Varsity is the free Official Digital Magazine of Wisconsin Athletics, covering Badgers football, basketball, hockey and more each week.
Issue link: https://catalog.e-digitaleditions.com/i/97631
LUCAS AT LARGE M I K E LUCA S ��� UWB A DGERS.C OM Bielema���s departure latest hurdle for UW O n the eve of the Big Ten championship game, Bret Bielema reminded his players of the ���uncommon������ path that they had taken to Indianapolis. By doing so, he reemphasized what had carried them through the more challenging stretches of their season-long journey, which was rife with potholes. ���There are three things you can never lose sight of when things get difficult,��� he said. ���The first is, ���Individually you have to handle it (adversity) your own way.��� Everybody compartmentalizes. Some guys are going to talk about it. Some guys are going to keep it in. ���The second thing you can do is ���You can always work harder than everybody else.��� One element we all share on Earth is time. Some people know how to use it. Some people know how to waste it. ���The third thing is, ���Faith in each other.��� There have been days where the defense played great and the offense wasn���t as good, and vice versa. Guys never looked around, they kept moving forward.������ Possessing that unwavering faith has never been more important than it is today ��� now that Bielema has left Wisconsin for the head coaching job at the University of Arkansas. ���It���s a little distraction that our head coaching is leaving,������ admitted senior tailback Montee Ball. ���But it���s nothing we can���t handle. We���ve dealt with many distractions the entire season.������ 14 �� VARSITY D EC E M B E R 6, 2012 Ball���s father texted him Tuesday afternoon with the breaking news ��� according to multiple sources ��� that Bielema was going to Arkansas. It caught him completely off guard. ���As soon as I got the text from my dad, I called and texted some players,������ Ball said. ���I was just trying to see if it was actually true and they texted me back saying basically the same thing. ���They were seeing it all over on TV and Twitter.������ Bielema met briefly with his players in a team meeting room early Tuesday evening. ���He told us everything that we needed to hear and he wished us the best of luck,������ Ball said. ���Obviously, it was a little emotional for him.������ Inviting anyone who wanted to say goodbye, Bielema waited outside the door afterward. Ball took advantage of the opportunity ��� not knowing when, or even if, he would see him again. ���It didn���t really hit me until he walked out of the room and I talked to him,������ Ball said. ���I thanked him for everything that he has done for me on and off the field. It was emotional. ���The older you get, the more you understand it���s a business. He has goals that he wants to accomplish and I don���t blame him a bit. I���m proud of him for everything he has done here.������ Ball later returned to the campus apartment he shares with tailback James White. ���I talked to James about the unknown ��� what���s going to happen next season for him and everyone else,������ Ball said. ���You know how James is. He goes with the flow with everything.������ Fans are less resilient. Fans are fickle. And it always seemed a percentage of Badgers fans, for whatever reason, never seemed to warm to Bielema despite all of his success. ���Honestly, I have no clue (why),������ Ball said. ���I know the team really loved him. He was true to us. He was honest to us. He was very consistent with his character each and every day. ���I know he���s done a lot of things for me. He always put me in a position to succeed on the field. And I could always go into his office and talk to him after the situations I had off the field. ���He took care of me. He fought for me. He means a lot to me.������ This season still means a lot to Ball, too. And it���s not over yet, he stressed. This team has a date with Stanford in the Rose Bowl, and some unfinished business in Pasadena. ���Once we start our bowl prep, I want to make sure we get all the leaders and captains together,������ Ball said, ���and basically tell them that we have to buckle down and focus even harder. ���This is a great program that understands how to win, and what it takes to win. We know that we still have something to take care of. This is hurdle that we have to jump over, and we will.������