Expect Badger spirit at Party at the Pier

Watch out, southern California. You are about to get schooled in how to be a Badger.

Thousands of University of Wisconsin–Madison fans, alumni, students and friends are on their way and ready to give you a lesson in the famous Badger spirit. They have 11 years of pent-up Rose Bowl energy, so expect a lot of noisy, good times during all the Rose Bowl activities.

Wisconsin’s celebrated and infectious spirit will be in fine form at “Party at the Pier,” a pep rally on Thursday, Dec. 30, at 3 p.m. on the beach at the Santa Monica Pier as the Badger faithful gather to let it rip. Wisconsin’s fans don’t need much encouragement to get together to whoop it up. So when there IS a reason? Get there early.

Event organizers hope for a record-setting crowd. Last year, Ohio State’s pep rally drew an estimated 30,000 participants. Jeff Wendorf, vice president of programs and outreach for the Wisconsin Alumni Association, says, “Let’s beat Ohio State. Again.” Wisconsin knocked off top-ranked Ohio State when they met this season.

The free rally will include a video screening of season highlights and an appearance by head coach Bret Bielema and the Badger football team. There will also be interviews with university leaders (UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin, Wisconsin Alumni Association president and CEO Paula Bonner, and UW–Madison Athletic Director and former Wisconsin head coach Barry Alvarez), a concert by the 300-member University of Wisconsin Marching Band, and performances by the UW Spirit Squad and mascot Bucky Badger.

Rally organizers stress that it isn’t necessary to be from Wisconsin or the university to attend the party. Come and get swept up in a boisterous, joyful outpouring of Badger pride. Just be sure to wear red.

A PRIMER ON THE SANTA MONICA PIER

You’ve seen it used as locations for movies and TV programs for good reason. The Santa Monica Pier is the quintessential symbol of the good life in southern California.

The pier had roles in “Titanic,” “Iron Man,” “Love Stinks” and “Forrest Gump” (you can find a Bubba Gump Shrimp Company Restaurant there). TV appearances include “Three’s Company,” “24,” “Gilmore Girls” and “The Amazing Race.”

With the Pacific Ocean, spectacular views and sunsets, a carousel, arcade, amusement park, a trapeze school and restaurants, it’s easy to see why it is such a beloved icon.

No newcomer, the Santa Monica Pier has been drawing visitors well before the film and TV industries defined the Los Angeles area. One of California’s oldest pleasure piers, it celebrated its centennial in 2009. More than 4 million people visit the pier each year to experience the attractions, stroll, sit and stare at the ocean, people watch, and enjoy street performers and artists.

The amusement park on the pier includes a five-story roller coaster, an over-the-water miniature golf course and a nine-story ferris wheel, which is the world’s first to be solar-powered. The wheel is loaded with 160,000 LED lights.

The carousel on the pier is a National Historic Landmark. The 1922 Looff Hippodrome Carousel is a California-Byzantine-Moorish-style fantasy. If it looks familiar, that’s because Paul Newman worked at the carousel in “The Sting.”

An aquarium is located at beach level under the historic carousel. It has hands-on presentations and interactive exhibits, and is part of Santa Monica’s Heal the Bay program, an initiative to educate, inspire and empower its visitors to be stewards of the environment.

The pier area is also the site of California’s original Muscle Beach. Bodybuilders began working out there in the 1930s, attracting the likes of the fitness guru Jack LaLanne, Joe Gold (of Gold’s Gym fame), Kirk Douglas and Mae West. Today, training areas on the beach have been restored and refurbished, and they attract gymnasts and acrobats.

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