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Chapter 5 – We Can Overlook It Saturday September 3
Because this was, in essence, an away game, we three were the only recruits here this weekend. We were also on an unofficial visit, so they couldn’t spend any money on us except for giving us game tickets. They wanted all their recruits on official visits to come to home games so they would get the game-day experience. I personally wasn’t looking forward to a bus ride from Madison to Lambeau Field in Green Bay, but this was the only weekend we could fit Wisconsin in.
We were met by a group of coaches: Coach Paul, Head Coach; Coach Sleigh, Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator; Coach Lennart, Defensive Coordinator; Coach Boss, Inside Linebackers; and Coach Chet, Tight Ends. I was glad we’d stopped at the local student bookstore and bought Wisconsin t-shirts to show our school spirit.
Tim had a great suggestion and eased my mind about wasting money.
“We should hang them on our bedroom walls to remind us of everywhere we’ve been.”
“We could mount them on square pieces of wood and attach hardware on the back to hang them,” Wolf suggested.
“Maybe Artist Boy can figure out something to make it look nice,” Tim said, looking at me.
“Let me think about it,” I offered.
I figured that between the three of us, we would come up with something cool.
We walked in with our dads, and all had on red Wisconsin t-shirts. Coach Paul saw us as we walked in and smiled.
“I see you have good taste,” he said to greet us.
Introductions were made.
“I’m sorry this is such a short greeting, but we have to be leaving to play a football game. Typically, we would spend more time with you today. But at the very least I wanted to meet you all and let you know that you’re each a priority for Wisconsin football,” Coach Paul assured us.
We understood they had a huge game today against fifth-ranked LSU, and he needed to get going. His team was already in Green Bay, getting ready for the game. It was a big deal that he and his coaches had taken the time away to greet us. They would fly up to Green Bay so they wouldn’t miss much. That gesture wasn’t lost on us.
We then followed the schedule they’d sent us. Coach Bud was put in charge of us. He had the title of ‘Quality Control.’
“What does a quality control coach do?” Jared Tams, Wolf’s dad, asked.
“We do just about everything. It’s the first step in becoming an assistant coach. I played at Wisconsin four years ago and decided to get into coaching. We don’t coach a specific position but have several other responsibilities. Among those duties are breaking down film of upcoming opponents, scouting those opponents, and acting as an assistant during practices,” Coach Bud explained.
“And babysitting this group,” Dad added.
“I’m not sure I would call it that, but yeah, I help out with recruiting.”
At the photo shoot, they had jerseys with our names and football numbers on them. We stood in front of a wall with Wisconsin football logos all over it. I sent Lily photos of our dads and us all together.
I’d brought my camera with me, so I spent time taking photos to document our trip. Then I connected it to my tablet and posted pictures on social media. The rest I uploaded to my cloud account so Frank and Lily could get access to them.
Fan interest was running high at the schools where we’d arranged visits. One recruiting site had ‘experts’ who would pick where they thought we would end up. Those picks were called ‘crystal balls.’ The early favorite was Michigan because they’d held a camp at our high school. Michigan was followed, surprisingly enough, by Kentucky. They’d been the first to offer, and I’d made comments about how much I liked their campus and how I felt they really wanted me.
We toured the facilities at Wisconsin. They were better than State, but Ohio State and Alabama outdid them. Don’t get me wrong, though. Wisconsin was a Big Ten school, and they cared about football. Besides, I wasn’t planning on picking my college solely based on their football facilities.
Coach Bud was passionate about Wisconsin, doubtless because he’d played there himself. We quizzed him about his experience, and he told us how much he loved Madison. It was an actual college town, and the state capitol was located here. Tim and I smiled when he pointed out that the University of Wisconsin Hospital was a prominent regional teaching hospital. I was sure Tami would get a full report.
Everyone gave me an eye-roll when Coach Bud told us about the Department of Art and their Department of Theatre and Drama. He did follow up with their business school and also admitted that they had a landscape architecture program but not a general architecture program.
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Our dads bailed on us when it came to the bus ride to Lambeau Field. Paul offered to drive them, but Dad reminded him of his job so the dads would have to drive themselves. Coach Bud had arranged our transportation. I was happy to see it was reasonably priced. We were riding on a nice tour bus with a keg in the back. It was full of alumni being transported to the game. Several other buses were being filled with students, and I thought one of those might be more fun, but Coach Bud was worried things might get out of hand.
What could possibly go wrong when the buses had beer, college students, and recent grads riding on them? Tim was the voice of reason and reminded Wolf and me that we had girlfriends and were in season.
We were confused when we found out we were assigned seats and not together. That was until I found myself seated next to a buxom blond who seemed happy to see me. Wisconsin was good, very good.
“Hi,” she chirped. “I’m Amy.”
“David,” I offered.
“You want a beer?” she asked.
It was like ten in the morning. I guess it had to be five o’clock somewhere.
“No, I’m in training,” I said as I watched her get up to get a beer from the back.
I got my phone out and sent Brook a text.
‘Hey, Hotness’
‘Playing dress up?’
She must have seen the pictures Lily had put out on my social media accounts.
‘You know it. Just got on a bus with a keg for our trip’
‘I’m jealous!’
‘What are you doing?’
‘Cassidy’
I blinked. Did she mean she and Cassidy were hanging out or …? I let my imagination run wild.
‘Send pics’
Amy sat down next to me.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“I’m texting a friend.”
She grabbed my chin and made me look at her.
“Your friend isn’t here,” she said.
Damn! I wondered if I could skip my senior year of high school. Then I heard my phone chirp. I laughed at the picture Brook sent me. She and Cassidy had paint splattered all over themselves. They’d been riding the four-wheelers and shooting each other with paintball guns. That looked a hell of a lot more fun than riding on a bus.
“So, are you going to text your friends or talk to me?” she asked.
I pointed at my phone. Amy was nothing but trouble. I looked out the window and saw we’d pulled onto US-151 north. We had two and a half hours until we reached the football stadium. I shook my head, thinking about drinking for that long before we even tailgated at the game. I would need a nap, or I’d do a face-plant trying to navigate the stadium’s steps.
Amy had gotten up and was having an animated discussion with the girl sitting with Tim. I thought about switching seats with Paul, who’d gotten stuck sitting with Coach Bud. I had a feeling that would be a mistake, as he would probably try to sell me on Wisconsin for the entire trip.