I myself, am a very positive person, and believe negative thinking, or actions, lead to negative results. My first memory of Assembly Hall, a building rich in tradition, will be the trek to the upper balcony. It felt as though i was climbing to the top of Everest, little did i know, Everest would have been much more pleasant.
We arrived about thirty minutes prior to tip-off. Here is where my first suprise occured! I was shocked to see the lack of people in the stands. There were less than 10 students in the student section, it was just a weird atmosphere to me. At Purdue, the students have a general admission section and arrive sometimes, more than 24 hours before tip off. This creates a wild atmosphere as people want to get the most out of there Purdue experience.
Now to the fans.
After showing up about 10 minutes late to the game, I was greeted by a group of students who had seats next to ours. They where rather passionate per-say, but had no class. To me, it does not matter if you are louder than a bull dozer, if you are not classy, you are not effective. I would post some of the chants up here, but it would be offensive to many. A school that prides themselves on creativity and free thinking, it makes me ponder the fact why they could only come up with two main cheers, that where so called family friendly. I was called out personally and was verbally harassed at the game. Of course, it did not rouse me, as I continued to show my support for the Boilers. I mean I know Indiana fans that I carry some extra baggage, but it's just more to love.
Now onto the band.
Yes I admit, I am a former bandy. Hey I mean who wouldn't want to be apart of a pep band in high school that was the life of the gym? Anyway back to the point, the band played the find song over and over again. Fine right, no problem with showing some school pride, but when the majority of the fans in your stadium don't know the words to the song, you have got a problem. I had many laughs in watching the so called rich tradition program fans struggling to make it through the fight song. Heck, they even had the words up on the screen half the time. One last thing about the band, zombie nation gets a bit ridiculous after about eight times so do everyone a favor and learn some new songs, I mean you are all music majors right?
Analysis of the game.
I thought Purdue played a mediocre game. The defense in the first half was absolutely horrendous in the first half. It seemed that any shot Indiana took, went in. I felt that this game proved to us that driving to the hoop instead of relying on the three so much goes a long way. I was impressed with the rebounding though. It seemed as though we have improved a immensely in that department. The play of Lewis Jackson and Hart seemed to energize the boilers as they entered the game. The big three had amazing games. Johnson was man-handled in the first half but seemed to get it together when it mattered. E'twaun Moore and Robbie Hummel both had very solid games, even if Hummel did miss one of those last 2 free throws, he made the ones that counted.
Food for Thought
I realized again tonight how much I love Purdue Basketball. I realize we do not have the dusty banners like Indiana, but we have faithfulness and class. We are loud, proud, and rowdy, but not rude. At Purdue we enjoy cheering on our team, but we also appreciate great basketball. I am in no way saying that Purdue Fans are perfect, as I myself have my shortcomings, but what i am saying is that I am proud to be a Boilermaker. After hearing some of the chants and gestures at the game, would Indiana fans say the same thing?
