.. It seems most Badgers fans are at this point!
We arrived in Orlando on Wednesday afternoon. The team, coaches, and their loved one's were already here; having arrived on Christmas Night.. otherwise the city was pretty void of red and white. We did quickly catch up with Badgers players as they helped out at a Children's Festival aimed at improving the future for disadvantaged kids in Central Florida.
We could see more Badgers fans arriving on Thursday--- and we had the chance to sit down and talk with the wife of Head Coach Barry Alvarez. We found Cindy Alvarez to be brutally honest-- before the regular season ended; she was emotional. Now, Cindy told me she's tired and wanting options in her life. Granted; she says her life's been amazing--- and she never expected all that's happened.. but she is definately looking forward to the next chapter and what that brings for them. We also connected that night with a U.W. Alum., now calling Orlando home. Our News-3 crew met him at an event he was hosting for other alum and talked with his parents as they arrived from Fitchburg.
Friday was the day I looked forward to; when I learned I would be covering the bowl game.
It was the Citrus Parade and time for the Badgers band to strut its stuff!
The parade wrapped through 20-blocks of downtown, Orlando and lasted more than 2-hours.
You could see everything from alligators to floats made of fruit... to pirates.
But the band stole the show--- everyone we talked with told us they couldn't wait for the next performance.
That brings us to Saturday--- and a chance to follow up on a story idea we received via
e-mail. We'd asked for your ideas and among them... a Madison-area family (59 members strong!) who'd planned a vacation to Florida two years ago and would be camping.
As we learned-- the campground was a beautiful Disney property with everything you need:
stove, microwave, running water.. even electricty! Not "roughing it" in any way! The great part about this story-- several of the family members now have tickets to the Badgers game; an event they never planned on being able to attend!

Tomorrow is Sunday; and the final preparations for Bowl-day are under-way. The team is in seclusion and taking part in closed practices to prepare for the game. But fans of the red and white continue to arrive and we will bring you their stories.
If there's something you'd like to know about while we are here---- we'll try to find an answer.
Just e-mail me at:
tbarr@wisctv.com

Wishing you all the best in the New Year!
Teri Barr