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Marriage, Tailgating Convert Oregon Fan to Badger Backer

How one UW-Madison alum convinced his wife to to trade in her green for red. (Hint: the pregame tailgating helped!)

Jonathan & Lindsay Suttin

Lindsay Suttin is a Chicago native, but after living in Portland, Oregon for 10 years, “I kind of adopted the Ducks, because all of my friends were Ducks and the city loved them,” she says.

Three years ago, she met her now-husband, UW alum and Madison-area radio host Jonathan Suttin ’90, who recalls the football team’s dry years during his time as a student.

“I was there during the Don Morton era. And right after I graduated, they announced Barry Alvarez as head coach,” Jonathan says. “It would have been sweet if they’d have won more than five or so games during the four years I was in school, but they’re making up for it now.”

After Lindsay moved to Madison and the couple got married, Jonathan began his campaign to woo her again, this time to the Badger fan squad. The subtle hinting turned into tickets at Camp Randall this fall, and by the end of the season, she had her own red and white gear, and they made the decision to travel to their first bowl game together.

“I think the best part for her was the tailgating,” Jonathan laughs. “They don’t know how to tailgate in Oregon like we do!”

“Now she bleeds Badger red,” he adds. “It must be the diet of cheese and brats that fixed her right up.”

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