Proud to Be a BOILERMAKER

A "packed" Assembly Hall, well this is how the ESPN broadcasters explained anyway I myself found plenty of fans dressed as empty seats, witnessed one of the greatest rivalry's in the state of Indiana tonight. As a Purdue die hard, I was not expecting to be greeted with warm cookies and a cold glass of Nesquik, however, I was expecting to be treated with a little bit more respect, by a program such rich in tradition.

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?

My Dilemma

I am in a moral dilemma of epic proportions. Well nothing very important to the average person, but it is definitely important to me. It all stems from this past Sunday, with the victory's of the Colts and the Saints respectively. As a Colts fan, I have been a fan for many years! I remember listening to the Colts in the late 1990's when they where so bad, that the games were not even shown on TV due to the NFL blackout policy. Not only do I remember listening to Jim Harbaugh throw interceptions on the radio, but I remember the Colts drafting the almost immortal man known as Peyton Manning. I remember the trading of Marshall Faulk to the Rams. I can recall thinking to myself how dumb of a decision that was, until I saw the "Edge" run the ball for the first time. Through the ups and downs I was with the Colts, through the forever emphasis "Playoffs" rant to the Super Bowl in 2006 I have always been a Colts fan.

One man has thrown a wrench in my rooting for the Colts, and only the Colts though. This is a man by the name of Drew Brees, also known as just simply Brees, Breesus, or I like to call him the god among men. Drew Brees, who now plays for the New Orleans Saints, gave me some of the best memories of my childhood. See, here at Purdue University, Drew Brees is one of the most beloved players of all time. I remember going to see Drew Brees as a child, and thinking about how awesome of a player and person he was. Not only was Drew Brees, one of the best quarterbacks of the decade, but Drew Brees is a genuinely good person. I remember rushing the field with my mom after he threw the game winning touchdown to all but clinch the Big Ten Championship. I remember traveling all the way to California to watch him give a valiant effort in the Rose Bowl.

I like many other Purdue fans have a soft spot for whatever team he plays for, and this is my dilemma. While I'm still not sure how i will feel when my favorite two teams face off at the Super Bowl I do know this. I know that I will be a winner if either team wins. I have decided that on Super Bowl Sunday I will be wearing my Brees jersey under my Manning jersey and will be rocking my Saint hat. As much as I love Drew Brees, and as much as I love the Colts I just cannot decide. So whoever wins the Super Bowl, I will be happy. It really is a win-win situation for me, and I am very excited about it! GO COLTS and GO SAINTS

Failure

Failure is one thing in life that disturbs me. I have always liked to succeed, just like any other average person, yet that liking to succeed doesn't always help one in life. Not only does success make you stronger and push you forward, but success holds you back. Success is one of those things that makes you fear failure. I myself, have been granted with plenty of success in my life, but not only does the fear of failure help me succeed, but the fear of failure make me miss out on certain opportunities in life. I believe that my life is missing failure, if only a little failure, maybe I would be able to succeed on things that I am scared to muster up the courage to do. Not only scared to attempt, but just scared to pursue. Over the past few weeks, I have been thinking a lot about what would happen if I failed at something I was pursuing, and it frustrates me deeply to think that I doubt myself to even think like this. As a positive person, I know that I will always have my friends, and true friends are there to pick one up after they have failed. After plenty of thinking I have made my decision, and if I succeed or fail I will share the outcome, and have to live with it. This is my shot, this is my opportunity, it is time to start living life without the total fear of failure!

Purdue vs Ohio State Preview

Tomorrow night a sold out crowd at Mackey Arena will witness a battle of titans as the Buckeyes battle the Boilermakers in a Big Ten block buster. Although the game doesn't seem as handsome as some others this season, this should be an absolute great game. Purdue comes in ranked number 6 after a heart breaking loss to the Badgers in Wisconsin on Saturday, as the Buckeyes come in after suffering a disappointing loss to the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Both teams will be looking to prove something in this game as it would be a major win for Ohio State to come in and defeat the Boilermakers on their home floor. Although the motivation will be there I just do not foresee this happening. Purdue is the better team by far, and although Ohio State's key player Evan Turner is back from a possible season ending back fracture, I think that the Boilers will prevail. Purdue's senior guard Chris Kramer, who is one of the best defenders in the country, will be given the task of guarding Turner. I expect Kramer to shut him down with Purdue's in your face style defense. Another tough point for Ohio State, is the fact that this game is being played on the road. The road has not been good to the Buckeyes this year, and traveling to a sold out Mackey Arena will not help boost their confidence any. The weather will be brisk tomorrow night and so will the air at Keady Court. Coming off such an upsetting loss, the Paint Crew will be out in full force cheering on their Boilermakers as they take the field of Battle. I am going to say Purdue 75 Ohio State 60.

First day of Classes

Today I embarked on my second semester at Purdue University. As I expected it made me extremely excited for my course load this semester and I am ready to get the semester off with a bang. As thought, my intro to environmental science course seems like it deals mostly with politics! This excites me as it might actually be useful in my major! After having an amazing lunch with my best friend Whitney Possible, I proceeded to my International Politics class. This is the class that i am most excited about this semester. My professor seems great and I look forward into diving into covering material in deep detail. Next I made my trek to English. English seems like it will be a pretty good time i am required to keep a blog for that class and will learn more details about that on Wednesday. After sitting through English I switched gears completely to Spanish. Spanish is going to be my most difficult class this semester. I am a bit worried about it and hope that I can get through it with a somewhat decent grade! Overall the Semester looks great and I look forward too it. I am currently listening to Hurricane by Bob Dylan. If you have yet to hear this masterpiece of a song you must check into it. It is a folk classic and one of my personal favorites.

Purdue Game and Invictus

Yesterday the 14 and 0 Purdue Boilermakers mens basketball team traveled to Wisconsin to face the recently struggling Badgers. Disappointingly the Boilers left Madison 14 and 1. Although this was somewhat of a let down, I cannot say i did not see it coming. The Boilers have started out slow all year, and in the Big Ten teams cannot afford to start slow on the road. The 4th ranked Boilermakers will surely drop in rankings but that does not change them as team. This loss will help bring the Boilers together and will knock our outstanding freshman back down to reality after suffering their first collegiate loss. Although the disappointing loss I expect the Boilermakers to bounce back with a big victory over Ohio State in Mackey Arena on Tuesday. Rest assured the official 6th man will be out with steady support as will the rest of the sell out crowd on Tuesday night.

Last night i went to my first movie in a long time, and was throughly surprised by the movie I saw. I will admit i was quite a skeptic to see the film as it did not get rave reviews. I enjoyed Morgan Freeman's role as Nelson Mandela and thought he was a perfect fit for the part. There is just something about Freeman as he always seems to be that perfect fit for the role of the old wisdom filled man who leads the whole film. Invictus was a true sports movie and I truly enjoyed how it was portrayed. It is definitely my second favorite sports movie of the 2000's behind the truly great Remember the Titans. One thing i was critical of in the film however was the casting of Matt Damon. Although a major Hollywood star and great actor, I didn't think he quite fit the role of Francois Pienaar. Pienaar at his glory was one of the most feared rugby players in the world as he stood six foot three inches. Damon for me just didn't fit this role but the film was still a must see for inspiration in leadership. I would give the film 3 stars if i was a critic.

RANDOM THOUGHTS FROM oj

Thinking today would be an incredible day i was wrong, not that today was a bad day, but it just was not incredible. I miss the days in which i got excited about snow days. Those snow days now just seem like any other day and not a day off at all but a day of more work and hardships. I realize that all is not find in life and that even on snow days the world still has problems.

This is the end of my break today it is the last Friday that I will be off for a while. I will miss this break a lot. The break was full of wonderful times spent with friends and family. While I will miss the break I am ready to get back to my beloved Purdue University. I did no realize how much i loved Purdue until i decided to go there to college. I am truly a Boilermaker and will always be a Boilermaker. Purdue University Sports is one of my major passions in life. Purdue basketball is 14 and 0 right now trying to make it 15 straight tomorrow. This would be a major game against a high powered Wisconsin Basketball team.

I will be using this blog mainly to talk about music and politics but occasionally i will be talking sports as well.

BOILER UP!