April 06--From the streets of Madison, Wis., to the "Badger bars" of Chicago, anticipation is building for Monday night's NCAA men's basketball championship.
The story lines that got the University of Wisconsin a shot at a national title against Duke are nearly as exciting as Saturday's nail-biter over previously undefeated Kentucky:
A team that hasn't played for a national championship since 1941, a victory Saturday over the same team that vanquished the Badgers in the Final Four a year ago by 1 point and Chicago-area native and national college basketball player of the year Frank Kaminsky, who is Wisconsin's biggest star.
"Obviously everybody is very, very proud and excited and hopeful for tomorrow," said Gene Heidkamp, who coached Kaminsky at a Catholic high school in Lisle. "To have somebody play a national championship game has not happened in our school's history. To see it happening and get the joy of the experience along the way is a lifetime memory for a lot of people."
In Madison, the team's success was the topic of conversation among friends at sidewalk cafes, among groggy, shorts-wearing students and dressed-up families out for an Easter morning stroll.
It even set the tone of one wedding reception.
On the steps of the state Capitol, Joanie Feneis and Jon Ames wore red "W" and Badger caps on their walk before returning home to Chippewa Falls after their weekend trip to Madison for a wedding. The reception was at the Memorial Union on campus, they said, where the bride and groom set up a projection big screen so everyone could watch the Badgers game.
"Unless it was a commercial, there wasn't a lot of dancing going on," Ames said. "When you get to the Final Four, it brings people together."
Stephanie Fischer, a 22-year-old microbiology major, will have class Monday but said she hoped professors would be lenient with students as they make preparations for the title game. She said the men's basketball team is popular not only because of its success, but because of the players' personalities and playfulness on social media.
"It's a sea of excitement," said Fischer, of Waupun, Wis., who watched the semifinal win over Kentucky at a packed bar, then celebrated after the game with the crowd on State Street, the popular thoroughfare between the campus and the Capitol.
Students returning to campus from spring break pulled luggage off the bus, proudly wearing their red Badgers shirts and jackets. A sidewalk chalkboard sign read, "Beat Duke!" in all capital letters.
And the sports gear stores, normally closed on Easter, did brisk business as fans looked for Badgers Final Four souvenirs -- hats, shirts, pennants, shorts.
The popular "Make 'Em Believe" shirt sold out Sunday morning at the sports gear store Insignia, which decided to open on the holiday after the Badgers beat Kentucky.
Outside the Kohl Center, the Badgers' home court, a few fans took photos, but otherwise it was quiet. The skateboarders and bongo drummers ruled on an otherwise busy but subdued day.
If the Badgers win again Monday night, the scene will change into a red-clad jubilation.
In the Chicago area, excitement for the Badgers goes well beyond the cardinal-and-white-donning Wisconsin alumni and even beyond basketball fans, according to Danielle Nicholas, assistant general manager at Kroll's South Loop, which hosted about 200 people during Saturday night's semifinal.
"A bunch of staff members who have never watched basketball are getting incredibly excited about basketball," Nicholas said. "You find yourself weirdly rooting for this team you have no affiliation with."
Not that Chicago is universally behind Wisconsin. The Badgers' opponent Monday, the Duke Blue Devils, have Chicago connections too: Duke's leading scorer is Jahlil Okafor, who starred at Whitney M. Young Magnet High School, and its head coach, Mike Krzyzewski, is a Chicago native.
But because of the many Wisconsin graduates in the Chicago area, it's safe to say that much of Chicago will be Badger Town for basketball fans Monday night.
Fat Pour Tap Works in Wicker Park offered cheese curds and Wisconsin Bombs for the 300 Wisconsin alumni and other fans who showed up Saturday, according to Laurel Perper, host and assistant sales manager.
"I can't imagine we'd be doing anything much different tomorrow," Perper said. "We've had the phones ringing off the hook, people trying to make reservations for tomorrow night. Tomorrow's going to be huge."
Some Chicago-area Wisconsin fans will be closer to the action Monday.
Heidkamp, who coached the heralded Kaminsky at Benet Academy in Lisle, will watch the final game in Indianapolis along with many of Kaminsky's former coaches and teammates from the Chicago area. Heidkamp will feel nervous as always, he said, but will continue to marvel at how much Kaminsky has improved since high school, which he credits to not only Kaminsky's talent but his work ethic.
"He's the best player in college basketball right now," said Heidkamp, who was also in Indianapolis for Saturday's game and wished his former player a happy 22nd birthday. "I think he's obviously progressed quite a bit to get to the level he's at. Very few people accomplish that in their careers. ...It's been pretty special seeing him. It's been amazing watching this whole thing transpire."
O'Connell reported from Madison, Wis. Rodriguez reported from Chicago.
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