For 123 years, the Wisconsin Badgers and the Minnesota Gophers have been rivals. And for 123 years it's been a tradition for the winning team to pretend to chop down both goal posts with Paul Bunyan's Axe. But following Wisconsin's 20-7 victory Saturday night, the Gophers didn't allow the tradition to continue.
According to ESPN, Saturday's win marks the tenth consecutive win over Minnesota, which is the longest streak by either side in the rivalry.
When the Badgers attempted to ceremoniously chop down the second goal post in TCF Bank Stadium, several Gophers players stood in front of the goal post, blocking the tradition from happening. Wisconsin players waited near midfield for the Gophers to sing a traditional song after the game, and tried to make their move afterwards, but they were never able to get to the second goal post. Heated words and some shoves were exchanged, and Wisconsin coach Gary Andersen even said a security officer approached him, pointed a finger in his face, and commanded them to leave.
"It's happened for as long as I've been alive, going to both goal posts," Wisconsin senior linebacker Chris Borland said. "They kind of crashed our party."
UW nose guard Beau Allen explained the tradition as well, but said that the team has no hard feelings against the Gophers, reports The Chippewa Herald. “It’s understandable, it’s an emotional game," he said. "We’re at their home turf, want to chop down their goal posts. You can really see where that is coming from. I’m sure we’d feel the same way. No hard feelings or anything like that.”
In fact, the Badgers continued to celebrate their win even after they couldn't carry out the age-long tradition of chopping down the goal posts. The team held up a whiteboard reading, "10 straight" and started a cheer, yelling, "10 more years." "Ten's a great number," said Borland. "That's a decade of dominance."
While the Badgers celebrated their win, Andersen says they never crossed a line, and he was angry his team was treated the way they were. “I just don’t think myself, you turn around and deserve to get pushed out of the way,” he said. “I don’t think that’s right…The kids, in my opinion, were not out of control ...You’re supposed to carry yourself like an adult in those scenarios. I don’t need someone pointing a finger in my face when supposedly their job is to protect the kids and be the security for the stadium. Yeah, it makes me mad, I think it’s just not right.”
The win against Minnesota improved the Badgers' record to 9-2, leaving the team hoping for a BCS bid.
"When you have nine wins, you're very close to being a great football team," Andersen said. "I'm not so sure we're not a great team right now. If the season were over, I'd probably say they were a great team. But I don't want to tell them that yet."
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons