Crowd control

MADISON, Wis. -- "Crowds help win games" seemed to be the mantra of Coach Hoeppner to IU fans. Unfortunately on Saturday afternoon, the Hoosiers were the away team to a University of Wisconsin crowd of more than 82,000 -- a community known as Mad Town. \nAfter watching the game, it became increasingly apparent why the Badgers have won ten straight home games dating back to last season. From the top of the press box, the student sections at Camp Randall Stadium were situated on the left side of the field. While there may have been only 10,000 students at the game, it was a seamless flow of fans who gathered and garnered cheers at the expense of Hoosier hiccups and hang-ups. \nIt was the true definition of home field advantage. \nAs for the game, IU never had momentum. It seemed like every special team play the Hoosiers received concluded with "half the distance to the goal." Each penalty pushed Hoeppner closer and closer to becoming a mad man -- a mad man in Mad Town.\nBut that home field advantage would be embodied in the last minutes of the game. On the Hoosiers' final drive, the UW students broke out into a chorus of "Build me up Buttercup" by The Foundations. Even as the ball was snapped and the play was in progress, the students' voices echoed the song between the stadium walls.\n"I need you. More than anyone, darling. You know that I have from the start. So build me up Buttercup, don't break my heart."\nSomehow the Wisconsin fans had been remarkably accurate. IU football fans had been built up by an off-season public relations campaign and three consecutive wins. It had thus far been a season built up on the expectations and realities of a stunning start. Under an icon in Coach Hoeppner, hope had defined the time.\n"Why do you build me up, Buttercup baby, just to let me down?"\nIronic, I guess, that it was Badger fans collectively chanting those lyrics at the game's end. Iconic, I guess, that it was Hoeppner's first loss -- a frustrated Hep, at that -- who, after consecutive penalties in the first quarter, ripped off his headset and spiked it to the ground. Idiotic, I guess, that I thought the Hoosiers would go into Camp Randall Stadium and slide by with a win like a chair sliding across the hardwood floor of Assembly Hall. \nStill, missed opportunities marked the Hoosiers' loss. A Yamar Washington fumble reneged a Tracy Porter interception. A Blake Powers fumble reneged IU's best starting field position all game.\nFor each point scored by UW, Bucky the Badger laid atop a wooden plank held up by male cheerleaders and performed pushups. With two minutes remaining in the first half, and 89 pushups later, Bucky could barely breathe. \nStill, the effects of their first loss will not be seen until next Saturday when IU plays host to Illinois. If the Hoosiers can rebound and post a 4-1 record, then hope can still define the time. Coach Hep is right. Crowds help win games. And with the Homecoming game Saturday, the question remains: How will you help?