Tailgate Tour: How Wisconsin Badgers Do Gameday

How the University of Wisconsin tailgates
How the University of Wisconsin tailgates
Photo: Nathan Davison

In preparation for Saturday’s noon kickoff between the USF Bulls and Wisconsin Badgers, we asked two Wisconsin grads for an insider’s take at tailgating in Madison.

If you’re a Badgers fan, tailgates aren’t all burgers and hot dogs. In fact, you might as well leave those Oscar Meyers in the fridge — on the grills outside of Camp Randall Stadium, brats and sauerkraut reign supreme. And, this being the great cheese state, after all, you’ve got to serve it with a side of fried cheese curds (which, to an outsider, may sound gross, but are really just battered, gooey balls of cheese, so basically, they’re divine).

Wash it down with a glug of beer, preferably a local brew like Spotted Cow ale, from one of the beer gardens lining Regent Street. If you’re coming from a rival school, you can expect some heckling if you attend the Badger Bash, a tailgate the UW marching band presides over, but the jeers are worth the music, group chants and sheer are-you-ready-for-some-football?! energy. It’s contagious.

During the game, you better know protocol for the stadium’s very distinct version of the wave (it’s a quick counterclockwise wave, followed by a super-slow one, then another fast one, before the stands split into two counter waves, according to the Bleacher Report). Everyone will probably bust out in a rousing chorus of “Build Me Up Buttercup,” and if you have kids with you, you may want to call “earmuffs” when the fans’ back-and-forth chant breaks out: “Eat s***!” “F*** you!”

Before you leave Madison, you must (must!) stop by Ian’s Pizza. It’s beloved among Wisconsin students and grads, and we hear its Mac & Cheese Pizza is so good it’ll make you want to high-five everyone you meet for the rest of the day.

If you’re catching the game from afar, bring that Wisconsin flavor to your watch party with the Mac & Cheese Pizza Bites recipe from Collegiate Cook’s USF Gameday Recipes. If you’re a Bulls fan, be sure to serve it alongside Rocky’s UnstoppaBull Snack Mix, Raging Bulls Mojitos and Pulled Pork wontons.