I'm new to the forum. My little guy plays 2024. Question; when the Badgers played the Bandits they were epic games. A week in advance, there would be alot of trash talk leading up to a game you just had to see. Most of the time I would run over to watch it if the game didn't conflict with my sons game. The sidelines were pretty packed with parents who didn't have kids playing. Great rivalry. Why has that changed? Seems the feeling is the Bandits are in a league of their own. Why have things changed so drastically in this grade.
Truthfully, they were never epic games. Bandits always won and most times it was not close. What happened is that kids got older. Some got better, some got bigger,some stayed the same. The bandits will always attract the top talent. They are the elite team in the age group and, despite what they will tell you, parents want their kids to play for them. There were issues with the Badgers coaching, yes, but that's not why they have dropped down to the rest of the pack. The fact is, it's a very strong age group. There are a lot of really great kids spread out on many good teams. It's not that the Badgers necessarily got worse, other clubs just got better.
