A shift away from hockey for a moment (particularily since this is not
the Gopher's year).  Having grown up in Minnesota, I felt that a
clarification of "you betcha" was in order.  Unknown to most people,
Minnesota has a much larger german heritage then scandinavian (about the
only thing that we have in common with Badgers).  "You betcha" is actually
a derivative of a German expression - Du Bettchen.  "Du" translates to "you."
"Bett" is bed, and "chen" is used to mean small - such as "hockey-playerchen"
which means small hockey player.  So, "Du Bettchen" has developed, over time
into the expression "you betcha" and when someone says that to you they
are actually saying "you small bed".  As with most German expressions, the
direct translation does not make complete sense.  The most appropriate
translation would be "you did not get much sleep last night, eh!" not "you
small bed".  So if someone remarks that they think the Wisconsin Badgers
will take the tournament this year - the only response that I can give is:
YOU BETCHA!
 
For your consideration,
 
GA