It's time to say goodbye the right way

[ForkEmBucky]

Alright boys. It's been almost a week. So whenever you come around again, watch this video(it's actually a nice tribute to the team and how they played), remember the good stuff and how this team fought in a tight battle, and post your thanks or general feelings.

I for one think these Seniors were a great group. Going to miss seeing them play. Russell is a class act and one of the best players in Wisconsin history. I hope he has a long pro career, wherever he goes.

Best of luck to the Seniors!

ON WISCONSIN!

The University of Wisconsin Official Athletic Site

 

[johnnytata]

agreed. i have stayed off this board for a bit, the loss just hurts too much, needed time to process.

as i have said before, i hate for these guys to give so much, only for the greater proportion of people in the country to not give a shit, either because only one game during the whole season actually matters, or because the system is so fucked that there ends up being only a handful of teams people actually pay attention to.

but i know we give a shit. we care about these guys. we have met these guys (either current or past players). we hope that our passion and good vibes somehow makes it to them.

and man did these guys fight this year. they never gave up. so many times they could have folded, packed it in, succumbed under the weight of disappointment because of the shit i mentiond above.

this truly was a magical season. probably the most proud of a 3 loss badger team i could ever imagine. wierdly enough, i actually felt better about this team after the loss than i did going into the game. so i know this must truly have been a really fuckin special team. i came out of that last game truly believing that this team could play with anyone, ANYONE in the country.

for the guys coming back, you have some monstrous shoes to fill, but i have no doubt you will somehow still make us proud.

and for the those moving on, i look forward to cheering for you on sundays like i did yesterday for jj.

i will actually really miss this team a lot, guess that's why it hurts so much.

fuck. not nearly as eloquent as i hoped it would be, but as you said forkem:

ON WISCONSIN!

 

[ForkEmBucky]

That was a great read, Johnny.

On another note, I thought Toon really looked like himself in the Rose Bowl for the first time in a while. To me he looked like he had a burst that the hasn't had in a couple years, at least not for more than a game or two at a time with those foot injuries. I hope that he gets his shot...along with the rest of the seniors.

 

[Smart]

The video wasn't working for me, but I imagine it was some sort of Rose Bowl video tribute to the Seniors and the team general. I'll start out by saying that this was the single favorite team that I have ever followed. They were not only very, very good, but they were exciting and filled with class.

You can't talk about this team without mentioning Russell Wilson. He was an absolute beast this year, as evidenced by the highest QB Rating ever. Whenever he was in the game, you had hope that he could make a play. Time after time, he would make a play when you assumed he would be sacked. He scrambled for first down all the time as well. When the game was on the line, he made play after play. Most importantly, though, he was a tremendously humble yet inspirational team leader. This offense rallied around him, and it was a major reason for their success. I will miss seeing Russell in a Badgers uniform, and hope the best for him.

The 2011 Wisconsin Badgers also revolved around the running game. Montee Ball used his incredible vision to have one of the greatest seasons in school (and NCAA) history. I can't count the number of times that he came out of nowhere to find an open hole, and there was never a dull moment when he was in the game. The running game also revolved around our departing linemen: Josh Oglesby, Kevin Zeitler, and Peter Konz. These guys were incredible run blockers, and provided the holes that made Ball's season possible. I wish Oglesby health in the future, and I fully expect Zeitler and Konz to be in the league for years to coome.

Going into the year, I expected the receiving corp to be the weak link. Nick Toon had a solid Senior season, which was awesome after his disappointing 2010. Jared Abbredaris might be remembered most for a pair of huge plays in losses (the Hail Mary against MSU and the RB Fumble), but he also went from walk on to solid #2 receiver. He has a great future for this Wisconsin team, both as a #1 receiver and as one of the best returnmen in America. Jacob Pedersen was also great, and is a decent Senior season away from being a mid-round draft pick. All in all, this unit exceeded my expectations, to become an essential part of one of the nation's top offenses.

My thank you for the defense will be much shorter. This line struggled throughout much of the year, though Patrick Butrym will be missed as a solid contributor and excellent motivator. Our linebackers were incredible. Borland and Taylor will go down as the best linebacker duo in team history, and only have the chance to expand this legacy next year. In the secondary, Aaron Henry and his awesome character will be missed. Antonio Fenelus, one of the most underrated players in America, was also outstanding this year. I wish them the best in their NFL careers, and will miss them both next season.

Phillip Welch and Brad Nortman will not be talked about too much, but they were both essential to my Wisconsin experience. I'll miss Welch hitting Section P with kickoffs before the games started, as well as watching him make 60+ yarders. Nortman provided my single favorite Wisconsin play as a student (the fake punt to win at Iowa) and the running into the punter call against MSU gave us the Big Ten Title. Both of these guys have NFL potential, and I hope that they can both be successful.

This team was so much more than their individual parts, though. There was aa definite cohesion among this team. They got along whenever you saw them, they helped to motivate each other, and there was a great deal of respect among them. The result was a team that played exceptionally well, encouraged each other, and wound up achieving tremendous results.

I have an array of memories from this seson that will probably never go away. I remember opening night, and the anxiety of a crowd that wondered about its team only to be relieved when we realized our quarterback was the real deal. I remember the Nebraska game, where this team established itself as the B1G's premier team in the national spotlight. I remember the deflating feeling of our two losses, from watching the Michigan State Hail Mary on ESPN 3 to downing a Slurpee in 25 degree weather as I tried to get over the letdown in Columbus. I remember this team's tremendous recovery, augmented by high-fiving the team in Champaign and watching us kill Penn State in Madison. I remember Russell and Nortman helping our team to earn the trip to Pasadena. And I, of course, remember that game of only one week ago, the beautiful California weather combining with two excellent offenses to create a great game where we fell just short.

While I will always cherish these memories, the thing that I will cherish the most is a memory that never happened. This team was never, not for a single second all season, out of a football game. In all three losses, they could have pulled out the victory at the end. While the losses are frustrating, I am aided by knowing that for one season (well, two if you count last year), we could have played anybody in America and given them a battle. That relevance, more than anything else, is what I will remember about this team. I hope that next year's team, and the team after that and so on, remember that feeling and do everything in their power to never let it die.

That, more than anything else would be a fitting tribute to this incredible team. I was very proud to be a Senior student following this team. I'll miss this team immensely, but I look forward to their legacy forwarding future success.

ON WISCONSIN!

 

[Skerpokes]

Wisconsin is my favorite team.

 

[ForkEmBucky]

Speaking of Nortman. The fake @ Iowa. Never going to forget that.