The thing is, they canceled classes at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. This is a big deal. Sconnies take their snow seriously, and they are proud to not cancel anything because they aren't afraid of no snow. So canceling classes at UW for the first time in almost 20 years? BIG deal.
What did students do? Run around outside in their underwear, hold a huge snowball fight, and push a ten-foot diameter snowball into the middle of University Avenue. After ten years in the state, this doesn't surprise me. My friends and I would walk around downtown Madison in December with our coats open while eating ice cream. Once, one friend asked if this was weird behavior. Our response was, "What? Why isn't it normal?" Thing is, we were serious. Most Midwesterners have no concept of winter without snow and freezing cold. And while they understand disliking or hating snow and cold weather, they don't understand that others aren't used to or have no concept of snow. It is truly baffling. And when we leave to go anywhere that has "normal" winters without sub-zero temps and two feet of snow... well, it confuses us. (Honestly, though, I've been away from the Midwest for six years and I don't think I could handle a full-blown, full-length winter again.)
Because, see, this is normal:
This was my backyard in central Wisconsin. The locals told me it was a light winter. I was used to winter but this was almost too much for me.But this post was not about posting pictures of small-town Wisconsin. It was to post YouTube videos from the Midwest.
Snowball fight on Bascom Hill at UW-Madison. My favorite part? The girl who yells, "Fight for your freedom!"
Snowmen on Gilman in Madison.
And now for something completely different...
I guess this happened after bar time. Who says drunk college kids can't work together?
And now for something completely different...
Iowa Hawkeyes rap. Embarrassing. Lord.
2 comments:
Awesome--I'd read about the snowball fights in Madison, but hadn't seen any video footage. Way cool!
When I was moving to Montana, the people who interviewed me out there were all, "Ooh, get ready for some serious winters!" And then winter finally arrived...and it was a total cakewalk compared to what I was used to back in WI/MN. Granted, that part of MT didn't get as cold or as much snow as the parts over by SD/ND (they really do get it rough over there), but still, it was so mild compared to Duluth. God, my last year of college in Duluth, we had 10-foot snowpiles in the yard and we had an ice storm that knocked our power out for three days. The worst part about winter in Helena was how terrible they were about plowing the streets.
Whenever I go back to Iowa I am amazed at how quickly they clear the streets. Living there, we complained at how slow they were at keeping things clear. But after being gone, it amazes me how hard the road crews work.
Granted, when I lived in central Wisconsin, this time of year was the worst. The county always ran out of money by mid-December so they would only clear main roads. Everything else got cleared when it got cleared and until then it got a good layer of gravel. I remember driving back county snow-packed roads to get cat food. It sucked. Thing is, I always took the back roads. The theory (and this wasn't just me) was the back roads were better because there was less traffic. Less traffic meant when/if you ran off the road you were less likely to hit another car.
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