A great day to be a sports fan

Wasn’t Saturday a great day to be a sports fan, especially a Wisconsin sports fan? The state of Wisconsin went three for three in games the Badgers and Packers played.

It’s a very rare thing when you find a whole day filled with Wisconsin sports. In the morning I watched as the Wisconsin me’s basketball team annihilated the Louisville Cardinals in the Kohl Center. The lopsided victory was Louisville’s worst loss since 1956. It also put the men’s team back into the top ten.

After that game I took break, and went to work covering the Colby girls team and their game against the Granton Bulldogs. After a tough loss against Columbus Catholic, the Hornets are off to a fast start, winning their last three games, including a nail-biting victory over the Athens Bluejays on Monday.

Terry Schmitt is in his first year on the job, but he and the Hornets are winning with grit, teamwork and an unselfish style of play where any player can be the high scorer on the night.

Those some qualities were on hand for the second game of the day, a Wisconsin Badgers football game against the hated Minnesota Gophers, with the coveted Paul Bunyan Axe on the line. It’s no secret that this year has been something of a night for the Badgers.

There’s been a delayed start, cancelled games, COVID-19 outbreaks and injuries. The Badgers went into Friday’s match with Minnesota - the longest held rivalry between two NCAA D-I programs - without three of their wide receivers, their top two running backs, starting center and left tackle and with a rookie quarterback and walk-on running back toting the ball.

Garrett Groshek grew up not far from here, in the town of Amherst, and won a state title in Camp Randall in his final game of his prep career. A fifth year senior at Wisconsin, Groshek has been the ultimate utility player, able to block, run or catch the ball and make tackles on special teams plays. In short, he can do it all.

On Saturday he did. With his team needing a spark, he provided it, carrying the ball for 154 yards and a touchdown as his feet and his spirit guided the Badgers to a 20-17 overtime victory.

Afterwards you could see what the victory meant to the kids who have poured their heart and soul into the program. It was a defiant act to the coronavirus, a reminder that we are still here, that we persist, we endure and we triumph. As 2020 comes to an end, and as we draw close to the holidays and the new year, remember to hold the people you care about close to you.

As for the third game, it was the Green Bay Packers. As long as Aaron Rodgers is slinging the pigskin, I don’t have to worry. The Panthers mounted a spirited comeback, but #12 still has magic, and the Pack clinched the NFC North. Hard not to love a day like that!

M USINGS AND G RUMBLINGS

ROSS PATTERMANN REPORTER