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Taking the Plunge: Why I'm Starting The Badger Backer
Where to start?
I have been a passionate Wisconsin sports fan for as long as I can remember. I used to wake up at 5 A.M. every day, sneak downstairs, make some toast, and catch an hour of SportsCenter before I had to go to school. I loved sports. I would live and breathe anything that had to do with sports.
I consider myself a highly loyal Wisconsin sports fan. I follow the Packers religiously, never missing a game and getting overly upset when they lose. How the Packers perform would affect my mood for the rest of the week.
I love the Brewers. I’m not delusional about the fact that they will likely never win a World Series because they are a small-market team.
I even followed the Bucks growing up, even through all those years of mediocrity where they were maybe good enough to sneak into the playoffs before a first-round exit, but not quite consistently bad enough to collect top talent year after year through the draft. The 2021 Bucks winning the NBA Finals will forever be one of my favorite moments because, like the Brewers, I had resigned myself to the fact that I would never see a Bucks championship in my lifetime. Thank God for Giannis.
But something I think I was more passionate about than any of my friends or anyone in my family was the Wisconsin Badgers. I was introduced to the Badgers when my dad would turn on games in the fall, and I would see Ron Dayne running through anyone and everyone, picking up huge chunks of yards at a time. He was invincible in my mind. I looked forward to fall Saturday mornings, turning on College Gameday for three hours and then watching the Badgers ground-and-pound their way to a low-scoring victory over a Big Ten foe.
That’s where my love of Wisconsin sports started.
It wasn’t long until I fell in love with Wisconsin basketball, too. Watching Devin Harris play basketball was inspirational. I got into basketball at a young age, and I would pretend to be him in my gravel driveway shooting hoops either by myself or with my old man.
I was convinced growing up that I was going to attend Wisconsin for college and consume as many games as possible.
Unfortunately, life and reality get in the way. I didn’t go to Madison, I stayed closer to home and went to UW-Eau Claire. But wouldn’t you know it, I met someone from the Madison area and ended up down here anyway.
My passion for Wisconsin athletics never wavered. I became a teacher, but I still wanted to have a voice in the Wisconsin sports community. I started writing for Badger of Honor, the Wisconsin site for FanSided. It was completely unpaid, but I didn’t care; it was all about being able to talk about Wisconsin sports with other Wisconsin fans.
That’s when I got the opportunity to work with Dillon Graff. He applied to write for Badger of Honor while I was the ‘site expert.’ We worked together for a while before he moved on to other challenges, like building Badger Notes that he already had started.
After a while of doing that, I had a kid and didn’t have the time needed to run the site and the responsibilities that came along with it. So I was done writing about the Badgers.
But after a year or two, I caught the bug again. I reached out to Dillon about writing at Badger Notes to get back into it. He didn’t hesitate to let me join his team. He built Badger Notes into a great site for Wisconsin football and basketball news and opinions. He built enough connections that Badger Notes became a credentialed news site for Wisconsin athletics.
I never thought in a million years I would be able to cover Wisconsin football and basketball games as a member of the media, or go to press conferences, or the Badgers’ training camp in the summer at Platteville, but there I was. Impostor syndrome set in. I didn’t feel like I belonged there or had a right to be there, but again, there I was.
Eventually, the Badger Notes crew had an opportunity to write for All Badgers, the Wisconsin channel for Athlon. Increasing our reach on the internet even further.
While I still write for All Badgers, I felt like I wanted a new challenge. Something I could call my own, a little side project.
So I started brainstorming. There are tons of Wisconsin sports blogs out there. I’m not oblivious to that fact. And I’m not oblivious to the fact that there are many writers out there who are much more talented and plugged in than I am. But I also know my own passion, and the specific ways I tend to dissect games, track recruiting, and argue about strategy with my friends. This isn't about out-scooping the pros; it's about sharing a genuine, unfiltered perspective from someone who lives and breathes this stuff, hoping to spark some good conversation with others who feel the same way.
I’m open to comments on articles, conversations on social media, and other ways just to talk about what we love: the Wisconsin Badgers.
So if you are looking for something like that too, follow along and become a Badger Backer.
On Wisconsin.
It means a lot to have you here at The Badger Backer. I'm passionate about digging deep into Wisconsin football and basketball, and your readership makes it all worthwhile. Catch up on previous posts or ensure you don't miss anything by subscribing below! Let's keep the Badger conversation going!
You can find more of my work at All Badgers. Follow me on ‘X’ @christianborman and @thebadgerbacker!