What Happened to this Game?

First appeared on February 25th,
in The Lebanon Reporter

Far be it from us to wax poetic about the golden days of the Indiana-Purdue rivalry but after watching Saturday’s latest version, like a size 12 Timberland rocketed off our forehead by a member of the Iraqi press, we were brutally reminded this isn’t 1989. Hoosier fans knew going in beating Purdue was going to be a mighty hill to climb and, even though blind climbers have summited Everest in the past, Hoosier fans (those realistic ones who have been through enough therapy to accept the fact that Bobby is never coming back) also knew it would be a hill left to be climbed another day.
After watching Purdue Saturday one has to wonder if head coach Matt Painter didn’t recruit his current team with some former Boilers in mind. Chris Kramer’s guts and orthopedic faceguard are hauntingly reminiscent of Brian Cardinal’s knee pads and annoying, gnat like ability at being a complete distraction to anyone who enjoys fluid basketball. E’Twuan Moore was especially sharp in the Boiler win and his knack for scoring from all over the floor reminded us of a smoother hybrid between Troy Lewis and Woody Austin. Purdue has been pleasantly surprised by JaJuan Johnson’s development this year and we were impressed enough to classify his game as being half Mel McCants and half Steven Scheffler; the major difference being Johnson’s ability to make lay ups on a consistent basis of course.
Based upon previous experience, it appeared to be a semi- warm welcome the crowd gave Hoosier coach Tom Crean on his first visit to Mackey Saturday. And perhaps, like the dog catcher who doesn’t have the heart to pick up the mange-riddled blind dog with three legs, the Paint Crew may have even been sending a little sympathetic love coach Crean’s way. After all, who couldn’t feel sorry for these guys? You’ve got to give them credit for saddling up this season and trying their best to ride their way out of a basketball wasteland left poisoned and lifeless by the atomic bomb that was Kelvin Sampson.
Don’t let them fool you Tom. The first time you come back with a ranked team these Boiler fans will show you what this rivalry is really about. The Paint crew that looked the other way Saturday while Kramer and Company handled your young Hoosiers will do everything but ride you out of town on a rail. It’s best now to understand-THEY are the enemy. Don’t let them fool you Tom, for they are merely kryptonite wrapped in black and gold packaging.
While the difference between the two teams on the scoreboard Saturday was noticeable, and on paper the difference is night and day, somehow the Hoosiers and Boilers really aren’t that different at all. Both play hard nosed basketball. Both pride themselves on hustle and doing the things most big-time college players dread; you know like taking charges, diving for loose balls and playing defense for 40 minutes.
With another not-quite-ever-in-doubt installment of this rivalry in the books, we are filled with the hope that someday soon the status of this game will return to what it once was. Someday soon perhaps it will once again be a legitimate match up instead of resembling something on the level of Evander Holyfield versus the 87 year old greeter at Wal-Mart. Someday soon perhaps we will return to the days when water coolers and lunch tables across the state squawked with the incessant chanting of “How many national championships do you have?” and “Who leads the all time series?”. Questions both parties can answer with great clarity.