OK, first off, apologies to railing purists … we know Conrail never had steam locos or a need for Boilermakers. It just fits better with the line on those Irish T-shirts.
And Notre Dame does loom over our Sept. 22 showdown, because, although Boston College and Purdue never met before, both teams boast traditions for being big Spoilermakers against the Irish. Except, of course, our rivalry with the South Benders goes much farther back than [cough, cough] 1975. Try 1896.
Boston College likes to refer to its two-dozen-game series with Notre Dame as the Holy War. That’s because they’re the only two Catholic schools playing big-time football. Well, at least the Irish are. The Eaglettes play teams like Holy Cross. Holy Cow.
Besides, when it comes to Catholics, Purdue has more than either school. Just ask St. Tom’s, home to Mass on the Grass. Even our Indy rallies are presided over by Father Phil, who used to bless kegs. Meanwhile BC has barely 9,000 undergrads all together, including atheists, while the Irish now think of the Atlantic Coast Conference as the source of their Holy Water.
As for famous alums, we’ve not walked on water, but we did walk on the moon. First and last. We produced the best coach ever and the best popcorn. [OK, the second-best Coach ever.] We built Hoover Dam and the Golden Gate. We invented fiberglass, barcodes and Stove-Top Stuffing.
And we crank out quarterbacks who win Super Bowls and collectively lead the NFL over all other schools for all-time wins, passing touchdowns and yardage. Dawson, Griese, Phipps, Danielson, Herrmann, Everett, Brees … BC has some guy named Matty, whose leading receiver would be Ricardo Allen if they weren’t teammates.
So, bring it on, Eaglettes. Welcome to our homecoming, where even our band goes crazy. And we sure ain’t Holy Cross or UMass or Weak Forest. Those Deacons last week wore black and gold, too, but our guys leave you black and blue.
And Notre Dame does loom over our Sept. 22 showdown, because, although Boston College and Purdue never met before, both teams boast traditions for being big Spoilermakers against the Irish. Except, of course, our rivalry with the South Benders goes much farther back than [cough, cough] 1975. Try 1896.
Boston College likes to refer to its two-dozen-game series with Notre Dame as the Holy War. That’s because they’re the only two Catholic schools playing big-time football. Well, at least the Irish are. The Eaglettes play teams like Holy Cross. Holy Cow.
Besides, when it comes to Catholics, Purdue has more than either school. Just ask St. Tom’s, home to Mass on the Grass. Even our Indy rallies are presided over by Father Phil, who used to bless kegs. Meanwhile BC has barely 9,000 undergrads all together, including atheists, while the Irish now think of the Atlantic Coast Conference as the source of their Holy Water.
As for famous alums, we’ve not walked on water, but we did walk on the moon. First and last. We produced the best coach ever and the best popcorn. [OK, the second-best Coach ever.] We built Hoover Dam and the Golden Gate. We invented fiberglass, barcodes and Stove-Top Stuffing.
And we crank out quarterbacks who win Super Bowls and collectively lead the NFL over all other schools for all-time wins, passing touchdowns and yardage. Dawson, Griese, Phipps, Danielson, Herrmann, Everett, Brees … BC has some guy named Matty, whose leading receiver would be Ricardo Allen if they weren’t teammates.
So, bring it on, Eaglettes. Welcome to our homecoming, where even our band goes crazy. And we sure ain’t Holy Cross or UMass or Weak Forest. Those Deacons last week wore black and gold, too, but our guys leave you black and blue.
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