I've seen the Badgers ranked as high as No. 6 and as low as No. 23 so far this summer, but I have a good feeling that they will be ranked in the Top 15 when the official polls come out -- maybe even in the Top 10.

If I had to vote in the AP Poll right now I would probably put UW right at No. 15. Wisconsin finished at No. 16 in the AP Poll last year and while the offense should be even better than the one that led the Big Ten in scoring last season, the defense has a number of holes to fill before the season starts. It only seems fair to put the Badgers right around where they finished last season.

Continue reading this post »

This is the fifth in a week-long series of posts sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011.

Looking back on six years of being around the Badgers, it's hard to pick just one memorable moments. I guess that's a good thing.

I have narrowed it down to just three moments, however. Here they are:

• 2007 Capital One Bowl Victory - This was the first bowl game I ever got to cover and unless we are talking about a Rose Bowl or a National Championship, I find it hard to believe that I will ever see another Badger team so excited about winning a bowl game. The '06 Badgers finished with a 12-1 record and knew they deserved better than the Capital One Bowl. Still, getting a victory over a VERY GOOD Arkansas team that had both Darren McFadden and Felix Jones was very satisfying. I'll never forget Jack Ikegwuonu running down McFadden in the open field to prevent a touchdown.
• Stocco's QB Draw - I may have told this story before, but on the morning of UW's thrilling win over Michigan on John Stocco's quarterback draw in the final seconds, I was diagnosed with a partially collapsed lung. Now, it sounds a lot worse than it really was (it healed itself over the course of a month) but the doctor told me not to go to the game and said it would be a great health risk. Yeah right. I went to the game and obviously made the right choice.
• The Blocked Punt - Never have I ever experienced such a swing in emotion in my life. The Badgers were playing awful at Minnesota in 2005 and looked to be dead with just over three minutes left. That's when Stocco marched his team down the field for a touchdown and the defense made a quick stop to force a punt. At this point I already felt good because Stocco was going to get the ball back, but UW's special teams took matters into their own hands. Jonathan Casillas blocked the punt and Ben Strickland recovered it in the end zone to win the game for Wisconsin.

What are your favorite Badger moments? Share them below!

This is the fourth in a week-long series of posts sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011.

I feel like I once again have to preface this post by reminding readers that I was not a Badger fan before 2004. That means you find Ron Dayne on this list (although I do remember watching him during his senior year and rooting for Wisconsin in the 2000 Rose Bowl because he was so impressive).

So here they are, my three favorite Badgers of all-time since 2004:

• Erasmus James (DE, 2001-04) - If the 2004 group is my favorite team, then Erasmus James has to be one of my favorite players. He was so dominant that season and was still an All-American despite getting injured on a dirty block against Purdue.
• Jim Leonhard (DB, 2000-04) - The ultimate underdog, if you didn't like "JL" then you don't like football. A walk-on turned starter turned team-captain, it's a shame he didn't get a scholarship until his senior year despite being a three-time First Team All-Big selection. He left UW with 21 career interceptions which is tied with Jamar Fletcher for the school record.

Continue reading this post »

This is the third in a week-long series of posts sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011.

Every fan has their own routine before Badger games. Some people go to the same parking lot every week. Some head to the same bar on Regent Street. Others drive-in RVs and make a full weekend out of the game.

For me, my tailgating tradition started on Bowen Court, just one block south of Regent Street where I lived for two years in college. We usually had people over and I manned the grill. Brats, hot dogs, burgers and sometimes even steak were on the menu on a weekly basis.

I like to claim that I was one of the first to bring the game of "bags" to Madison. It's a Chicago game and down here we don't call it "cornhole". If you stopped by our house on Saturdays you could always find us playing bags on the sidewalk.

To be honest, our tailgating was pretty low key. We didn't have "octabongs" or anything like that (although the octabong was only a block away down Bowen when we were there).

We pretty much had just one rule: Get to the game on time. Unfortunately the rest of the students didn't follow that rule.

What are you tailgating traditions? Leave your stories below!

This is the second in a week-long series of posts sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011.

As that countdown clock on your right continues to tick down to the release of NCAA Football 11, we take some time today to remember our all-time favorite Badger football teams. I have a feeling my team is going to surprise you.

I mentioned yesterday that I didn't become a Badger fan until 2004, so my selection pool is pretty small. But I have also witnessed three bowl wins, including the 2006 Capital One Bowl victory that concluded a 12-1 season. Surprisingly, that is not my favorite team. That honor goes to the very first Badger team I cheered for in '04.

In someways, that selection surprises even myself because UW's loss at Iowa to end the regular season that year remains as the most heartbreaking loss I have witnessed. Watching Anthony Davis stand on the sidelines fully dressed and refusing to play is an image that remains etched in my mind as UW failed to clinch a berth in the Rose Bowl.

Continue reading this post »

This is the first of a week-long series of posts sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011.

October 10, 2003. That was first time I ever cheered for the Wisconsin Badgers.

Most fans recognize that date because that was the day UW ended Ohio State's 19-game winning streak. I was cheering for Wisconsin not because I liked the Badgers, but rather because I despised the Ohio State Buckeyes. My hatred for OSU was really only because of one friend from high school who never shut up about THE Ohio State University.

Naturally, the rest of us decided to root against the Buckeyes every Saturday.

I was a senior in high school when Lee Evans caught that 79-yard touchdown bomb from Matt Schabert to beat the Bucks and Wisconsin was one of the schools I was considering for college. I can't say that win had any impact on me deciding to go to UW (that had more to do with how close it was to my hometown of Chicago and the amount of family I had in Wisconsin), but I guess I can consider that day as the beginning of a lifelong relationship with the Badgers.

Continue reading this post »

This week you will notice a daily feature we call "Where I Come From", a series of posts sponsored by EA Sports that will generate a number of fun discussions about what it is like to be a Badger fan.

It all starts today and will culminate the launching of NCAA Football 11 on July 13.

Here's the schedule:

Today: How I Came to be a Badger Fan

Tuesday: All-Time Favorite Wisconsin Team

Wednesday: Tailgating Traditions

Thursday: All-Time Favorite Badgers

Friday: Most Memorable Moments as a Badger Fan

Monday: Expectations for the 2010 Season

Tuesday: NCAA Football 11 is released!

I look forward to hearing all your great Badger stories in the coming week!