Future Alumni Learn Game-Day Traditions at Fifth Quarter Celebration

Six hundred first-year UW students braved a rainy day on September 4 to attend the annual Fifth Quarter Celebration held at the UW Field House, where they feasted on brats with Bucky Badger, won prizes and were formally introduced to UW-Madison’s cherished fight songs and dances.

“I think it went great,” said UW Homecoming Committee Executive Co-Chair Megan Halverson. “The rain cut down on our numbers, but didn’t dampen our spirit.”

The Fifth Quarter Celebration is co-sponsored by the Wisconsin Alumni Association, and this year for the first time, the UW Homecoming Committee.

Charles Stone, a first-year student from Middleton, Wis., says he is excited to delve into all the experiences Madison has to offer, and he has already run down Lakeshore Path out to Picnic Point. After hearing about the Fifth Quarter and Tailgate at SOAR, Stone came out to brush up on his dance moves for the weekend’s home game against Marshall.

“I was a bit rusty on my movements since I hadn’t done them since hockey season,” Stone said. “But I got them back – they fit like an old shoe.”

Though some seemed confused or shy when “Jump Around” came over the loudspeakers, upperclassmen volunteers from the UW Homecoming Committee showed the first-year students the ropes by dashing up the aisles to jump around in the bleachers.

“It seemed like a fun idea,” said Austin Grimm, a first-year student from Antioch, Ill. “I don’t know all of the songs yet, but I hope to after this!”

By the time UW Marching Band Director Michael Leckrone took center stage, the first-year students were ready to prove that they were indeed the class with the most Badger spirit. As Leckrone led the band through three rollicking versions of the “Chicken Dance,” the first-year students tossed their insecurities aside and danced their way to a new record time for completing the song – 26.4 seconds.

And if dancing and singing along to everyone’s favorite UW cheers wasn’t enough, the first-year students got a visit from football players, including Travis Beckum, Jonathan Casillas, and Aaron Henry, along with Badger Football Head Coach Bret Bielema.

Bielema encouraged students to arrive on time to every game and stressed the importance of crowd participation.

“Our players, our coaches, everyone in that stadium feeds off our student section,” he said. “You are a huge influence on how well we do.”

As Fifth Quarter came to an end, first-year students left feeling confident and ready to join the ranks of upperclassmen fans who lead the cheers from sections J, K, L, M, N, O, and P.

In anticipation of this week’s game, Casey Sweeney from Green Lake, Wis. exclaimed, “Fifth Quarter got me pumped for the school year and excited to be a Badger!”