The Weirdness of Marquette-Wisconsin Rivalry

I could be wrong here, but I find Wisconsin-Marquette basketball rivalry to be one of the weirdest when it comes to fandom. There are different sectors of it whether it be all Wisconsin where they cheer for the Badgers and no one else in Wisconsin.  There is the other part where they cheer for Marquette no matter what even if the Golden Eagles do not play Wisconsin in football, hockey or a couple other sports. They will be completely for Marquette and cheer against Wisconsin whenever the opportunity is there. This is not weird. In fact, this is really normal for college athletics. But the other sectors are the weird ones... 

One part of the weirdness are the people who like both teams, but cheer for Wisconsin when they play each other. This happens more in the Northern part of the state. When I went to Eau Claire, I could not tell you how many people would tell me 'I cheer for both teams, but when they play each other, I am all for Wisconsin.' For the record, I am willing to bet some of them flip and say Marquette, but I cannot recall many of them. Finally, there is the section where they cheer for Marquette exclusively, do not really like Wisconsin basketball, but they have no problem cheering for the football, hockey teams.

It is not a huge confession but I am a part of the final group. I follow seven to nine people on Twitter whom are strictly for Marquette and I will admit it, I feel a bit awkward about it. I do not not actively cheer for Wisconsin football, but I do not root against them. I hope they win, I pay attention to their team and I like to think I do it the right way because of Marquette, I practically have no bias towards their football team meaning I can judge them a little differently than the ardent Badger fan. There will be people who read this and tell me I am not a 'true fan' which is fine. A true fan is like a man card as it is some false moniker to make people have to make in order to feel better about themselves. 

Let me say this though, I get it from the strictly Marquette people. If you went to school there, it is an entirely different set of rules versus me being a kid growing up with a father who went to Marquette for undergrad and law school following along with the team. For whatever it is worth, my dad is the same as me and I grew up this way. I cannot speak for people who went/go to school at Marquette where they become immersed in the rivalry versus me living Eau Claire where the rivalry did not exist as much. Hell I wrote about that when I lived there. For me, the rivalry was the most important in high school which made the games fun as hell. A part of me does wish I had that throughout my college career as well. My guess is the fandom would be different. 

As for the game, my assumption is the Badgers are licking their chops. Marquette has won the last two games against the two teams, but Wisconsin is off to a much better start to the season. Golden Eagles could be rounding into form even with their recent loss to San Diego State last Sunday. Marquette can beat them with size inside because Wisconsin does not really have a true post player. Davante Gardner could have a massive game. Marquette needs to get out on their shooters because Wisconsin can run Marquette out of the gym if their threes are falling. I cannot pick against Marquette (For the record, I have Marquette +8 for $10 and a bottle of Maker's Mark with friends), I feel like, weirdly enough, Marquette slows this game down and wins for the third straight time dominating in the post. MARQ 64-60  

Charlie.