Semi-OT: Why is this a thing? - "Jump Around" edition
Disclaimer: 1) I am a Wisconsin resident, but 2) no, I have never been to a game at Camp Randall Stadium. That said . . .
Why in the hell is playing "Jump Around" and literally doing nothing but jumping up and down such a celebrated event? House of Pain was not from Wisconsin, the tradition started six years AFTER the song was released, and . . . again I must stress, THEY ARE JUST JUMPING UP AND DOWN. Good job?
For those who have witnessed it in person, is it really that cool of an event, or is it just over-hyped blather?
November 13th, 2017 at 5:05 PM ^
They put it on the map for college football (through their marching band!), closely followed by Ohio State and everyone else on earth, and then Special K limped in at the end to say "wait, us too! It's totally our thing because Detroit!"
In other words, yet another reason why RAWK is dumb and Michigan Stadium manages to make it even dumber.
November 13th, 2017 at 5:55 PM ^
PSU is more of a Zombie Nation school, which they do quite well.
November 13th, 2017 at 6:05 PM ^
November 13th, 2017 at 6:36 PM ^
This is true, but they were also the first college program to use Seven Nation Army. They heard about it being used by European soccer fans and it unexpectedly became a thing.
November 13th, 2017 at 3:55 PM ^
November 13th, 2017 at 3:56 PM ^
November 13th, 2017 at 3:57 PM ^
This is one of the cooler traditions that has come about in recent memory in my opinion. It's just a bunch of college kids having fun.
November 13th, 2017 at 3:57 PM ^
That's a pretty good question, per Wikipedia:
At home football games at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, students "Jump Around" to the song between the third and fourth quarters. The tradition grew out of the men's varsity swim team members playing it over a portable CD player and broadcasting via a smuggled-in megaphone to sections O and P during the games to rile up those sections. This began in 1992, well before the official start. In March 1997, at a Fraternity party at Delta Tau Delta at midnight the song was played with the football team and members of the future stadium employees and it became the midnight anthem for every party until the end of that year. The "official" start was on Saturday, October 10, 1998, at the Badgers Homecoming game against the Purdue Boilermakers.[8] After no offensive points were scored in the third quarter, and en route to their second 6–0 start of the modern football era, one of the Badgers' marketing agents, who was in charge of sound, piped the song through the loudspeakers.[9] It stirred up fans and players and eventually became a tradition.[9]
So it's either a) their swim team, b) frat boys or c) marketing agents. Or some combination of all three.
November 13th, 2017 at 4:06 PM ^
Some "traditions" take on a life of their own
See: the Iowa Wave
Some don't
See: the Civil ConFLiCT trophy
Nobody can predict why, but Jump Around is a thing. Let it go.
November 13th, 2017 at 4:18 PM ^
In 1998, during the first night homecoming game for Wisconsin, Kluender was looking for something to keep the crowd energized between the third and fourth quarters. He had a list of suggested songs provided by Ryan Sondrup, an intern in the marketing department and a former Badgers football player. Kluender chose “Jump Around” and looked away from the field to check his notes. When he turned back, he said the leaping students looked “like popcorn popping.”
...Soon, the hopping students and shaking press box became as much a part of Wisconsin’s game-day experience as the smell of bratwursts grilling and the sight of empty cans of Milwaukee’s Best littering the sidewalks. “It’s turned into something really special and unique in college football,” said Barry Alvarez
So to answer the OP it was just an organic thing. Something pretty cool, imo. These types of things are what seperates the college games from the pros.
November 13th, 2017 at 5:05 PM ^
Although I haven't been to Camp Randall, I have been to Lambeau Field, and now they do it there, too.
Completely lame.
November 13th, 2017 at 5:36 PM ^
Maybe you should actually go to a game at Camp Randall and then report back to us.
November 13th, 2017 at 3:58 PM ^
Well, you can't exactly jump down. You're actually falling when you "jump down."
As for the tradition, I think it's cool.
November 13th, 2017 at 4:01 PM ^
Actually, you don't jump up to fall down... you jump up to get down.
November 13th, 2017 at 4:06 PM ^
November 13th, 2017 at 9:46 PM ^
LOL well done
November 13th, 2017 at 4:01 PM ^
November 13th, 2017 at 4:10 PM ^
November 13th, 2017 at 4:11 PM ^
I thought it was Kris Kross
November 13th, 2017 at 4:45 PM ^
...jump jump.
November 13th, 2017 at 4:12 PM ^
That would be like people dancing to the Rocky & Bullwinkle theme making fake antlers with their hands. I mean, who would do such a thing?
November 13th, 2017 at 4:13 PM ^
I've only experienced it at Camp Randall for an outdoor hockey game with no one in the upper deck, but even at that, the way that stadium shook really freaked me out. Jump Around is something.
November 13th, 2017 at 4:14 PM ^
November 13th, 2017 at 4:14 PM ^
November 13th, 2017 at 4:17 PM ^
traditions are older than stuff from the 90s...but it's something cool and unique they have and can call their own. I remember the very first Wisconsin game I saw was their 2003 win over Ohio State and of course I was rooting for them in a bad way. I thought the jump around thing was pretty cool then.
Compare to Penn State who think Seven Nation Army in a sports context is theirs when literally 80% of stadiums around the world do it.
November 13th, 2017 at 4:30 PM ^
Every home game since 1998, is 114 games if you say they only played 6 per season. That's more than the number of times we have played for the jug. That's equal to the number of times we have faced Ohio State. That is freaking tradition.
November 13th, 2017 at 4:38 PM ^
They've probably played more like 130 games. Teams regularly play 7-8 home games these days.
November 13th, 2017 at 4:51 PM ^
according to my calculation I have shaved give or take 7,000 times. That doesn't mean shaving is my tradition.
Give "Jump Around" another 40 years and it's a tradition.
November 13th, 2017 at 4:55 PM ^
"Jump Around" has been around long enough that UW fans probably don't remember what they used to do during that 3rd/4th quarter break before the stadium started playing it. That's good enough.
November 13th, 2017 at 5:40 PM ^
November 13th, 2017 at 4:18 PM ^
November 13th, 2017 at 4:32 PM ^
...for impious and lecherous young men to threaten the chastity of our daughters.
November 13th, 2017 at 4:23 PM ^
November 13th, 2017 at 4:23 PM ^
November 13th, 2017 at 4:30 PM ^
What's the deal with "Champions of the West"? Have you heard this before? Last time I checked, Michigan is in the EASTERN time zone!
November 13th, 2017 at 4:32 PM ^
November 13th, 2017 at 4:43 PM ^
Or maybe your ability to catch sacrasm is really lacking.
November 13th, 2017 at 4:36 PM ^
West meaning western hemisphere?
November 13th, 2017 at 4:39 PM ^
West of Ypsilanti.
November 13th, 2017 at 4:45 PM ^
We always are on the west sideline at Michigan Stadium.
November 13th, 2017 at 4:55 PM ^
West of Rutgers (the original champions of the east)
November 13th, 2017 at 5:00 PM ^
West of the University of Tennessee (the original Champions of Life).
November 13th, 2017 at 5:09 PM ^
[Double post edit ... ]
Parts of Tennessee, anyway!
November 13th, 2017 at 4:30 PM ^
Off the subject, but does anyone know why Wisconsin NEVER comes off our schedule? They're there every year up to and including 2021. They might as well be in the east division as far as Michigan is concerned.
November 13th, 2017 at 4:36 PM ^
I don't know, but we recently went five straight years (2011-15) without playing them, so I like it.
November 13th, 2017 at 4:38 PM ^
Well they were off our schedule for five years so it makes sense that we put them back on. Personally I like it. Adds some more credibility to the schedule when we play the only team from the West that consistently has a pulse.
November 13th, 2017 at 4:38 PM ^
...that it's a real toe-tapper.
November 13th, 2017 at 4:38 PM ^
It's fun. I also really like how we play the Blues Brothers song during that quarter break.