LAS VEGAS — If there’s one thing Wisconsin sports fans do well, it’s travel.
As the Badgers get ready to take on Arizona State in the Las Vegas Bowl, Badger Red popped up across the Las Vegas Strip as fans took in the sights and sounds ahead of the game.
The city can be a place of sensory overload, with so much to see and so much to do. But fans say the only thing that matters to them is experiencing it all with family.
Liz Langer’s Badgers shows will get some wear and tear exploring this week, but she and her husband Dale are looking forward to one thing in particular: seeing their son Nolan perform with the Badger Band.
The six-foot-seven trombone-playing freshman won’t be hard to spot.
“It’s been a lot of work, right from the get-go for those band members,” Dale Langer said, “but they all just push forward and they learn so much every week.”
The trip is extra special for the band.
“With the band being off the last couple years with COVID, it’s really awesome that they can get out and about again,” he said.
The Milton couple is staying at the Mandalay Bay Hotel where the Badgers are also staying. That means plenty of fans in the lobby, hallways and casinos to unite with.
“You’re just connected so deeply, and it’s that camaraderie and the team spirit, it just doesn’t ever end,” Dale Langer said.
Never-ending passion for the Badgers was easy to spot on the Strip, too.
George Mosier is in Vegas with his wife, daughter and grandchildren. They planned the family vacation six months ago, then got lucky when the Badgers ended the year being sent to Vegas.
“Of course, one thing he buys for all of us is these tickets,” Gwen Mosier said. “Not to a show, not to it’s all about the sports.”
Both families predict a Badgers win, but regardless of the outcome, it’ll mark a memorable trip to a city with a little bit of everything.
“We are putting bets down at the casino tonight that the Badger Band is better than the ASU band. We’ll just leave it at that,” Dale Langer said.
Even if the game is called off, Gwen Mosier said it would not ruin their trip.
“We’re crossing our fingers about that because we’d hate to not be able to see them play,” she said.
