Have you ever been to Camp Randall in Madison, Wisconsin???? Oh….if you have you would never forget it and you most likely would return as soon as possible. It is a stadium that has a culture all of its own and no university can touch what goes on in that place. It is the only stadium I have ever been in that has its own behavior that might be viewed as off the charts, but somehow for those 4 hours everything goes. It is in Madison Wisconsin where I insist my father’s soul rests. He didn’t go to heaven and quickly took a detour to Madison:)

Why does Madison mean so much to me…..well there are a ton of reason’s. I spent a great deal of my childhood and adulthood going to games with my father and ultimately we took a trip to Pasadena to the Rosebowl together. My father loved Madison because it was the first place in his life he could let go and had no barriers to being who he really was. This is common for most kids as they enter the freedom college brings to one’s life. He was also focused on school and moving forward in his life with once again no barriers. He did just that and took no crap from anyone to get ahead. He was one of those guys studying a ton and if you made to much noise near his room he would physically remove you from the premises. He knew he had to work hard to get ahead so he did. Let’s just say Madison was just the beginning of many of the vivid memories my father painted in his life. His broad brush strokes of Madison also became a part of all of our lives at home. When he talked about college memories years later it was always as if he was still there and singing that “Varsity” song like the kids of college today.

Madison, Wisconsin also brings another special element to me personally. Two years ago my Alma Mater The Ohio State University and Madison played in a game. Madison won that game and that was also the weekend my daughter Madison was born. Her name became Madison in just seconds. She carries a name that holds severe meaning to the man who held heavy meaning to me. We did not always see eye to eye, but when I saw his eyes light up about college years we could connect almost immediately. Man did he love that place to the point where he once talked about buying a farm there. It never happened, but I know he was serious about it.

Today my Madison turns 2, but the town of Madison is where my father is right now gearing up to watch a game. He is not in heaven…..he is in Madison……….

By Bradley D. Weisman
bweisman@inthesport.net www.inthesport.net
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