The Sunday After: It’s Rough Being A Purdue Fan Right Now

I try not to question anyone’s “fandom”, especially when it comes to my alma mater, but the end of that game thread was downright scary.

I think we’re all frustrated. And sometimes is just best to step away from the ledge.

I too get caught up in the in-game action and say some things that I normally wouldn’t say.
My dream was to play basketball in college, but being white and not very tall hindered my ability. I just had to stick to the co-rec, occasionally playing against some Boiler ballers.

We need to take a step back, relax, and support our troops so to say. I can’t imagine being TC or whomever else, logging on to this site and seeing all of this drivel being written about me. My self confidence would plummet.

Most of us are guilty of doing this. I suggest we all just enjoy being fans of such a wonderful institution and count our blessings. Boiler up!

I don’t know if the game will be on standard cable in Indiana, but if you have DirecTv they are running a free trail of NBA League Pass right now – Boston is on channel 751 at 1pm ET. Maybe a little JJ and ET will cheer everyone up!

*trial

We should expect this to be a down year…and if a down year for Matt Painter is 10-3 in the non-conference, you won’t hear me complaining. I think this team is a low NCAA seed. They’ve shown enough to make me think that they can put together enough B1G wins to make the tournament.

T-Mill hit the nail on the head…we can either piss and moan or move on to the next game.

As one of the graybeards commenting on this site, I gotta say that had blogs like this existed when I was on campus, or a young grad, I probably would have vented my frustration in similar fashion to those in yesterday’s game wrap. Maybe the years have mellowed me a bit.

Over the decades, there have been many heartbreaking losses and frustrating instances of under achievement that paralleled yesterday’s loss to Butler. After awhile, it overwrites the part of your DNA where optimism is coded – replacing it with a gnawing fear that no lead is safe. As our Boilers coast through a 2nd half with a comfortable lead, that ache kicks in and I start my “Boots on Throats” mantra on the open threads.

If there’s one thing that keeps Purdue’s athletic programs from rising to the next level, it’s our inability to consistently put opponents away when we have ’em on the ropes. Unfortunately, we have a nasty habit staging some of our more spectacular collapses when the whole country is watching on national TV.

The sad fact is, we CAN put teams away. We’ve done it many times – just not consistently, and usually when no one but the Boiler faithful is watching. The national profile of Purdue is that we can’t compete on the big stage because that’s all they see. I hate ND as much as the next Boiler, but they have a culture that compels them to not only believe they will win every game, but that victory is their divine right. We could use a little of that kind of thinking.

Being a Purdue fan has given me many wonderful moments, and kept me coming back for more year after year. But the Boilers don’t make it easy. They’ll test your faith and challenge your spirit. That said, slogging through the tough times makes the successes much sweeter. Knowing that the H&R faithful have been here for the whole trip will make it much better the next time we play football in January or hoops in April.

I have confidence that Painter will get the best out of the talent that he has, and it looks like he’s got some quality kids lined up for the future. The ladies have been quietly building top caliber programs in Volleyball and Golf. The football program is broken and fading – it’s time to start fixing it.

I’ll close by saying this – I’m glad there wasn’t a rabid blog/comment community deconstructing every move I made when I was a college student. I have written some pretty nasty comments here myself when my blood was up – it’s very theraputic and I often feel better after. However, rereading them a couple of times makes me more likely to hit the Cancel button than Post.

Support your Boilers. Demand excellence. I don’t consider these to be mutually exclusive.

Boiler UP!

Travis, I wish I were more like you in this respect. Your wife must cherish this optimism on the homefront. You make very salient comments as usual and I will try to hold onto these as the season progresses.

When a kid gets a full ride scholarship to a D-1 school, in the B1G, In Indiana the heart of basketball…I’m sorry, but man up and play some basketball. Make the lay ups, don’t get pushed around, play with some heart. I’m not personally attacking him, i’m attacking his talent and how overrated he obviously is. At least try, its pathetic watching TC try to play some ball. When you can go to the co-rec and find a better big man, there is something wrong.

It never is. My whole life I have been there for the highest highs and lowest lows, and I always come back for more because I love my Alma Mater and all it represents and I love what it means to all of us die hard Boilermakers. It’s never easy, which is why, when something does go well, it can be magical. Everything will be alright. BTFU

JJ had three rebounds in seven minutes.

E’Twaun had just 4 points on 2-6 shooting. One of those 6 was a shot that would have been the game winner. Instead, his miss was tipped in by Greg Stiemsma.

we’re not that far off from being an 11-1 ranked team right now

We’re even closer to being 7-5.

Here’s to hoping Chooch and Lawson stay out of foul trouble from now on.

Considering who we lost, and the recruiting classes for the last 3 years, I’m satisfied with what I’ve seen so far. I always think we will win every game, and am always disappointed when we do not. It hurts even more when we have a good lead and let it slip away. Considering how little Hummel, Jackson, and Johnson have practiced during the week, running out of gas is understood. I am still confident we make the tournament and hope that Rob, Ryne and LewJack go out on a high note. I am also very optimistic about our future. If we can have no more lulls in recruiting, we should be fine down the road. Lawson is going to be a beast. Does everyone remember how JJ played as a freshman? Watching him then, you could have never convinced me we would be hanging his number from the rafters. We shouldn’t be personally attacking these kids either, no matter how bad they are playing. You don’t think he knows how disappointed everyone is with him? I am starting to feel bad for the kid, he looks like he has no confidence at all.

After getting spanked by Brees and the Saints, the Viking mascot invites Drew to drink some mead.

Sometimes players deserve our criticism. If they deserve our praise when they do well, they also deserve our criticism when they do not perform up to par (especially if they are on scholarship). These kids get treated like royalty on campus. They have to perform. On a mostly unrelated note, I think that if you can’t shoot 70% from FT you should forfeit your scholarship. There is no excuse for that.

Just to tack on to what Travis said, a lot of people have been bashing CMP as of late, which is just ridiculous. People have even gone so far as to imply we would have been better off had he gone to Mizzou, which might be the most insane thought ever vocalized on this blog. Anyone even thinking such a thing should step back and think about where we would be without him. Remember what Keady left behind, and just imagine how bad this program could have become. Instead, we’ve seen our Boilers ranked in the top 5 in the last few years, tournament appearances every year, and a perennial big ten title contender.

On the subject of bashing our beloved Boilers, I know I’m as guilty as any, though I try to refrain from bashing individuals. Like many of you I’m sure I was fuming for several hours after the Butler game, and still talking about it Sunday. I suppose these losses come with the territory of being a Purdue fan. It just seems like all of our teams find the most gut-wrenching ways to lose imaginable. We either get blown out, or get our hearts torn out. Games like Alabama where we get beat by a medium margin are an abberation, if we must lose I wish they would do it like that more often, it’s much easier to swallow.

As for this season, we’ll just see what happens. We’ve seen enough brilliance to know that these Boilers could legitimately contend in the B1G this year. On the other hand we’ve also seen enough to know that 8th or 9th place is possible. I hope Painter can use these losses as a teaching and motivational tool much like the Wofford loss, and this team can start closing out some games.

Who gives a shit about volleyball?

Would you rather struggle in the beginning of the season and play your best basketball in March/April or excel in December/January and slump into the tournament (aka the last 2 seasons)?

There is no worse feeling then watching your team lose 2 double digit leads (and having IU fans on-hand for one of them) but we still have the whole big ten season to put it together.

long way to go yet