{"id":11170,"date":"2018-10-30T10:06:07","date_gmt":"2018-10-30T15:06:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thebozho.com\/?p=11170"},"modified":"2018-11-06T10:08:58","modified_gmt":"2018-11-06T16:08:58","slug":"camp-randall-stadium-stampede-25-years-later","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thebozho.com\/camp-randall-stadium-stampede-25-years-later\/","title":{"rendered":"The Camp Randall Stadium stampede, 25 years later"},"content":{"rendered":"

This week marks the 25th anniversary of one of the darkest moments in the history of the University of Wisconsin football program.<\/p>\n

On Oct. 30, 1993, after a 13-10 victory over the Michigan Wolverines \u2014 the first against them since 1981 \u2014 the UW student section attempted to storm the field. What resulted was a bottlenecked stampede that injured dozens of people and left many more permanently shaken.<\/p>\n

But to fully understand the events that led to the Camp Randall crush, one must first understand the scale of the victory in the first place.<\/span>\n

The game<\/h2>\n

To borrow a phrase from Deadspin<\/em>: Before 1993, the Badgers were toilet soup<\/a>. They hadn\u2019t had a winning season since 1984, and hadn\u2019t been to a Rose Bowl since 1963. But heading into the game against Michigan, Wisconsin had a 6-1 record under its fourth-year head coach, Barry Alvarez.<\/p>\n

The Badgers had just lost Paul Bunyan\u2019s Axe at Minnesota the previous week, so beating the Wolverines was a huge morale booster. And better yet, it gave the Badgers a real shot to take the Big Ten title<\/a>. Understandably, the student section lost their shit entirely when the final whistle blew.<\/span>\n

The student section<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s pretty common knowledge that Wisconsin\u2019s student section is exceptionally rowdy. After all, we \u2014\u00a0myself included; my alma mater, DePaul, doesn\u2019t have a football team \u2014 are one of the top party schools<\/a> in the nation.<\/p>\n

A Wisconsin State Journal<\/em> report, published the day after the game, highlighted Badger fans\u2019 unruly tendencies. \u201cThere is a 20-year history of rowdy, boorish, even illegal behavior at Camp Randall,\u201d wrote George Hesselberg, describing a chaotic atmosphere that sounds more like Woodstock \u201999<\/a> than the NCAA. Drinking, crowd-surfing and throwing things had become so prevalent that Camp Randall began frisking students and installed video surveillance. And that\u2019s when the team sucked. Imagine how hyped the students would get when the team actually won games?<\/p>\n

In short, it was a perfect storm that made landfall when the Badgers took down Michigan.<\/span>\n

\"Camp
Sports Illustrated; Nov. 8, 1993<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/span>\n

The crush<\/h2>\n

Students attempted to rush the field to celebrate the win, but they were blocked by a chain-link fence that separated the playing surface from the bleachers. However, fans from the upper rows continued to move forward, and the force of gravity caused them to slam into the fans in front, pinning them to the gate.<\/p>\n

Some people were unconscious. Some weren\u2019t even breathing. One student, junior Brenda Dickenson, recalled being pushed before everything went haywire.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember falling down and hearing people screaming and yelling\u2026 I just sank down to the ground and was trapped,\u201d she told the State Journal<\/em>. \u201cI didn\u2019t know what to think. I just hoped somebody would find me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Public address announcer Jack Rane described the scene as \u201ckind of like a wave.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt happened so slowly. You didn\u2019t realize there were people under people under people.\u201d<\/p>\n

In total, about 70 people<\/a> were injured. Members of the football team even helped out with the rescue, including star offensive lineman Joe Panos, who would go on to play in the NFL for the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills. He called it \u201cthe scariest thing (he\u2019d) ever seen.\u201d<\/span>\n