Rose Bowl lore not lost on Wisconsin players

MADISON, Wis. – Jake Ferguson doesn’t admit to shedding tears very often.

But the University of Wisconsin’s stout tight end had to cop to the fact that he thinks he walked out of the Rose Bowl locker room with his older brother, former UW safety Joe Ferguson, with tears in his eyes after listening to his grandfather – legendary coach Barry Alvarez – come out of retirement to coach the 2013 Rose Bowl.

“He told me and Jake to come into the locker room and come experience everything,” said Ferguson, who was 13 years old at the time. “I remember being in the locker room, and I had never seen my grandpa raise his voice. He’s screaming at his players.”

If the moment hadn’t registered beforehand, Ferguson realized it seven years ago and has realized since that playing in the Rose Bowl brings out the passion in the people associated with Wisconsin football. While the game may have lost the luster in the eyes of some with its association in the College Football Playoffs, the eighth-ranked Badgers don’t view their New Year’s Day matchup against No.6 Oregon as some sort of consolation prize.

“When you’re recruited here, they make sure you know the history and understand what the Rose Bowl and Wisconsin is all about,” outside linebacker Zack Baun said. “Then when you’re here they tell you stories about how it was when they were there, different events, Disneyland and all this and that, then the rivalry, kind of rivalry between the Big Ten and Pac-12.”

Ferguson has heard those stories for as long as he could remember. Alvarez has led Wisconsin to its only three Rose Bowl champions – 1993, 1999 and 2000 – and was inducted into the Class of 2009 Rose Bowl Hall of Fame. According to Ferguson, walking through his grandpa’s house is walking through a memorabilia museum of Rose Bowl trinkets. Whenever the two see each other, Ferguson says those encountered tend to turn into a 20-minute conversation about the Rose Bowl.

“Playing in Pasadena, The Rose Bowl, one of the greatest bowl games ever, getting that opportunity people are just cherishing,” Ferguson said. “You can tell that in practice that they are putting their heads down and getting ready to work … You understand that it’s a big game here. It’s almost like tradition for us to go there and get that opportunity to play.”

The pageantry of the Rose Bowl extends beyond the West Coast and the Midwest. Growing up in New York as a lacrosse player, junior quarterback Jack Coan made it a point to watch the Rose Bowl every year, partly because one of his old lacrosse coaches would frequently make the trip to Southern California to watch the game. That led to a prophetic premonition.

“He used to tell me that one day he was going to come watch me play at the Rose Bowl,” Coan said. “This was before even when football was going to be a thing, so pretty amazing … We’ve talked to him and he’s fired up.”

It’s been seven years since Wisconsin last spent a January afternoon in Pasadena, far enough removed for the current roster of players to have fleeting memories of the Badgers’ three straight conference championships. Some weren’t alive the last time UW was victorious in the game, but the signage around the locker room keeps things relevant.

The video board outside Wisconsin’s locker room shows an aerial photo from the 2012 Wisconsin-Oregon Rose Bowl. The plaques of past Wisconsin bowl appearances already list the 2020 Rose Bowl. The large “The Road to the Rose Bowl begins here” outside UW’s practice facility still looms large as players come and go.

Walk around town and the number of Rose Bowl clothing is already out in full force, another sign that this isn’t just another postseason appearance.

“You don’t really notice how much Rose Bowl stuff is around the stadium and on the walls until you actually start looking for it and realize you’re playing in the game,” Ferguson said.

“It’s kind of special for us to be able to get this opportunity to play.”