Badgers Keep The Axe!

One of the reasons that I love college football so much is the rivalry games. Teams playing for some odd thing you might find at a garage sale Most of the trophies are old and worth just a few dollars, but their value to the teams is priceless.

The Heartland Trophy, The Old Oaken Bucket, the Wagon Wheel, The Apple Cup, and of course Paul Bunyan's Axe!

Of all the rivalry games in college football, I love the Battle for Paul Bunyan's Axe. Each year, the Badgers and Golden Gophers not only fight it out for Bit Ten pride, but also this historic trophy. Winning and keeping the trophy on your side of the Mississippi is one of the most important goals of the season for each team.

I always enjoyed hearing the story how former Badger assistant Jim Huber would gather the Badgers every year before the game and tell the historic story of the Paul Bunyan's Axe and the Minny-UW rivalry. Obviously, I've never heard this speech, but people who have tell me that is its unbelievable. This year, with Huber gone to the Minnesota Vikings, Barry Alvarez was called upon to give the speech, and accoring to some of the players, he did a pretty good job. Alvarez told Jim Caston on the Badger Radio Network Pregame Show on KFIZ that he stole a lot of his material from Huber, but still enjoyed it and felt he did a good job.

On Saturday, the Axe would stay in Madison for at least one more year and that was known pretty quick into the game as the Badgers got a quick defensive score and before you knew it, that game was over! And that was before halftime.

ANear the end of the game, I wondered down near where the Axe was being kept behind the Badger bench to check you the Axe as the players would get ready to parade around Camp Randall. It's so fun to watch 19, 20, 21, and 22 year old men fight like brothers on Christmas as to who would get to carry the Axe around the stadium. When the Axe is on the other sideline and you win it back, it's a sprint to the Axe, and the fasted guy on thet team usually wins the race and grabs the Axe and takes off. Since UW was about to win it's third straight game in the rivalry, it was right there and it I had laugh as different players politiced as to why they should carry the Axe first or chop at the goalposts.

In the end QB John Stocco was the first to carry the Axe with others taking their turn before Coach Bielema called them into the lockerroom.

I love Paul Bunyan's Axe...and I love college football.