....First of all I'd like to thank all those who responded with ideas on how to spend our first gameday at Purdue. Here are my take aways from the atmosphere and the game:
First off, we absolutely loved the campus. From the little of it we were able to explore (mainly the areas along State Street and NW Avenue) reminded us of what a college campus should be. Huge walkways, wide open spaces, great mixture of old and newer buildings, and shops, stores unique to the Purdue campus, and tons of hidden gems like sculptures and other points of interest. If it weren't for the itinerary we had to follow I could easily see myself just walking the campus for a few hours taking it all in. It is a very far cry from the more urban campus at Ohio State which is bordered on the North, South, and East by the outskirts of Columbus and has much more of a city feel to it. It was homecoming weekend so I'm not sure if it's always like this but there was a great energy. It wasn't an arrogant energy, or an aggressive 'We're going to kick the s*it out of FAU' kind of energy. I can only really describe it as a huge amount of people with a genuine love and connection to the University and a student body with all the youthful exuberance you'd expect with a strong dose of respect for the honor of attending Purdue. I could not have asked for a better pre-game atmosphere for my son to witness. He's only 11 so there is a long time before he graduates high school, but his interest in Purdue is now off the charts.
The stadium atmosphere filled me with nostalgia. It was very similar to the atmosphere at Ohio Stadium during the early to mid 1990's when I was there. I loved the crowd interaction and engagement, and all those quirky things that make college football great. I miss that. At OSU, the demand for perfection and success has made the atmosphere less like a college game and very much like a professional game. The trappings of success have ruined the college atmosphere in C-Bus and I haven't been to a game there in about 10 years due to the ridiculous cost and dearth of available tickets, but also the propensity of the 'fans' to turn on the Buckeyes the second things don't go well. I could have used a bit less of the 3rd down piped in noise and announcer schtick, but really, that wasn't a huge drawback. As a former member of the Ohio State Marching Band, give me a strong dose of the All-American Band over the piped in stuff any day!
At any rate, for now my son is all about Purdue and if he continues to excel academically, I would be thrilled to give thousands upon thousands of dollars for him to go there. If his Purdue fascination happens to wane, I will still root for the Boilermakers against whomever they play (except for OSU) and especially against that team from ann arbor. Please beat them so badly their extended families develop a limp.
First off, we absolutely loved the campus. From the little of it we were able to explore (mainly the areas along State Street and NW Avenue) reminded us of what a college campus should be. Huge walkways, wide open spaces, great mixture of old and newer buildings, and shops, stores unique to the Purdue campus, and tons of hidden gems like sculptures and other points of interest. If it weren't for the itinerary we had to follow I could easily see myself just walking the campus for a few hours taking it all in. It is a very far cry from the more urban campus at Ohio State which is bordered on the North, South, and East by the outskirts of Columbus and has much more of a city feel to it. It was homecoming weekend so I'm not sure if it's always like this but there was a great energy. It wasn't an arrogant energy, or an aggressive 'We're going to kick the s*it out of FAU' kind of energy. I can only really describe it as a huge amount of people with a genuine love and connection to the University and a student body with all the youthful exuberance you'd expect with a strong dose of respect for the honor of attending Purdue. I could not have asked for a better pre-game atmosphere for my son to witness. He's only 11 so there is a long time before he graduates high school, but his interest in Purdue is now off the charts.
The stadium atmosphere filled me with nostalgia. It was very similar to the atmosphere at Ohio Stadium during the early to mid 1990's when I was there. I loved the crowd interaction and engagement, and all those quirky things that make college football great. I miss that. At OSU, the demand for perfection and success has made the atmosphere less like a college game and very much like a professional game. The trappings of success have ruined the college atmosphere in C-Bus and I haven't been to a game there in about 10 years due to the ridiculous cost and dearth of available tickets, but also the propensity of the 'fans' to turn on the Buckeyes the second things don't go well. I could have used a bit less of the 3rd down piped in noise and announcer schtick, but really, that wasn't a huge drawback. As a former member of the Ohio State Marching Band, give me a strong dose of the All-American Band over the piped in stuff any day!
At any rate, for now my son is all about Purdue and if he continues to excel academically, I would be thrilled to give thousands upon thousands of dollars for him to go there. If his Purdue fascination happens to wane, I will still root for the Boilermakers against whomever they play (except for OSU) and especially against that team from ann arbor. Please beat them so badly their extended families develop a limp.