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MADISON, WISC. — Have you ever felt that you need a vacation from your vacation?
Technically, the Cougar Sports Saturday road trip to Madison, Wisconsin — sponsored by General RV Center — was a work trip, but try convincing anyone we know that we were working.
If you love your job, you won't work a day in your life; but try spending five days in an RV with your co-workers.
Fortunately, Alex Kirry, Jason Shepherd, John Clyde, and I are All-Pro travel buddies. This is the second year that we've taken the General RV across the country to cover a football game. Last year, we went to South Bend, Indiana, to cover the BYU-Notre Dame game. This year we we were fortunate to go to the fourth-oldest stadium in college football — Camp Randall Stadium, the home of the Wisconsin Badgers.
The game — especially, since it was a loss — will easily be forgotten. But the memories of this epic roadie will brighten, inspire, and sometimes haunt my brain.
John Clyde kept a terrific travelogue of our adventures, but there were a few final videos that needed to see the light of day.
Game Day at Camp Randall Stadium Game day was an impressive display of brats, beer, and hospitality. The hostility that typically accompanies the opposing team seemed non-existent. Several times we were asked if we were having a good time and enjoying the experience.
My favorite memory was when we were approaching a group for an interview and someone shouted, "BYU sucks", and another man held his hand up and said, "That's not how we do things here." Classy.
Whether Wisconsin is best known for its cheese, beer, or weather is up for debate, but they certainly take pride in their ability to brew. An older gentleman — who seemed to have enjoyed a few of the adult beverages — wanted to give a shout-out to his friends at Snowbird ski resort and we enjoyed a well-natured chuckle.
Incredible National Anthem sung by an 11-year old
As we were hosting our radio show on Saturday morning, the stadium conducted the sound check for the national anthem when this powerhouse voice nearly knocked us off the airwaves.
During our broadcast we just went silent, to allow the listeners to hear this chanteuse crush America's anthem.
Oh yeah, this songstress was 11-year old Skylar Stecker.
At the end of the game, the four weary travelers stood in the Wisconsin endzone and recorded our final video. We laughed, we shared, we made fun of the semi-impressive mustaches that we grew for #Movember, but John stole the show as we signed off.
Alex and Jason smiled pleasantly, I thanked our viewers for watching our journey, and John saluted.
A salute?
Yes, a salute.
What was the deeper meaning of the salute?
Was it in recognition of the camaraderie found amongst his fellow brothers in RV arms?
Did he consider us his very own RV Band of Brothers?
We may never know and to tell you the truth, I think it's the mystery wherein the beauty lies.
Thanks boys for an epic work trip.
