Growing up, I was a Purdue fan. And that's a cardinal sin in Hoosier Nation.
This is my bulletin board in my bedroom. There is still a Purdue Boilermakers poster tacked to it. Right now.
Granted, it's the women's team and it's from 1999 (wow, I feel old now) -- but that just shows how deep it went. And the sad thing is, there is more Purdue memorabilia in my childhood bedroom. Basketballs, photos, you name it. I've also crossed enemy lines and gone to Mackey Arena. It was that 1999 Purdue women's basketball team that made me fall in love with the college game. I was 10 years old and daydreaming about playing for them one day. When I was shooting around on the driveway, I was pretending to be on their team. I'm pretty sure I even wrote stories about it (yes, I have always been a nerd) in beat up notebooks in terrible elementary school handwriting. I even went to West Lafayette for basketball camp one summer and stayed on campus. Like any dreamer, I thought for sure I would grow up and get a basketball scholarship to Purdue (if only I'd been about 5 inches taller...). Just this past year, I went to a WNBA game to see my favorite player -- a Boilermaker. Sometimes as I sit in my apartment in Bloomington wearing an IU sweatshirt with Purdue basketball shorts, I have to laugh at what a walking contradiction I am when it comes to my loyalty. And how funny life works out sometime. But I wouldn't have it any other way! While I might be a Hoosier now, the Boilermakers will always have a special place in my heart. So if you ever see me out on a run in Bloomington in an old Boilermaker basketball shirt -- don't yell at me!
Now that I've aired that dirty laundry, it's time for the Hoosier to do work! Let's get that 6th banner!
