Dayne, 30, who moved to Waunakee from Colorado earlier this year, was accommodating when people went over the two-item-per-person limit and had him sign three or four T-shirts, jerseys, helmets or posters -- and then wanted to pose for a picture with him.

He was patient when camera flashes didn't go off and when fans asked him to write long inscriptions on their footballs. A couple of people mentioned they were at the 1999 Iowa game in which Dayne broke the NCAA record for career rushing yards.

One man pulled the faded Iowa ticket stub from his wallet and had Dayne sign it.

"Some people are afraid to talk. Some people talk forever. Everybody's got a story to tell," said Mike Unitan, a former marketing director for the UW Athletic Department who has been helping Dayne market himself locally in recent months.

Dayne, while low profile and soft spoken, shined a sincere smile while posing for pictures. He said he didn't mind spending nearly two hours meeting with fans.

"It's cool. I don't mind. I like coming out and doing that and just listening to their stories and stuff like that," Dayne said afterwards.

Kristin Kirkham, a supervisor at University Bookstore, said the store sold a lot of footballs and ran out of helmets. The Monday before Thanksgiving the store holds an all-store 25 percent off sale, which happened to coincide this year with Dayne's appearance.

"The love for him is still so amazing. It's as strong as ever," Kirkham said. "He hasn't played for the Badgers for so many years, but is still such a hero. It's inspiring that all ages were so excited."

Just before 6 p.m., the line outside the store to meet Dayne stretched four storefronts, or about 75 yards, down to the restrooms at the Hilldale Shopping Center. The line was a mixture of men and women, young and old. Many held footballs or helmets. Some brought young children in strollers.

A good portion of the line consisted of people in their late 20s and early 30s who attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison when the running back was in his heyday and led the Badgers to back-to-back Rose Bowl victories in 1999 and 2000. Dayne won the Heisman Trophy in 1999.

Nine years later, Dayne's record 6,397 career rushing yards still stands.

John McCartney, a fellow at UW Hospital, brought his 4-year-old son, Max, to meet "The Great Dayne." McCartney already has footballs signed by Packer greats Brett Favre and Bart Starr and wanted to add a Ron Dayne one to the collection.

McCartney was in college when Dayne was breaking records and meeting him Monday was kind of nostalgic, he said.

Dayne, 30, who has played with the New York Giants, the Denver Broncos and the Houston Texans , is currently a free agent, and many fans in line commented that Dayne hasn't had the professional career they expected him to have.

"Hopefully he can make the best of it now. I hope he gets picked up by a team and has later career success," said McCartney.

Then looking down at his son, McCartney asked, "Wouldn't it be fun to see Ron Dayne play for the Packers?" The 4-year-old smiled and nodded his head.

Adrian Augustine, 28, who works in the radiology department at UW Hospital, brought a miniature Badger helmet that he keeps on his desk at work. Augustine was in school at UW-Madison in 1998 and spent a good portion of his college career watching Dayne.

"It was always fun watching him," Augustine said. "His career didn't turn out the way most of us would have hoped, but when he was with the Giants, Denver or the Texans, he certainly showed flashes of what he can do and what he accomplished at Wisconsin."

Dayne said afterwards that he wanted to move back to the Madison area because his wife is from here.

"It's a place I really enjoy being in," he said.

Dayne said he doesn't know where he wants his career to take him.

"I don't really have any real big plans. But just to kind of get used to not playing ball but being around it, and hopefully doing something with the university," he said, adding that he doesn't know what yet.

He is planning to go back to UW-Madison to get his degree, which he never completed. He is 20 credits short, he said.

Dayne doesn't know what he wants to study yet. "There are a couple ways I can go," he said.

If he gets another NFL contract, he said he will still be able to finish his degree.

It's important for him to get a degree for his kids' sake, he said.

Dayne and his wife, Alia, have a daughter, Jada, 11, and two sons, Javian, 8, and Jayallen, 4. He also has a son, Zion, 6, from a separate relationship.

11/24/2008 11:04 pm