Varsity is the free Official Digital Magazine of Wisconsin Athletics, covering Badgers football, basketball, hockey and more each week.
Issue link: http://catalog.e-digitaleditions.com/i/110605
(MRS.) THE VOICE LI N DA LE PAY ��� M R S. VOIC E OF T H E B A DGERS I desperately need your help with Matt I am here this week to share with you a big problem. In fact this issue is so pervasive that it affects almost all aspects of my life. It���s sad; it���s pathetic, and it���s totally preventable. It may not be a problem for you (yet), but could you help a person out during these trying times? My husband is utterly unhip. This became apparent to me during the past couple weeks as pop culture and Badger sports merged together to give us high entertainment. In fact people everywhere are dancing, having fun and being silly. Here���s what I���m talking about: 1. Ke$ha inspires the men���s basketball team. You���ve probably seen the YouTube video of the Badgers in the locker room jumping around to ���Die Young��� after they beat Michigan. Even Ke$ha got a kick out of it, tweeting that this was the ���hottest/cutest thing��� she���s ever seen. 2. The Grateful Red embraces the Harlem Shake. Heck, everyone is doing it, including Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. In addition to the dancing frenzy, the Grammy Awards were recently given out. This is music���s big night where millionaire musicians mingle with billionaires such as Jay-Z and Beyonce. These three events have meant that there���s a lot of tutoring is going on at the Lepay house. For a guy who has made a career watching young people play sports, Matt 20 �� VARSITY FEB R UA RY 21, 2013 is not tuned in to ���what the kids are listening to.��� During the Grammys I felt like a Tanzanian native tour guide, pointing out singers and bands and explaining their significance. Here���s who Matt recognized: ��� Justin Timberlake ��� Prince Here���s who he didn���t know: ��� Everyone else Here���s where I need your help. If you see Matt in person, my advice is to smile at him warmly and talk about popular music the way you would to a 3-month old beagle. Talk slowly and smile a lot. I think the he���ll learn best that way. At one point I started talking about the The Black Keys and The White Stripes, which left Matt baffled. I even pulled up a YouTube video of The White Stripes��� ���Seven Nation Army��� so he could listen to the bass line that is, gasp, being played in stadiums and arenas all over the country. (Note from Linda���s husband: I AM aware of The White Stripes. Wow. Tough crowd!) Matt is perhaps the oldest 50-year-old I know. I don���t mean he���s an old soul; I mean he still talks about the 1980s like it was last week. It dawned on me that his exposure to popular music ended the day he was fired downsized from a Top 40 station in Columbus, Ohio. The date was April of 1986. This explains why he knew who Prince was. (And didn���t Prince look smashing at the Grammys with his fancy walking stick and sunglasses?) It also explains why he waxes nostalgic when Wang Chung is mentioned. Look, if Tubby Smith can bust a move to Ke$ha, I���m pretty certain that Matt can learn about the ways of 21st century music. He just has to be a willing student. All work and no play makes play-by-play guys dull. (Another note from Linda���s husband: Hey, Gophers, get your own song, OK?) Here���s where I need your help. If you see Matt in person, my advice is to smile at him warmly and talk about popular music the way you would to a 3-month old beagle. Talk slowly and smile a lot. I think the he���ll learn best that way. In the meantime, keep dancing and rocking, Badger Nation. I���ll do my best to keep Matt in this decade. (Final note from Linda���s husband: Next, she���ll tell me it���s no longer cool to listen to Earth, Wind & Fire. By the way, do NOT undersell the greatness of Wang Chung. Kids today would love it.)