Growing up in the 1970s and 80s, my parents took my sisters and me to countless Badger basketball games at the old Field House. Because the Badgers weren't very good - a 500 record in the Big Ten would have been a remarkable achievement back then - tickets were always plentiful and cheap. The seats were always high up in the rafters and often times there was a beam that partially obstructed the view - but it was great fun. And we got to see the likes of Magic Johnson and Bobby Knight come and square up against our Badgers.
In 1989, Wisconsin finally made a tournament - it was only the NIT, but after all the years of basketball futility, being at the Field House for a post-season game was exciting. Of course, they lost that game (to Saint Louis). In the 1990s, Wisconsin began to make the real tournament with consistency - but playing past the first round was still a dream.
Badger basketball continued to be part of me, my first date in 1994 with Peggy Hurley was delayed a couple of hours so I could watch Wisconsin play Ohio State. Then on the day I brought my son home from the hospital after being born, the Badgers made the Final Four on that dream run in 2000. Years later, in 2007 I delayed my first date with Rebecca Eberhardt for a few hours so I could watch Wisconsin beat Michigan State.
Obviously, Wisconsin basketball is in my blood and because it was the catalyst for my parents' first date, it's in the very fabric of my existence. But in all my years of watching them play, I never once realistically thought they would play for a National Championship. It makes tomorrow's game truly remarkable for me. On Wisconsin.
