Why are you a Boilermaker?

Moving to the front page.

Because most of my family is too. Grew up south side of Lafayette, spent Saturdays going to the occasional Akers and Colletto coached teams’ games. Spent every BB game night usually in front of the TV yelling at the team to perform right beside my grandmother, father and cousins. Started when I could walk pretty much.
Left Indiana for the military and planned to make a career of it, but my lifelong call to graduate from Purdue couldn’t leave me. I ended a prosperous career to come home and apply to Purdue and take a chance.
4 years later, walked down the aisle and grabbed my diploma from Jischke’s hand. Now I’m in the club with the rest of my family and I couldn’t be more thrilled.
I grew up a Boilermaker and am just as proud to be one now as ever. I love campus, the traditions, the songs, football Saturdays, loud nights in Mackey, Harry’s Baltimore Zoo’s, Garcias pizza (RIP), etc. I watched Big Dog dominate the hardwood, I ran onto the field after Drew and Co. beat Michigan and OSU. I live it, and I am proud of it. Every vehicle at my house has a Purdue plate. I wear Old Gold & Black whenever I can. And I’m going to support my school and it’s teams through thick & thin.
Boiler Up

when I arrived at Purdue for graduate school. As a Michigan native, I never considered out-of-state schools for undergrad so I followed my brothers and became a CMU Chippewa (and was there during the Chris Kaman days). My knowledge of Purdue sports was limited before my arrival and mostly consisted of an image of a combover. I spent my first couple years at Purdue focused on surviving my grad program. Although the basketball team had had a couple rough seasons, I decided in 2006 to add some excitement to my schedule. I couldn’t talk any friends into joining me, but I bought season tickets to the basketball games anyway. I watched one game and was hooked! It was Kramer’s freshman year and he played my favorite kind of ball. In my younger days I played myself and learned from a defense-minded coach. I LOVE everything defense. I watched Kramer (and his record-breaking steals) and knew that this was my type of team. (Love the ‘Defense Lives Here’ sign.)

The following (3) years I attended both football and basketball games (and was able to get several friends to join me in buying season tickets). Some of my best football memories include having front row season tickets one year, being in the stands for the hook-and-ladder against UofM in 2008 and beating a ranked OSU in 2009.

Since the 06-07 season, I have been one of Purdue basketball’s biggest fans. Mid-April through October seems like an eternity to me. Every day that Purdue does not have a basketball game is a day I get even more anxious to watch the next game. I live in Colorado now (as a Mesa State Maverick (DII)) and I have warned my students about my possible mood changes based on PU basketball (they were lucky that the second ACL tear happened over our fall break and I did not have to see them the few days following).

I love Purdue and I love Purdue Basketball even more.

…because being a Boilermaker means something. It means speaking firmly and proudly that I Am an American. It meanshard work and discipline. It means doing things the right way for the right reasson. It means that Drew Brees drove a nice car because his parents were well off and didn’t have to pay for school.

Jerry Seinfeld has a bit about sports fans cheering for laundry because the players and coaches change over time. In a lot of cases, this is fairly accurate. However, Purdue is the exception.

While the football team has lost a little of it’s identity, the basketball team never will. Defense first, team first, hardest working program in the country. Other teams can have their lazy MAA’s. We’ll take the next tier player who has the right mindset. That’s a Boilermaker.

It’s not just the sports though, the school has an identity. I grew up in touchy-feely, California. I love going home to visit, but I belong in the Midwest and Purdue showed me that. It’s rare that an entity the size of our beloved university can have such a strong community feel. I called the school in the spring of my senior year, I think. I had already been accepted and decided to attend, but was a little late for signing up for Boiler Gold Rush. Coming from so far away, and not knowing anyone at the school, some sweet old lady made an exception for me and made a big difference in my life.

I live in Cincinnati now and got my master’s at UC. What a horrible experience. I couldn’t have been more of a number to that place, but to Purdue I was a Boilermaker. That’s why I still am today.

because I like to pour all my heart and soul into a team only to be continuously dissappointed.
-spending money I don’t have
-ridiculed by a legion of opposing fan bases
-waching cruel unimagined ways to lose games
-talking about curses, hoaxs, and conspiracies to explain long periods of bad luck
-getting excited every season only to be crushed and then coming back for more.

…this is why I’m also a Cubs fan

because it’s a family. I was introduced to Purdue through my involvement in 4-H which allowed me to spend several summers during my early teen years on campus running through the fountain (when you actually could) and becoming enamored with the red bricks. When it came time to choose a college, it was between MSU and Purdue. Long story short, Purdue welcomed me with open arms, MSU didn’t.
On campus I felt part of a family. I never felt like I was a number amongst 35,000 others. My professors genuinely cared, and I experienced the best times of my life. 25 cent pitchers and a piano bar only added to the experience.
I’ve always been/been a fan of the underdog. I’m a White Sox fan, that “other team” that also plays in Chicago, similar to Purdue in the state/Big Ten.
I was in attendance for the Women’s Nat’l Championship celebration (rioting and tear gas)
I was in attendance for the subsequent Elite 8 loss celebration (rioting and tear gas)
I was in attendance for the bliss that was Brees to Morales “Holy Toledo”
I had a class taught by our most recent nobel laureat
I was in Wine Appreciation class with Drew
I met the love of my life
…at Purdue

Well written and a great post!

I was born into Purdue. Both my parents taught there, so I attended the WL grade school and high school system.

Hey at WLHS we are all boilers and byproducts of such. I new all the short cuts around campus, played late fall Sunday afternoon football on the golf course by cherry lane.

Mike Phipps was my guy in early grade school. Leroy Keyes, Rick Mount. Hell, one of the hottest chicks in HS dated and married Danielson later.

Played high school ball, scrimmaged a lot at the co-rec. Tried to senak into a some of the frat parties, drank a lot of brew on Russel street.

I was in the Philippines when Purdue’s basketball was at it’s greatest. Finally ended up in Michigan for the Fab 5 days and then of course the Izzo/Mateen era.

Loved the Cardinal teams, and watched Dickens, Brees and Orton bring us back. Watched the second Tiller game when we spanked down ND. Lived through the “fumble”, and the OT FG miss against OSU.

I went to college in San Diego- joined the Navy instead of taking a virtually free ride to Purdue. No regrets. As long as Bruno’s (child hood friend of mine) is punching out those sweet cheese and mushroom pizzas- I’m a boiler through and through. (Even without the pizza).

As I made my way though high school in the early 70’s in Indy, I didn’t have a strong connection to Purdue, who’s local reputation at the time was a big, dull, academically difficult state school. I can remember, years before, my dad (who went to Butler on the GI Bill after WWII) screaming at the TV “Give the ball to LEROY”. However, as my senior year approached, I didn’t know where I would end up. As a huge sports fan, I was seduced by the success of Ara and Tom Clements at ND and Indiana’s undefeated national championship team. In athletics, Purdue was known then as The Spoilermakers. In this climate, all the cool kids where going to IU. A few of the rich cool kids were headed to South Bend. Only the geeks went to West Lafayette. Purdue was not a popular choice.
 
I landed a US Navy scholarship that could be used at a number of schools around the country. Purdue was my safety net school, and when my top choices fell through, I was headed to West Lafayette. This was just after the fall of Saigon – the US Military was not a popular choice.
 
As a B+ high school student, I was forced to work my ass off to compete with academic excellence of my classmates at Purdue. It made me better. It make me unafraid of hard work and competition. I wrote my first software in FORTRAN on punch cards. I saw Professor Brown win his Nobel Prize.

A saw AE Potter come out of the ground. I saw Joe Barry, as a freshman, pull his mail from a bottom row box at Cary. I was the founding president of The Purdue Gymnastics Club, and coached the girls HS team at Jeff (that job beat the hell outta flippin burgers). I witnessed the injustice of blind ethnic hate for the first time as students from the Middle East were berated on campus during the Iran Hostage crisis.
 
I also saw all of Corporate America come to West Lafayette to snap up newly minted Purdue grads like ducks on Junebugs.
 
During my time on campus, a number of sports triumphs and heartbreaks began to shape my soul into that of a Boilermaker.
 
On the football field: We upset #1 Michigan. We were shocked by a 3rd string Joe Montana as he rallied the Irish from 14 points down in late in the second half. On a perfect Saturday in 1978, Jim Young opened the SEASON with an on-side kick and Purdue football was BACK. A month later, we walked all over Art Schleister and Ohio State while 3 kegs were chilling back at my house on Lutz Street. A month after that, a tie at Wisconsin shattered our Rose Bowl Dreams. My senior year began with Playboy ranking USC #1 and Purdue #2 and predicting a national championship showdown in the Rose Bowl. This was a team of destiny led by Mark Herrmann, Dave Young and The Junk Defense anchored by Keena Turner. All went to plan except a lone road loss to the middling Gophers that shot things all to hell. OSU, who we didn’t play that year, needed to lose. They didn’t.
 
On the hardwood: My first two years were forgettable as Fred Schaus ran out his string, but recruited a core of talent that would bring glory to Mackey. Schaus was replaced by Lee Rose, who earlier took UNCC to the Final Four. In this first year, Rose rode Joe Barry Carroll, Arnette Hallman and Jerry Sichting to the Boilers’ second Big Ten Title (shared with Magic Johnson led Sparty) since Piggy Lambert in 1940. Returning most of the stars the next year (Sichting was, by then, a Celtic), the highly ranked Boilers struggled under the national spotlight to a 3rd place Big Ten finish. A key non-conf game in January had Syracuse, in a battle of 7 footers Carroll and Danny Schayes, nip the Boilers on national television at Mackey. Tell me this doesn’t sound familiar. Just as the promising season appeared lost, the Boilers knocked off LaSalle, St John’s, Indiana and Duke to reach the Final Four in Indy.
 
I was driving across campus late one night during the Winter Olympics in 1980 after the USA Hockey had just beaten the Soviets. Though it was about -10F, some nut had climbed to the top of the smokestack and hung a sheet sign that proclaimed “USA HOCKEY #1”. That guy, my friends, was a FAN. Wish I had a picture.
 
I received a world class education in electronics and engineering that gave me, professionally, a front row seat for the explosion in computers, software and digital electronics that would begin a few years later. It was only after I left Indiana and started my career in Texas that I learned how highly regarded a Purdue education was. Just as valuable, my time a Purdue taught me that nothing worth having comes without hard work, and sometimes that isn’t enough. Those defeats taught me to pick myself up, spit out the loose teeth, and get back in the game.
 
Sometimes, we Boilermakers do get to taste a little bit of glory. When it happens, it’s sweeter because we’ve been there for the whole ride. We are forced to develop coping skills to deal with the heartbreak, to stay focused when things are getting exciting, and to conduct ourselves with class when we do triumph.
 
I never really thought about it this way before, but being a Boilermaker fan teaches you much about how to live your life in America today.
 
Lastly, I’m proud to be a Boilermaker because it means that I’m a member of a community of people like you.

This really is exactly what should have been done instead of the $200,000 spent on surveys to make way for the “Makers All” campaign.

I’m a Boilermaker because my mother was kind enough to let my dad have his way with how he raised me. My dad is a ‘77 pharmacy grad who also served as basketball manager in his time at Purdue, and I’m the youngest of 4. I was blessed as a baby at church in a Purdue onesie (much to my mother’s chagrin – she “never should have let him dress me”), and when my dad first started officiating high school basketball games, the extra money was used to travel from our home in northeast Texas for Purdue football and basketball games. We had a little help – Purdue’s first two bowl games in my lifetime came in San Antonio, so with a 5-hour drive we were there for both Alamo Bowls. Well, we had set a precedent that had to be kept up. So every year my dad’s officiating money would cover the cost of our travels to the bowl games. I distinctly remember in 2000, being a 12-13 year-old kid, putting bits of my own spare change in a big glass jar with the Rose Bowl logo on it with a sign that read “ROSE BOWL 2001 FUND” in gigantic letters. Drew Brees did what no other quarterback had done Bob Griese did it when my own dad was the same age as me, and we were off to the Rose Bowl.

I’ve only missed one Purdue bowl game in my lifetime – the Motor City Bowl. I was occupied at the time serving a mission for my church in California, but I guess you could say I made it to all the “important” bowl games that Joe Tiller ever took us to. My dad took me to the 1999 Women’s Final Four in San Jose. I got Stephanie White-McCarty, Ukari Figgs, and Carolyn Peck to sign a mini basketball I had after the national championship game at the team hotel. I went to the inaugural Big Ten Tournament in Chicago in 1997. I still have the t-shirt. Thank God they moved the tourney to Conseco Fieldhouse. Chicago is a mess compared to Indy (my opinion, don’t hate).

As a senior in high school, I sent in my application to Purdue the first week they would take it. Purdue had rolling admissions at the time, so I heard back pretty quickly. I remember three distinct things about September 10, 2005 – Purdue beat Akron, 49-24, I had gone on my third date with my girlfriend at the time who is now my wife, and I got my acceptance letter to Purdue. I had half-heartedly begun applications to a few other schools, never intending to go regardless of the outcome of the admission process. I never finished any of them, because I was then a Boilermaker, with no doubt as to where I would go to college.

Ultimately, my beginnings as a Boilermaker centered around the football and basketball teams, with little to no regard for the academic prestige behind it all. I finally started caring about that part of the college experience when I was probably a junior in high school. But I decided to be an engineer so that really just ended up being a nice coincidence.

Hail Purdue.

….Boilermaker by the Grace of God.

When I was growing up, I had no real “allegiance” to any particular school. Neither my mom or dad attended college. (My dad joined the Army right after high school and spent 4 years overseas). If I had to pick my “favorite team” growing up, it would have to be Notre Dame….only because that’s who the rest of my family cheered for, and I didn’t know any better. I always thought that I would go there, because I knew what a great school it was. However, the expense of attending Notre Dame made me explore other options. When I realized that I was interested in math and science, I knew I had to look at Purdue for Engineering. From the moment I set foot on campus, I knew that was where I wanted to be. (My first trip ever to Purdue was a formal college visit). I knew very little about Purdue athletics at the time, and honestly knew very little about Gene Keady or Joe Tiller.

When I started at Purdue in the fall of 2002, I could tell you very little about their programs outside academics. But I knew, that a place like Purdue would give me a great education, and probably some fun along the way. Boy was I ever right. Of course, as soon as I became a Boilermaker, I cut loose any Notre Dame ties I had and immediately bled Old Gold and Black.

The same went for my parents. After having no real affiliation with any university, they up and purchased an old black Chevy van, trimmed it in gold, added a horn that played the fight song, and came to nearly every Purdue football game thereafter.

I am a Boilermaker for all the great memories I made both in the classroom and out. I love the fact that Purdue alumni are very rarely the subject of controversy, or questionable acts. Most all are classy, model citizens, be they legendary athletes or not. As someone else said, I love that telling people I graduated from Purdue gets a “wow” response.

Purdue is where I met my beautiful wife, whom I transplanted from Michigan to Evansville, IN. After our wedding we were taken to our reception on the Boilermaker Special.

Soon after, we adopted a dog, and named her “Mackey,” for obvious reasons.

We now have a 6 month old daughter, who truly is a “Boilermaker by Birth!”

Growing up in Iowa, its pretty much down to Iowa or Iowa State. But my dad hated Iowa, and my mom hated Iowa State, so I had to pick another team. I was told when I was 3 or 4 I saw a Purdue game and I liked the colors. I’ve been a Purdue fan ever since.

My earliest college football memory is the Purdue comeback led by Drew Brees against Kansas State in the Alamo Bowl and my earliest for basketball is that great run to the Elite Eight until Wisky tripped us up for the 3rd time that year. (I think John Allison made a fantastic turnaround at the buzzer to cut it to one at the half. Im not sure if this happened but I always think it did). I loved the way that Purdue athletics were always seen as the underdog and played hard nosed with a true passion for the game.

I always planned to go to Purdue, but I got a lot of scholarship offers for Iowa and my parents would pay tuition here, but not pay out of state. I also wanted to be closer to home. But Purdue always will be a special school for me and now my cousin attends school at Purdue. I like to think I pushed a family member to attend school there.

For one because it runs in the family. I have was born and raised a Boilermaker. I witnessed the most of the Keady year…the good and the devastating. I witnessed the graduation of the older brother in 2000. I remember the trip to the Rose Bowl. There has been many good times and way too many bad times but regardless I have never given up on those teams. I grew up in a town, Huntington, that was very divided. Most Purdue and IU fans with some ND fans sprinkled in. When Chris Kramer came to Purdue there were plenty more Purdue fans. Okay I can’t complain too much, but then you have all the IU fans claiming that we were all just fans because he plays for us. NOT the case!!! See 90% of Purdue fans from my hometown are purebred Boilermakers! When it came time to apply for college Purdue was obviously my first application I filled out and sent in. It wasn’t the best choose for my major but it was either BSU or IUPUI (which my degree would have been an IU degree…..I DON"T THINK SO!!!!) It was the best choice in my mind!
But it’s more than just family and attending the school. Purdue is jam packed with rich tradition. The campus has soo much to offer. I mean what university has their founder buried on its campus???? I can’t think of one! The fact that every building on this campus is brick. The fact that our athletic department refuses to build a new basketball arena because it would take away from the tradition of Mackey Arena. The fact that our fans can nearly pack Ross-Ade even when our team is injury ridden and can’t even beat a terrible IU team. The fact that our fans stick by our basketball team even when the rest of the nation counts us out because of a single injury. The fact that we can come back from a 2 game skid. The fact that we don’t dwell on the past…(*cough *cough….IU fans) I have to agree with many of the things that I have been said by all of you. Hooiser by birth…Boilermaker by choice and the grace of god!!! I love that Purdue is called Purdue. Not having Indiana in our name makes me feel like we always have something to prove. We are not Indiana’s team. We should be but let’s face it….it’s IU aka the "Indiana lovable LOSERS!!! Our fans are as loyal as can be!! Ever faithful, ever true explains Boilermaker fans down to the core whether they have been fans for life or the converted over.
I couldn’t see myself cheering for any other team in the national the way I do for Purdue! Even when they play like absolute shit you can’t help but join the band in the William Tell Overture and chant in unison at the end “IU SUCKS” There is something about that chant can bring a smile to any Boilermakers face. And when you are old and grey you can look at that diploma and smile and know you were part of something great.
Boiler UP!!!!!

Are those actual words? How the hell would I know, I’m a science major at Purdue!

I moved to South Bend in 1999, and in 2000 I must admit I became a Notre Dame fan. To keep this short, I was a die-hard Notre Dame fan until I came to Purdue. My room was decorated in Notre Dame gear and the basement was filled with posters from their athletic teams. I went to multiple Notre Dame games for many years, especially Basketball and hockey since Football was a hard ticket (according to ESPN Passport, my Purdue games is about to finally surpass all of my Notre Dame games, also, I worked concessions at ND Stadium for the 2006 and 2007 seasons so I could watch the games).

I started liking Purdue my junior/senior year in high school when I knew that was where I was going to go (there aren’t many choices for Atmospheric Science, and Purdue was the best in the state of Indiana). But when it came to the ND/Purdue games those 2 years, I still cheered for ND. When I entered Purdue in the Fall of 2009, I started to shift more towards to Purdue, but still cheering for Purdue. I thought that I would “Cheer for the Boilermakers and pray for the Irish” as a Catholic, but I realized that wouldn’t be the case when it came to the Purdue/ND game last year.

I honestly could not cheer for either ND or Purdue in that game, I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. But after the win, I saw how cocky my ND friends were being about the win, that is when I really started leaving Notre Dameism.

What ultimately did it for me was the events of October 17th, 2009. For us Purdue fans, we remember this as the day Purdue “shocked the world” and beat #7 Ohio State in Ross-Ade. I was one of the 1st people on the field from the student section, it was one of the greatest feelings in the world. But later that day was the ND/USC game. Sure enough, ND could not beat USC for the God knows how many consecutive game. That ended up being the difference.

At the Ohio State game, when the band did the “Boiler Up!” chant after OSU got a 4th down and the upset was almost guaranteed, it wasn’t just the student section doing the chant with the band, it was EVERYONE in the stadium (with the exception of those in the scarlet and gray). I had never seen anything like that in my life, all of the fans joined as one in a simple cheer. That was the Purdue difference. ND is filled with subway alums that don’t know half of the cheers or the words to the fight song, but at Purdue everyone had some sort of connection to the Old Gold and Black. The vision of the “Boiler Up!” chant at the OSU game still brings me the chills, and probably will as long as I live.

After ND lost to USC that day, I thought deeply about being an ND fan, which is when I realized, what makes ND so much better than Purdue? I was never alive for any of their championships, I was never pleased Weis stayed after the 2007 and 08 seasons, and the program was going no where. In fact, ND had a similar winning record to Purdue’s since 2000. ND was never going to give me anything, but Purdue was giving me a world class education, something most of the fans have as well. I felt a connection to Purdue that I never felt at ND.

The rest was history after October 17th, 2009. My room back home no longer has ND items on the wall and instead has been replaced with Purdue gear. The basement now has plenty of Purdue posters, all the ND stuff has been thrown out. I now have become an ND Football hater now that I see the program outside of South Bend (where the air of delusion is), but I just dislike the other athletic programs since they are actually in a conference.

Well, that is just a brief summary of my conversion. If you ever want any more details, contact me!

BTFU!

Given up for adoption by two young Boilers who knew they couldn’t be parents yet. Adopted by Boilermakers. Attended every football and basketball game I possibly could all my life. Attended Purdue for the best (5) years of my life. Graduated in 97. Married a Boilermaker, have two Boiler babies. Damn right I’m a Boilermaker! Wouldn’t have it any other way. Pardon the tears….

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was a summer of expectation, and a fall of applications.

I was living in Wisconsin and conflicted as to my future. I knew that I wanted to end up either A) Designing Drugs or B) Writing. The two didn’t really seem particularly compatible. Marquette had some good Philosophy/English programs, and I had applied at UW-Madison for chemistry, but was not thrilled with the prospect of going. I wanted something else out of college, and one day I got a brochure in the mail with an extremely brief application attached: Purdue.

I knew Purdue had great Engineering programs, and at the time I thought that Chemical Engineering meant that I would be engineering chemicals, as in designing new ones. The brochure intrigued me, and my wrist was still cramped from a long day on Marquette’s campus writing scholarship essays, so the short application was particularly appealing.

I showed up for my campus visit and immediately loved it. There was only one problem. When I talked to the Chem E people about what I wanted to do with that degree, they were a bit more than skeptical. They pointed me to the Pharmacy building, I learned how truly elite that program was, and I decided that I wanted to attend Purdue.

However, out of state tuition was not exactly cheap, and so things were still up in the air. A few weeks later I got two envelopes, one from Marquette, one From Purdue. It turned out that I had abused my wrist for nothing – the Marquette scholarship was going to someone else. I turned dejectedly to the other envelope, opened it, and miraculously found a better scholarship to a better school. I had found the resources it would take to get me to Purdue.

My time on campus was marked by an explosion of research buildings in Discovery Park, and I had the fortunate opportunity to work in some of the most forward looking labs in some of the best bioscience buildings in the country. Diversions were plentiful, from watching the Baby Boilers blow it up on the hardwood to simply watching the football team blow it. But even so, football season brought breakfast club, and so I looked forward to it every year.

This is my last year as a Purdue student, and my degree is carrying me on to graduate school, but I know that no matter where I end up, I will always remain a Boilermaker.

It was 1987 and I was 12 years old. My whole family is IU fans. So I grew up on Bobby Knight and watching IU on channel 4. One day I was watching (I believe it was Billy Packer) this college basketball preview show on CBS. He was rating the teams for the upcoming year and he had Purdue rated #1. So I started watching Purdue that year and just loved watching Lewis, Stephens, Mitchell and the rest of the crew play. That was the first year I really paid attention to college basketball and I have been hooked ever since.

When it came time to go to college I visited Purdue and loved it…several high school friends went to Purdue even…but I chose to go to Anderson to play baseball.

I am the only Purdue fan on both sides of my family and even my wife’s family is IU fans. My only allie is my son who (i’m proud to say) is die-hard like me.

Moved to WL when I was 2. My father got a job at Purdue with the help of my great uncle, who was the Ass. Dean of Students. My dad ended up getting another degree from Purdue while he worked here, my sister was born at St. Elizabeth’s. My dad’s brother (Purdue alum)came here also and got a job at Purdue- working in the athletic dept.
I had several other relatives who worked or previously worked at Purdue. Many family members are alumni.

We grew up in the Klondike school system, went to Harrison HS. Then moved on to Purdue. Campus was a 15 minute walk from my parents house (we lived near Purdue North Course). Campus was where my friends and I went for parties in HS, many friends who graduated from HS moved on to Purdue. Going to Purdue was a foregone conclusion.

My uncle in the AD office always had tix to Purdue games (football/bball), and my parents had season tickets for football. But my uncle’s seats were ridiculous. During basketball season, he would sit in a folding chair by the team bench- so I would get to use his 2 tickets- which were in the bleacher area on the floor below the press. This is where the players parents used to sit. I got to go with him in the tunnel before/after bball games into the equipment room where he worked. I met all the players every game, home and away team. I got free Purdue gear (leftover stuff), I even have a pair of home Troy Lewis shorts he wore in a game. I still have them.
A couple times I got to be on the sidelines of a football game (Burnett era I think). My uncle has a picture of me making fun of Coach. He sometimes would sit on one knee like ‘the thinker’. So I knelt beside him and was imitating him, then Jim Everett knelt beside me and did it too.

Had a great time in college, many friends, stories, etc. Joined AKL, worked at Harry’s for 3 years. The best part was when I graduated. Part of my father’s job included leading the graduates out of the Armory, around the fountain, up Hovde and into the Music Hall. He is also on stage when you receive your Diploma, you have the option to shake his hand, along with the president… and whoever else is up there.
My sister, her husband, my 1st cousin, and myself all graduated on the same day.

It was the best feeling to receive my Diploma from this wonderful University, that has given so much to me and my family… and to be able to shake hands with my Dad on stage and tell him thank you/love you/etc.

I now live in the DC metro area- and I already have my 5 yr old daughter rooting for Purdue with me. Continue the cycle!

Go Boilers!!!

I live in Goshen, IN so had to grow up listening to how great ND was and all that stuff, but my parents are from central Indiana. I grew up watching the Brees yearsand my dad had me watching all Purdue games all the time. But I really did not get into sports until I got to HS and joined the football team in 2004. From then on I’ve been really digging into watching Purdue.

I mean it when I say it’s in my blood:

Dad’s side:
My dad graduated from Purdue with a major in managment
My Uncle graduated from Purdue with a EE degree
My Aunt was one of the first women to gratuate from Purdue with a Mechanical Engineering degree
Two of my cousins just graduated from there

My Mom’s side:
My Mom was a die hard Knight and IU fan.
And If it’s true as my Grandma says(tho I kinda doubt it) I am related to John Purdue. My Grandmothers maiden name was Purdue.
My Uncle is great friends with Coach Keady and Coach Kight and goes golfing with them often. And is often seen at Purdue BBall games sitting next to Coach Keady.(And could get me tickets if I ask)

And me… I chose to go into Civil Engineering at… Trine University(formerly Tri-State) so I could continue to play football.

I was the first in my family to attend college. A New Jersey native, people thought I was crazy to go to Indiana. I picked Purdue because it had great academics, the major I wanted, and Division I sports. I was hooked after the first football game (a blowout win over Indiana State). By the last game of the season I hated IU as much as anyone who had grown up with the “rivalry.” Though I had never enjoyed basketball, I was enthralled by my first Purdue basketball game at Mackey and am now a die-hard fan. While I now attend graduate school in the ACC, I pay extra for the Big Ten Network so I never miss a game. I’ve tried getting into football or basketball here, but it is just NOT the same. After I graduated my younger sister chose to attend Purdue, and I met my fiance at Purdue. I see a healthy tradition starting in my family…

I was destined to be a Boiler as soon as I was born. My dad attended Purdue, I grew up in the Fort Wayne area, and whenever Purdue was on TV we were watching it. As soon as I could start having dreams/etc of college there was no selection process for me, I knew it would be Purdue. Even now that I am in Vet School, I still only applied to Purdue. It literally runs in my blood through and through. It is the one and only true sports team love I have. I root for other teams in other sports, but none as die hard as Purdue. None can control my emotions and set my moods like Purdue. I can still remember driving down with my dad to Purdue football and basketball games and the awe struck giddiness I got when we came down Northwestern Ave and I saw Ross Ade then Mackey. Each and every time I got the same feeling of joy and pride. Now that I see this every day and have watched countless games at each of these places, I still have the same giddiness each time I walk in. I’m not going to force my love onto my daughter (who is to be born soon), but I do know that she will see the joy her father has when he is attending/watching/talking about Purdue.
Boiler UP!

IU grad and much older than all of you. I went to IU to play baseball back in the late 70’s. I live in Colorado and have for years. Long for the days when IU and PU are both always in the top 10 and battling for the B10 title. When that happens it is good for the state of Indiana and good for both programs. Love the tradition of both schools, loved the icon story on Mount last week. I loved him as a young man growing up in the 60s.

I took the long way around. I was born in West Lafayette. But I wasn’t a huge Purdue fan. Parental encouragement meant rooting for the smart teams if at all, because I should really want to go to a smart kids’ school. Well, my father taught at Purdue, but—err, I could do better. I went to a few football games with my mother/father, but they were mostly tickets from neighbors down the block for off-games.

I didn’t follow basketball til 4th grade (?) I think when a friend started babbling about Russell Cross’s dunk at the buzzer to beat Stetson. I don’t know why, but I got caught up and started to learn everything I could have about basketball, who the teams were, etc. The 20-point comeback at Illinois clinched it. Or should have.

It was a weird sort of nudging towards Northwestern (we eventually moved there) and when I moved to the Chicago area there were lots of Illinois and Michigan grads. Of course, my first school year, football season came before basketball season. Also, I got a titty twister or two when Michigan whipped Purdue in ’87 on the final day of the season.

I was less than encouraged to watch or cheer for Purdue at home, which is a long story of family silliness and pettiness, but since Everette Stevens went to Evanston Township HS, lots of people at school took it easy on me—many teachers liked him. Though I did get a lot of “you’re a smart kid. Why don’t you root for the smart kids?” from non-parental sources.

Still, my junior-high mental calculus had figured Purdue would naturally go to the final four. With some speedbumps, of course. It was their time, and I’d waited long enough, and when Stevens made that late unforced turnover, I went to my room and cried. I remember having to watch the news a lot and hoping to see the game during commercial breaks. My parents were strict on that. But I realized I cared about the team more than I thought I did.

Next year I went to my first Purdue at Northwestern game. I really liked the ‘89 team and think they were a lot better than their 15-16 record. They missed a lot of free throws. But I followed them closer than the ’88 team. Maybe it’s what I needed, to convince myself I wasn’t a fair weather fan. My parents cracked a few jokes about it.

Along the way I realized that I enjoyed my time in West Lafayette more than I thought, and I got push-polled a bit to be discontent, maybe to make me more agreeable about the move to Evanston. My old West Lafayette friends are long gone now and probably wouldn’t recognize me, and I don’t know if I was a very good friend to them. But I am glad I grew up in West Lafayette and not Evanston. The yuppie stereotype is a bit of a straw man, but it’s real and a risk. I’m glad I made a choice to root for Purdue and not a more trendy team.

It’s not a critical life choice, but it’s still important to me. And it’s not like I’m trying to be different or zany. It’s nowhere near as big or personal as, say, someone rooting for their home country in the world cup. But it’s a part of me, if it took time to realize it, and there’ve been great moments along the way that made me feel very lucky. My life would be okay without them. But they add something that doing things myself couldn’t.

Well, this is two days late, and possibly TLDR, but I appreciate the chance to write this—and read what others have to say.