B5QB Roundtable: best tailgate songs and traditions

We have part two of the roundtable, where we all shouted about brat toppings for 24 hours, here and part one of the roundtable, where people (surprisingly) did not have too many hot takes, about which bars to go to on game day here.

Here is part three where we debate the perfect game day playlist and discuss any traditions you might have that will help the Badgers win or lose.

What three songs should be on every game day playlist?

Bob: I think whatever song makes you happy should be on your playlist. For me,

• Can’t Hold Us (Macklemore & Ryan Lewis)

This song came just before my friend Josh and I took a road trip to Nebraska for the Badger game in 2011. We listened to this song a ton, and it’s been a staple of my playlist ever since.

• Where the Streets Have No Name (U2)

Probably a controversial pick. I understand that others don’t like this song, but I do. It gets me excited for kickoff.

• Break Your Heart ft. Ludacris (Taio Cruz)

This song seems to apply to every Badger team except for women’s hockey. It’s a nice reminder that my love for the Badgers is unconditional. They will break my heart, but I will remain steadfast.

Also, I’m going on record saying Jump Around does NOT belong on any playlist for gameday. It’s only disappointing when it’s not the real thing.

Matt: As a newly minted 30 year old, I will say early 2000’s hip hop and R&B is usually my go to with friends. Here are three good ones though:

• Return of the Mack - Mark Morrison

• Pour Some Sugar On Me - Def Leppard
• Mr. Brightside - The Killers

Rock: Nobody hands me the aux, but if they ever did -

Brockhampton - Boogie

Charlie XCX - Superlove

Mark Morrison - Return Of The Mack (especially during home non-conference games.)

Tyler: My Dad made a mix for the drive to the game, with the tunes getting more intense as you got into Madison. Blaring “Enter Sandman” by Metallica while driving down Nakoma is one of my favorite memories. So….

Enter Sandman- Metallica

All Along the Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix (RIP to the GOAT)

Smells Like Teen Spirit- Nirvana

Drew: There is only one song that gets played first thing every game day morning, regardless of where I am. In fact, it is often texted to my Badger group text at 12:01 a.m. Saturday by whoever still happens to be awake. That song is “Black Betty” by Ram Jam.

It is the perfect tailgate song and I will hear no arguments to the contrary. The other two songs I’d put on this list are extremely time dependent. If it is not an early kick, playing Juvenile’s “Back That Ass Up” after a few hours really gets the party going. The other song that works better after a couple hours of boozing is Meek Mill’s “Dreams and Nightmares” HOLD UP WAIT A MINUTE, Y’ALL THOUGHT I WAS FINISHED? WHEN I BOUGHT THAT ASTON MARTIN, Y’ALL THOUGHT IT WAS RENTED?

I am so hype right now! FOOTBALL STARTS TOMORROW!!!!!!!!! ::tries to run through wall but trips on toys by daughter didn’t put away::

Any superstitions that must be performed on game days or else the Badgers will lose?

Bob: My dad and I have been going to Badger football games for a very long time, almost every home game for the last 18 years. We have a few traditions for every home game

• First phone conversation of the day, we both yell “it’s game day!!!!!!” into the phone. This is for both home and road games.
• For home games, we start at Union South to watch the band and grab a brat. We have a lot of banter around the band’s performance that we say every time. When we first hear the tubas, we say “do you hear that? Could it be? Is it? I see them!” When the band plays On, Wisconsin quiet the first time, we clap quietly and say “that’s nice,” only erupt when the band stands up and plays the fight song full blast. We just have a lot of little traditions like that.

Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

• Our biggest tradition is called “The Jimmy.” We always enter at the ramps at gate 1. On the second turn of the ramps, there is a picture of Jim Leonhard that has been there for about 13 years (except for a few games, I’ll get into that later). My dad and I quietly count down “3… 2… 1…” until we are right next to the photo. We extend our fists and yell “JIMMY!” as loud as we can. We get a lot of weird looks, and we proudly proclaim that the finest of our game day traditions.

One year, when Gary Andersen was the coach, they moved the Jim Leonhard banner closer to the ticket office. I emailed the athletic department asking them to move it back, and I briefly explained why it was important to us. To our surprise, they moved it back a few weeks later!

If “The Jimmy” became a tradition larger than my dad and myself, I would die happy. If you go up that ramp, please give it a try.

Matt: I am not a very superstitious person, but if I can’t watch a game the Badgers seem to always lose.

Rock: Nothing I do affects how a large group of 18 to 22 year olds will act. I wear a bowtie every game because of this quote from the Capital Times article on police activity at Camp Randall on gameday:

“Two officers are talking to a man wearing red-and-white striped bib overalls with rolled-up legs and a sombrero hanging on his back. He’s gesturing at the officers with his palms up, as if to say, “What did I do?” Before long, the officers are escorting him down the staircase at the back of the section.

Nearly the same situation plays out again two minutes later, only this man in striped overalls isn’t wearing a shirt and has a straw hat on his head. Officers put him in cuffs and take him down the same stairs, passing Badgers football legend Ron Dayne along the way.”

You all look like hooligans, I’ll be as far from ‘perp walked in front of a Heisman winner’ as I can get.

Tyler: Growing up, I swore to myself I had lucky shoes I had to wear. They still fit, and I do still wear them from time to time. It’s silly, but you wanna win right? So i’ll just wear them to be safe. We have season tickets, and I always need a certain seat or something feels off.

Also, when the Badgers get a first down the group behind me yells “Who got a first down, we got a first down….ARGHHHH!” as if were Pirates? It makes no sense, but it’s been going on so long its tradition. My Dad hates it, which makes it even more fun to scream out. Shoutout to Z1.

Drew: I don’t really have superstitions anymore, but I will change t-shirts or hats at halftime if things aren’t going well.

During the 2010 season, however, I found a pair of sunglasses with only one lens before the Minnesota game and thought it was funny to wear them. The Badgers won. I wore them the next weekend against No. 1 Ohio State. The Badgers won. They went on to beat Iowa, Purdue, Indiana (83 points!), Michigan and Northwestern (70 points!) and were selected for the Rose Bowl!

An entire charter bus worth of my friends went to Pasadena for the game against TCU, and obviously the sunglasses made the trip. Sometimes I wonder if those shattered sunglasses are still sitting outside of the Rose Bowl awaiting my return...