Third-generation Badger wins Bee Final Four Challenge
SANDPOINT — When Sandpoint octogenarian Jim Ramsey submitted his entry for the Bee’s annual Final Four Challenge, with an email handle including the word Badgerbuff, he wrote along with his predictions “as you may have guessed, I am a Badger.”
It’s a safe bet nobody in Sandpoint was rooting harder for the Badgers to win the NCAA tournament Monday night than Ramsey, a 1955 graduate of the University of Wisconsin and avid Badger sports fan.
Ramsey beat 51 other entries to win the challenge, and $50 cash prize, mostly by following his heart. Of the five Bee readers who correctly picked three final four teams, Ramsey was the only one to pick both finalists, winning by virtue of that second tie-breaker.
Ramsey’s Badger roots run deep. His grandfather went to law school at Wisconsin in the 1890s, and both his mother and father were also alumni of the Big 10 school in Madison, Wis.
“We’re from a long line of Badgers. Three generations of Badgers,” said Ramsey, who can still remember the first time Wisconsin ever won a national title in basketball. “The last time we won was in 1941. I was 8 years-old and heard the game on the radio with my dad.”
Ramsey, who grew up in Iowa, retired to Sandpoint in 1996 after living and working in Boise and discovering the beauty of Lake Pend Oreille.
“I always wanted to come up here,” he said. “I thought if I ever get to retire, this is where I want to end up.”
Ramsey watches his beloved Badgers via satellite on the Big 10 Network, and tries to catch them live when he can. He traveled to the West regionals last week in Los Angeles, and watched in person as the Badgers handled North Carolina and Arizona to earn a shot at undefeated Kentucky.
As a senior at Wisconsin, Ramsey remembers watching Heisman Trophy winner Alan Amechi, a fullback nicknamed “The Iron Horse,” and also attended four Rose Bowls during the time he worked and lived in Los Angeles.
Not surprisingly, he’s a fan of Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, who starred at Wisconsin as a senior.
“I’m a huge Russell Wison fan. He took us to the Rose Bowl,” recalled Ramsey. “Naturally, when I saw he got drafted by the Seahawks, I was overjoyed.”
Ramsey picked champion Duke to advance over local favorite Gonzaga, mostly because he felt the Blue Devils played in a much tougher conference. The move paid off, as the majority of the entries in the contest had the Zags in the Final Four despite the Blue Devils being the No. 1 seed.
Like many hoops fans around the country, Ramsey took delight in seeing Bo Ryan’s defense-based program hand Kentucky its first defeat of the season. Kentucky, which boasts a roster full of future NBA stars who mostly play in college for one or two years, was beaten by a Badger program that goes about things an entirely different way.
“He (Ryan) gets guys these big schools like Duke and Kentucky don’t recruit,” said Ramsey of the longtime Badger coach. “And in a couple of years he brings them along and they do well.”
Ramsey’s prediction for the final was Wisconsin 71, Duke 68. Duke won 68-63.
Thanks to all of the people who entered the challenge. Better luck next year.