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Game Sixty-Six:
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August 25, 2001 Nothing could stop the fourth annual Eddie Robinson Classic from kicking off the 2001 campaign – except lightning. The Badgers and Cavaliers had to wait to begin action in Camp Randall Stadium due to lightning cells that were threatening the Madison area. Officials had fans move into the field house and into the concourse of the stadium to wait out the weather. While huddled with thousands of anxious fans, rumors began to spread about the game being cancelled altogether.
However, the danger from nature subsided
and the delay lasted only thirty-one minutes. To keep up with time
constraints, kickoff had to start rapidly and fans were rushing to their
seats. Still, at the game’s inception, only about 10,000 folks had entered
the stadium. The band hadn’t even made their way in yet. The scene was
extremely eerie as though some vacuum had sucked the atmospheric qualities
of college football right out of the stadium leaving only two soggy teams on
the field. But, by the end of the first quarter, most of the 76,000 that
would attend had found their seats. The band marched in and once settled,
they played “On Wisconsin” to remind the crowd that they were in Camp
Randall.
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