I originally posted this as a Facebook note on New Year's Eve Day, before I had signed up to be a Kossack. Although some of my references from December are already outdated, I thought it might be fitting to post again on such a momentous day. After all, today is Wisconsin Day, marking the first anniversary of the day Scott Walker "dropped the bomb" on the workers, children, seniors, environment and clean government of Wisconsin, sparking the Wisconsin Uprising in the process. My, how things have changed since February 11th, 2011...On Wisconsin, everybody!!
From the moment I rang in the new year on a beautiful, sunny day in Pasadena, California by watching the Badgers play in the Rose Bowl, I knew this was going to be a year to remember. The direction it took, I was not prepared for, but each unforseen event that arose provided yet another opportunity to build character, live spontaneously and have more than a little fun along the way. Little did I expect that the state I love would come to define myself and so many others while reminding the rest of the nation that while we may be the state of beer, brats, cheese and nasally accents, Wisconsin is NOT to be fucked with!!
In sports, the University of Wisconsin football team (and myself) were able to bounce back from a demoralizing defeat at the hands of TCU and move undaunted towards the 2011 season, thanks in part to a nice little acquisition in quarterback Russell Wilson. After a 6-0 start, the Badgers dealt with the adversity of heart-breaking back-to-back last-second losses to THE Ohio State University and Michigan State. However, they exemplified the tenacious Badger spirit so prevalent throughout the state this year when they rolled over Penn State to clinch the very first Leaders Division championship and then prevailed in the Big Ten Championship Game in Indy, a 42-39 instant classic...sending Bucky on its second straight trip to play in the Granddaddy of Them All.
For the Badgers' Men's Basketball team, it was more of the same, as they returned to the NCAA for the 13th straight season and advanced to the 4th Sweet Sixteen of the Bo Ryan era, despite having a team of whom little was expected. Along the way, Wisconsin, led by All-American Jordan Taylor, defeated top-ranked Ohio State at the Kohl Center in a miraculous and frenzied 2nd half comeback in February, leading to a replay of the football season as the raucous crowd stormed the floor. Once again, what had seemed nearly impossible proved to be accomplishable and the Year of the Badger just kept right on rollin'.
The Packers decided it was their chance to stop screwing around and bring the Lombardi Trophy back to Green Bay where it belongs, winning all three playoff games on the road before knocking off the Steelers back in February in Super Bowl XLV, as Aaron Rodgers morphed from overlooked quarterback in the 2005 draft to Superstar. As if that wasn't enough, the Pack picked up right where they left off and rattled off 13 straight wins to start the 2011 season, setting the stage for what many of us hope and expect to result in back-to-back Super Bowl Championships.
The Brewers would eventually get their turn. They were floundering heading into the All-Star Break, only to rattle off 27 wins in 32 games to propel them to a 10 1/2 game division lead by late August, and eventually theiir first Division Championship in my lifetime. I was fortunate enough to be present for N.L. MVP Ryan Braun's division-clinching homerun against the Marlins and for 5 of the 6 home playoff games. Although they didn't reach the World Series, their boundless enthusiasm, blue-collar attitude and the craziness that was Tony Plush made the journey truly magical and captured the hearts of Wisconsinites. I simply couldn't watch this team play without flashing back to my days as a little kid getting a group of friends together to play pickup baseball in the summer, or playing catch with my Dad or brothers in the park alongside our house. For such a downtrodden franchise to pick itself up and play like champions, if only for one season, was inspirational to Brewers fans, the nation over.
In my social life, I attended the weddings and off-the-hook receptions of three pairs of longtime friends in Trevor and Jessica, Pete and Kristin and Jeff and Amiee. Near the end of the year, I learned that my brother, Dan, was now engaged to his wonderful girlfriend, Aileen, bringing the much-anticipated first expansion my family has seen in five years. In the working world, I took on the most responsibility I have ever had in a job when I became the store manager for my Dad's tire business in February. I decided to take on personal responsibility by bringing my kitten, Raji, home in July. Change was everywhere I looked.
In April, I had the opportunity to spend 4 days in Las Vegas for Trevor's bachelor party with a great group of friends. The trip provided me with a plethora of strange, yet wonderful, memories, capped off by a gourgeous day of poolside beers and laughs amongst friends that prompted me to extend my trip by a day on a whim. One morning, I had an amazing hourlong conversation on a bridge over the Vegas Strip with a homeless man whom had worked in the tire business in Wisconsin before falling into a world of drugs and despair. While he acknowledged his mistakes and his current predicament, he maintained as positive of an outlook as anybody that I had ever met. This interaction remained with me throughout the year so that anytime I was feeling down about my own or our state's current predicament, I could hearken back to a fellow Badger who had so little personal wealth, yet maintained such a positive outlook through his immensity of spiritual wealth.
But more than anything, this year in Wisconsin was about a state fighting back against the political and socio-economic extremism that swept into the state Capitol riding the coattails of Scott Walker. When the year began, little did I think that I would walk into our state house on February 17th a curious and concerned supporter of workers' rights and immediately be transformed into a determined activist. The energy and unity I witnessed that momentous day inside the Rotunda and outside along the Square were truly life-changing and something that will stay ingrained in my mind until the day I die. With each successive bitterly cold night that I headed down to the Capitol, it became more apparent to me that not only was Wisconsin not simply going to roll-over, or protest for a bit and then be whisked away upon the slightest breeze of apathy, but we were going to battle this out on our terms: doggedly, peacefully, in the streets and at the ballot box.
Every moment that I have spent physically, mentally or emotionally with the cause to take our state back to its long-standing tradition of progressivism and openness has been worthwhile. Our state didn't vote for our present legislators and governor knowing what they know now. Since February, we've seen right-wing Draconian attacks on collective bargaining, workers' rights, child labor laws, women's health, gay rights, the environment, First Amendment rights, tenants' rights, voting rights, the poor, the sick, the elderly, our public educational system, the micro-brewing industry, and on and on and on. There have been many setbacks along the way and seemingly every day provides an out to simply cave to these tactics and say there's nothing we can do to stop them. But that is NOT how a Badger rolls.
The determined citizens of Wisconsin simply wouldn't go away and kept providing moments for myself to enjoy: From the motivational and intense winter rallies of 70,000+ inside and around the Capitol on February 19th and 100,000+ on Feburary 26th, to the mass of humanity over 150,000 strong to welcome back the WI 14 and protest the passage of the Budget Despair Bill on March 12th. After word spread that the Republicans were planning on passing the Budget Despair Bill without the Dems present on March 9th, I went from one of twenty people inside the Cap to one of a couple thousand inside, not to mention upwards of ten thousand locked outside, all within about two hours. As I helped lead chants of "Whose House?...Our House!" and cries of "Let them in!!" rang out from the Rotunda, I was told via text that the people on the outside were simulataneously chanting, "Let us in!!" I couldn't help but laugh as chills raced down my spine; From the bitterly-cold and miserable weather at the counter-rally for Sarah Palin's Tax Day appearance in April, to meeting Russ Feingold and the nights spent sleeping on the sidewalk in Walkerville in protest of the austerity budget being "debated" and passed inside Fitzwalkerstan in June; From the August 8th rally on the eve of the WI Senate Recall elections to the amazingly electric atmosphere inside of the Barrymore on September 16th for Fighting Bob LaFollette Fest honoring the progressive warrior ever-present in the minds and on the signs of Wisconsin activists; From standing outside in the cold or proudly going door-to-door collecting signatures to Recall Walker in November and December, to the awesomely invigorating 250th Solidarity Sing Along that I attended a few nights ago. They all seem to have happened a lifetime ago, while simultaneously feeling like they happened yesterday.
We currently find ourselves as motivated as ever heading into the new year. The Badgers will kick-off yet another year by playing in the Rose Bowl on the 2nd. The Packers are lookiing like the favorites to win the Super Bowl. Wisconsin grass-roots activists continue to collect thousands of signatures in the attempt to Recall Walker and Kleefisch and in just a few short weeks, we will submit those to the Government Accountability Board, triggering the Recall election to vote Walker out of office and win the state back from his perverse brand of "progressivism." I have met, conversed with and befriended countless amazingly passionate, determined and welcoming individuals since I decided in February to stop merely talking-the-talk of a true progressive and to actively walk-the-walk. I find myself newly energized and no matter how many sleepless nights I spend living, reading about, talking about or writing about the battle for Wisconsin, I look forward to each new day and what it may bring. These last 12 months have opened my eyes and I appreciate the love, encouragement, "likes" and solidarity that I have received from so many of you, whether you are longtime friends and family, or friends I've met along the way. I look forward to the surprises, new challenges and, hopefully, new Governor this year will bring. Just remember that there's potentially life-altering moments and people awaiting you with every opportunity that presents itself, as long as you're willing to take the chance to experience them. So peace out, 2011...it was one hell of a ride. It's been real, but it's time to bring on 2012. HAPPY FREAKIN' NEW YEAR, EVERYBODY and ON WISCONSIN!! FORWARD!!!!