Every year prior to the first kickoff, the pre-season luncheon occurs...and I know we're getting close to the official beginning of the season.
No, no, I'm not talking about some stuffy banquet-style lunch with a bunch of finely-tuned athletes and a few well-respected alums and fans...I'm talking about the bi-yearly LJS tradition.
A few pals of mine and I have been taking a deep-fried adventure just prior to football season and right before the NCAA playoffs for a few years now...Both get me greased up in anticipation of what's coming.
I'm told the Purdue football team will be having their version of the LJS Luncheon in the Union tomorrow...it'll probably be OK, but I bet they don't get chicken planks and fish filets.
Actually, one of my fondest childhood Purdue memories was in the early/mid-80s- My Dad busted my brothers and I out of school so we could go to the yearly event in West Lafayette. We got to meet Jim Everett, Rod Woodson, Ray Wallace...and while walking down the hall in the union, some skinny Frosh DB came up to us and said- "You want my autograph?" We obliged, not having any clue who the guy was. Turns out, he'd later become All Big Ten...and eventually a multi-year Pro Bowler. Chris Dishman was his name...I'm positive there's a Dishman (or two) on this year's roster...there's gotta be.
Much of last-year's recruiting class wasn't hyped by the recruiting virtual-rags...but all met a need, according to Hope. I see a few of Purdue's virtual-unknowns doing some big things...based on hunches.
Kevin Pamphile and Josh Johnson are my two picks of this class to surprise a lot of people by the time they leave West Lafayette...While I probably won't be right, it's fun to guess.
So kids, tomorrow when you go to the event, don't forget to get Najee Tyler's autograph as you pursue Robert Marves...cause you never know what's going to happen. That's what makes sport so great.