Growing up, I got a lot of the IU good, Purdue bad stuff - even believed it for a good long time - and eventually began to understand that notion as Indiana was inherently better than Purdue, with the only basis for the assertion being that we were fans of Indiana rather than Purdue, both my parents having gone to college at Indiana.
At some point along the line, my thinking on that idea changed - probably helped along by being friends with our man Scott, who at some point made me realize that just because I liked Indiana didn’t mean that Indiana was necessarily better than Purdue.
Once I could see around that, I slowly began to realize that it was - gasp! - okay to actually like Purdue. My liking Indiana had no bearing on how good a coach Gene Keady was; and conversely, my support of the Hoosiers doesn’t mean that a coach like Bob Knight gets off scott free. Bob Knight had far more success at Indiana, with respect to championships, than Gene Keady ever dreamed of having at Purdue - but Keady was much, much better at having success with significantly lesser talent.
And then...along came the Large Pooch. Everybody but Scott knows him better as the Big Dog - Glenn Robinson. He came around to Purdue as a Prop 48 phenom out of Gary, Indiana, in the early 90s, led the nation in scoring his sophomore year, and was the first pick in the Bone Thugs draft in 1994. He was a lot of fun to watch in college because he could play both forward positions and could score from anywhere on the floor. Rare is the guy who can bang in the post and stroke a pretty three. Robinson could do that.
I don’t recall exactly how my thinking about disliking my team’s rival evolved over the years, but the moment when I realized that I could actually like my team’s rival came on February 19, 1994 (believe it or not, I still have the ticket stub), when Indiana hosted Purdue at the Assembly Hall. Back then, you paid a reasonable sum of money for a claim ticket, then took that claim ticket to the Fieldhouse and got your six-pack of actual game tickets. I’m pretty sure that I did not have Purdue in my original six-pack, and I seem to recall that Ana let me have her ticket to that game, though how that came to pass now escapes me.
It was, hands down, the best IU game I ever went to. Indiana won - beating #9 Purdue 82-80 - but Glenn Robinson dropped 39 points on us from just about every spot on the floor. I love love love college basketball, and it was just incredible to see the Large Pooch rain points down like it was nothing. After the game, the group of us that went hung around while the place emptied, and the pep band kept playing and playing - and then the guy on the drum kit kicked into a good long solo, just for the hell of it. If memory serves, everyone else I was with just kept talking amongst themselves, but I just sort of pivoted in my chair and watched the guy flail away on his drums.
(Apropos of nothing, this was about a month before I saw the best concert of my life - Rush on the Counterparts tour at Market Square Arena. We had seats on the floor, nineteen rows from the stage, and those guys rocked it out that night - with Primus opening.)
I did have a period where I intensely disliked the Patriots, but the more I think about it, the more I realize that I was just transferring my frustrations with the Colts onto the team that they could never seem to beat in the playoffs. It just doesn’t matter to me that much anymore. What’s the point of my hating the Patriots? Is it going to make the Colts any better? Nope. Is it going to make the Colts play with any more fire in their eyes? Nope. It’s just going to cause me consternation, and I can do without that. If they beat New England, that’s great. If they don’t, well...Desmond and Molly will probably still be singing with the band, so let’s go get a beer, shall we?
2 comments:
I was at that show too. Almost straight back from the stage, but unlike some of the side seats, we could see really well.
My first Rush concert. Jay's too. If Debby from Hooters had let me know before then that she liked Rush, she woulda gone with me instead of that punk kid brother of mine.
Excellent post. I totally agree with you, obviously since I started you down the path of realization. I even remember that game, although I was watching it on TV. The best part was when G-Rob had a break away but instead of dunking he laid it in and then trotted backwards down the floor waving his hands up and down to get the crowd going, and, amazingly, it actually worked. IU fans were, somewhat against their will, cheering for the best player to grace that arena in many a year. But I digress.
You don't have to hate your teams rival. It makes for fun arguing and what not, but you and I both know that it's been a long while since we've hated Purdue, and I couldn't tell you that last time I watched a Packers or Cardinals game (both should be hated under the "hate rivals" plan) with hate in my heart.
That being said, I still hate the Patriots. However, it is for a few other reasons. Obviously, not only being the Colts rival, but also being the team that stopped some really good Colts seasons doesn't help. However, the biggest reasons are jealousy and the fact that I, like you know oh so well, just seem to despise the team that is A. winning and B. beloved by the media.
I don't know where the flip comes. I remember watching the Pats first Super Bowl win against the Rams in your folks living room and rooting oh so hard for AV to hit that miracle kick. I even rooted for them against the Eagles. I think that is because in those particular seasons, it was the Rams and Eagles that the ESPN-types decided could do no wrong.
Anyways, I hate New England the same way I hate Duke, the Yankees, the Shaq and Kobe Lakers, etc. They are amazingly talented and well built teams that will no doubt, at some point, end the season of the team I am rooting for.
I don't have to like a team to respect them, and I do respect the Pats. I just don't think I'll ever like them again. Well, until they play the Cowboys in the Super Bowl. I can't root for TO to win a ring.
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