Being a Boilermaker Hoops Fan Comes with a Dose of Pain... Or Pain Medication -
Or Just Maybe It's Like Riding a Roller Coaster?!
Full disclosure here - this blog was drafted after the FDU loss in 2023 and I had planned to drop it after the tournament ended, but I could never bring myself to finish and drop it... Dropping this one now so that the next one I drop makes even more sense.
OK - I just wanna puke for Paint... I just simply can't imagine how much pressure he feels to achieve what people 'think' he should achieve to validate his job (every stinking year!). He's becoming the Professor of Hoops in the Big Ten and beyond, yet there are always those (sic) fans out there seemingly calling for his head on platter as they don't think he measures up.
As a fan, alumni and someone who absolutely bleeds Gold & Black, I have admittedly become a bit un-hinged on social media with both our fans as well as rivals / opponents and maybe even players. Case in point - C. Boogie blocked me on Twitter several years back because I shared something negative directed at him - I am certain that I deserved it! Shame on me...
If you are reading this, heck you may have blocked me as well for being negative, aggressive or simply a bit over-the-top as a Purdue fan🤷♂️ I've been to more NCAA Tournament games than I care to count since I was a student dating back to 1988. That 1988 trip was to the Pontiac Silverdome for a Sweet 16 matchup with K-State and was a heartbreaker. All of these 'experiences' as a fan can all too easily become cumulative and begin to affect how we feel about our team, coaches, university and the entire establishment. This Boiler has begun to think that I need to start an extensive evaluation of not only how I truly 'feel' about my beloved alma mater and these teams I follow, cheer for and support. Maybe that time is right now, 2023 after yet another very painful loss that 'I as a fan am feeling'?!
Any of us who 'think' we:
- know better than Paint
- know how the players feel
- have the 'right' to be negative (add your favorite off-color adjective here...)
- should take to social media and 'share' these thoughts / feelings and rants publicly...
May need to hit the pause button here for a few and re-evaluate.
- The legendary Purdue Super fan Tyler Trent shared that Boilermakers are group of people who embody a sense of purpose, tenacity and resolve right?!
- So in the spirit of Tyler... Do you join in negative comments about 'your' team/program/coach?... Or
—
- Do you stand toe-to-toe and nose-nose with those who talk negative and appose...?
- I made a personal choice to take a 'vow of silence' on all things Boiler Hoops for the remainder of the month of March 2023... Why?! :
- It was about mental health and purging negative
- It allowed me to focus on what I should and not others opining's
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