I AM NOT an Indiana University sports fan. I never have been and thought I never would be.
But right now, like many other non-IU fans, I feel like I must root for the Hoosiers because how many times does an Indiana college have a football team this good with a coach this personable? At this point in the season, it’s about the state’s reputation and winning the Big Ten.
I’ve always loathed all things sports at IU, especially when it came to football and basketball. The great rivalry between Bobby Knight and Gene Keady during basketball season fueled the dislike. And Purdue fans were only occasionally worried about IU football … that is until now.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Bloomington: Kirkwood Avenue and Kilroy’s Sports Bar, The Bluebird, the limestone, the quarries. I spent many weekends in Bloomington with friends and always had a good time.
I lived in Bloomington with my first wife, a Purdue grad like me who worked as a pharmacist at the Bloomington hospital right after her graduation. We were married behind the 16th green in front of our rented condo at the The Golf Club at Eagle Pointe, and I commuted to downtown Indianapolis for work daily from there.
I am a journalist, so I’ve had the pleasure of working with many IU grads over the years and enjoyed every minute. We all know the reputation of The Media School and the Indiana Daily Student newspaper and the quality work from fine journalists that Indiana continues to produce.
There were only nine days a year when tensions among my colleagues would be heightened, and those included the day before a Purdue vs. IU game, the day of the game, and the day after. Depending on the results, it was either a joy to go to work or a day of impending doom.
But this season is different. IU football coach Curt Cignetti and university leadership have positioned the program in a very favorable, nearly unfathomable position of success. Nobody could have predicted the turnaround that has occurred in the last three years. But here we are as the Hoosiers defeated the mighty Ohio State Buckeyes for the first time in the last 30 meetings for the Big Ten, coming out as the No. 1 seed and favorite to win the College Football Championship.
So how can I root against the Hoosiers, a team I have opposed for the past 45 years? I used to say that I am a fan of Purdue and whomever plays IU. I love watching the basketball team lose. The football team was so bad for so long we all became numb to its ineffective play week after week.
With this Cignetti team, I’ve found I’m not a purist anymore. Maybe it’s my age of enlightenment that allows me to find common ground to put away my past hostilities to cheer for the Hoosiers.
This action doesn’t set a precedent for me. I grew up in Ohio and spent my youth as a Buckeyes fan in the days of Woody Hayes, Rex Kern, John Brockington, Archie Griffin, and the like. But when I attended Purdue, that allegiance fell by the wayside and I was—and still am—all in for Purdue. I always allowed myself to secretly cheer for the Bucks in big game situations but never against the Boilers.
I fully expect IU to win the Rose Bowl because that’s what Cignetti teams do—they just win. Instead of treating this team as the enemy, I’m going to enjoy this ride and flip the switch from anguish to joy as I watch the upcoming playoffs. But don’t expect me to buy IU gear or wear red. That is taking it too far.
