Remember this the next time you hear somebody lament about the direction of college football:
I attended Madison for two years, from 1979 to 1981, and I watched all home football games from the student section. We mostly went to the games for fun — they usually beat only Northwestern during those years. Anyway, we were still loud and proud. I distinctly remember one game when the ref had an announcement made over the PA that the student section was too loud, and we needed to quiet down or the Badgers would be penalized. Of course, that just egged us on, and we were even louder, until he threw the flag, and then we were satisfied and toned it down a bit. Do you know the game and what penalty was called? —Greg Francis x’83
According to the book “The 25 Greatest Moments in Camp Randall History” by Mike Lukas, the incident you refer to occurred during the 1980 game against Michigan. The Badgers had done a pretty good job on defense, keeping Michigan from scoring until just before halftime, when the Wolverines gained a 10-0 lead. There was no more scoring until late in the third quarter, when quarterback John Wangler stepped up under his center to call signals, but the student section was so loud that his teammates could not hear him. Wangler complained to the referee, who told him to try again. Seven times Wangler got in position; the student section roared; and he threw up his hands and backed off.
“The Badgers were warned twice and then stripped of all their timeouts, one by one,” Lukas writes. “That was followed by two delay-of-game penalties, the first of which gave the Wolverines a first-and-goal.” Wangler eventually took the snap, Lukas continues, 10 minutes after the incident began, and Michigan scored, making it 17-0 before they eventually won the game 24-0.
Could you imagine what would happen if Ohio State's student section drew a penalty for being too loud during the game? Urban Meyer might kill the entire ref crew with his bare hands.
Source: uwalumni.com/askabe
