WATCH: BADGER BREAKDOWN - INDIANA
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Bowl by winning that game," he said.
The Rose Bowl was truly unforgettable for Nelson. After beating UCLA, he summoned a security
guard to bring his girlfriend, Becky Kliefoth, on the
field and he dropped to one knee and proposed.
It may come up again in conversation this weekend. The Holts will be staying with the Nelsons.
"That's what sports is all about, right?" Holt posed
rhetorically. "You build relationships."
Today, Holt is a vice-president of human resources for a company in Miami. Nelson is the studentathlete development coordinator for Madison College and a radio analyst on Badgers football games.
"It doesn't matter where you come from," Holt
said of the melting pot that is college sports. "You
have respect for a guy who's trying to compete and
accomplish the same goals.
"The next thing you know, you're friends for life."
Nelson and Holt correspond throughout the football season. But on Thursday night, Nelson anticipated, "I'm sure we'll be up until the wee hours of
the morning rehashing old stories."
• • • •
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VARSITY November 14, 2013
here are points in every season where it can
go up, or down.
Or it can be just stuck between floors.
That was the case on the morning of the Illinois
game in Champaign.
The hotel elevator, overloaded with as many as
15 UW players on their way to breakfast, came to
a grinding halt somewhere between the 12th and
13th floors.
Verstegen just missed the elevator.
He watched the door close slowly in front of him.
Panos, Raymer, Rudolph and Stark were on-board
along with Saleh, quarterback Jay Macias and receivers Michael London and Keith Jackson.
Among many others.
Later admitting to being claustrophobic, Panos
said, "The first thing I did was take off my coat, then
I undid my tie, then I unbuttoned my shirt. I was
close to (panicking)."
The elevator was stuck for nearly 30 minutes. During that time, Saleh never stopped moving around.
At one point, Raymer said, "I was about ready to
wallop him across the chops."
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