When Bertram tried to stop the man, the suspect ran off.

After 22-year-old Zachary Raff was later caught, he reportedly said he took the table so he could play a drinking game called beer pong in the street. He also said he could not recall how he got into the locked Union, according to police.

Knowing Raff's state of mind -- or mindlessness -- you may not be surprised to learn how he was apprehended: He cornered himself against a fence in an alley.

You may also not be surprised that when the officer asked him for an explanation of his behavior, Ruff replied that drinking made him "an idiot," according to police.

Which leads to a question Madison ought to ask itself today: Will drunken idiots spoil the city's chance to shine on network television for Saturday night's Wisconsin-Ohio State football game?

Fueled by a culture that too often tolerates -- even glorifies -- binge drinking, too many college football fans in Madison are getting drunk and acting like idiots by intimidating or even jeopardizing the safety of other fans.

Every season, fans from other teams are so outraged by the treatment they receive at Camp Randall that they send letters to the Wisconsin State Journal.

Night games, when idiots have all day to get drunk, are when the hooliganism tends to be the worst. Night games against high-profile teams such as Ohio State tend to be the worst of all.

Last year a night game against Iowa provided a glimpse of the ugliness that can occur. Letters poured in.

"I had guests from Iowa who were taunted to the point of being frightened," wrote Ellen Morgan of Madison.

A group "approached us, swore, shoved their middle fingers in our faces and impeded our ability to walk away," complained Iowa fan Ryan Brant of Milwaukee.

"I was grateful that I had decided to attend the game without my 7-year-old son," wrote Ethan Carlson of Baraboo.

Madison should expect classier behavior. And the majority of Badger fans, who are first class, should hold the minority of drunks accountable.

There is nothing wrong with football fans enjoying alcoholic beverages before a game, when they do so in moderation. But drunken louts who taunt, harass and physically confront fans of opposing teams are an embarrassment.

So on Saturday night, be courteous to Buckeye fans before the game. Be gracious in victory afterward.

If you witness rude or confrontational behavior, tell the offenders we don't do that in Wisconsin. Don't be an idiot, and don't tolerate idiots.