Purdue is About to Make You Rich
That's right, if you have $10,000 lying around, you could be a millionaire in December, if you follow my foolproof plan: Bet on the Boilers.
EsPN just posted the Vegas odds for whom might win the B1G title in American football...and our Boilers are in dead last with the longest odds (100:1). Sadly, I don't think they're just putting out a big number to lure folks into betting...I think it's pretty accurate.
Our football Boilers have a ton to prove this fall...and a tough schedule to boot.
With no clear cut starting QB, a few recent defections (Etling and Carvajal), hardly any experience at RB or TE, a thin WR corps, and holes all over a defense that had trouble stopping both the run and the pass in 2014, can you blame the odds makers for saying, "Show me." Hell, I've been a Purdue fan for my entire life and can't remember a time in which I had less faith in my Boilers heading into summer.
I still love Appleby's potential...and behind him, Blough and Sindelar could eventually be exciting to watch...not to mention Markell Jones in a year or two...and that offensive line might have two NFL players on it in a year. But my guy, Coach Hazell, and his guys, the offensive and defensive coordinators, have done nothing to instill faith or encourage optimism.
It seems they've been stubborn for the sake of being stubborn...especially on offensive play calling. John Shoop, who I defended and thought deserved at least a bit of patience, has looked like he doesn't belong coaching Indiana State (let alone Purdue...or God forbid an NFL offense).
Maybe I'm mad at myself for asking for a wait-and-see attitude for the coordinators in the name of fairness, or being so excited about the Hazell hire when it happened...whatever the reason, I can't say I have anything good to say about Purdue football right now.
Recruiting has been consistently uninspired and player development has been non-existant (for the most part) spanning two coaching tenures...so I don't know where to look for optimism.
There's a 'Football Summit' with ex-Boiler players including Drew Brees in San Diego this week...Mitch Daniels, Morgan Burke and current football staff will all be there to present big plans as well as listen to what former players think is needed for improvement of the beleaguered, if not left-for-dead football program.
It seems like this Summit is a few years too late and the Master Plan for Ross Ade, Mollenkopf and the football offices is a pipe dream. Anything involving the football program that asks for more money, multi-year contracts from ticket buyers and higher fees is wrong-minded. Morgan and co. might want to refer to Jim Colletto's cemetery from the 90s as inspiration for what to do with Burke's Cookout zone- They could make a graveyard for our hopes and dreams of the this football program...and plant some headstones for our dying and fading memories of when Purdue flirted 8 or 9 win seasons. Sure a bunch of epitaphs in stone in the end zone would be morbid...but so is talking about my Boilers' football program each fall, anymore.
Winning and more winning is all that will cure the ails of this program. If anyone at the summit says anything but that, they're lying. I have a few pals that played football for Purdue, and they might be more down on the program than I am right now. Kelly Kitchell and Pete Quinn have stayed positive...but I think that's the list. Granted, they're indirectly paid by our alma mater...so you can't blame them.
To paraphrase a point of levity in 'Saving Private Ryan', "Purdue football is kaput!"
That's disconcerting.
So would it behoove you to throw down a few Washingtons at your local sports book for our Boilers?? In a word, no.
You might be better suited feeding those dollars to your neighbor's dog and waiting by its South end in hopes that it'll produce a diamond in the next day. Who knows? Maybe his diet doesn't have enough fiber and you'll get lucky.
Will I be in Ross-Ade to support my Boilers this fall? Sure, I'll be there a few times. I'll take LBD and we'll probably have a good afternoon in spite of what's happening on the field as we have over and over the past few years. For some reason (probably a combination of brainwashing and coercion) he still likes going to God's country with his Pop on Saturdays in the fall.
I can remember some fun football back in the early 80s, then the late Burtnett years, and finally the dark days of the Akers seasons and thereafter for our Boilers...my Dad took me to some of those games (many we just walked into the stadium in the second half as no one was at the gate). It sucked back then.
The era we're in right now is worse.
If Morgan or Mitch wants to know about what we all think about the Masterplan and how die-hards want to spend their money- I'll give him some insight into the mindset of the 30 and 40 somethings in my circle: Hardly anyone wants to throw money into this black hole right now...attendance shows that, souvenir and apparel sales show that. We're all craving a winner, something to look forward to, something to force us to purchase season tickets...and we don't see anything remotely close to that coming down the painted tracks at Ross-Ade.
I've said it before, I'm angry at myself for feeling this way...but this decade-long funk doesn't seem like it's leaving anytime soon.
I've been wrong before, hope I'm proven wrong this fall, yet again. I don't see my Boilers can winning more than 4 games.
In Vegas, the house always wins. At Ross-Ade, the visiting team almost always wins.
