Memo to Purdue Football Fans George Streeter

Listen Purdue fans: I know you are probably still bitter and bent out of shape after last week’s debacle against the Buckeyes so I don’t want to pour salt in the wounds. I’m actually trying to do you a favor here.  I want to help you recognize your deficiencies so you can stop getting fired up every year after you start 1, 2, 3, 4-0, and then get let down as soon as you get pummeled by the first good team you play.  Let’s face it: on October 6th you were once again exposed as the fraud you are.  You may have been ranked in the top 25, but that doesn’t make you a legit football program. You have never been a legit program and I don’t think you ever can be. You are merely a blip on the college football radar screen.  I’ve got a few pieces of advice that I hope will help you come to terms with reality:

1)   Accept who you are and be content with it. You are a middle-of-the-road Big Ten team.  You are not Michigan, you are not Ohio State, and you are not Penn State.  You are Purdue.  You are a 6-8 win team that goes to the Alamo or Sun Bowl every year.  If you are confused as to whether or not you are a big-time program, there is one simple way to tell: look at who your biggest rivals are.  Notre Dame’s rivals are USC and Michigan.  Michigan’s rivals are ND and Ohio State.  Oklahoma’s rivals are Texas and Nebraska. Purdue’s rival is IU.  'Nuff said.

2)  Wins can be deceiving. I know you may enjoy watching your Boilers beat up on such powerhouses as Eastern Illinois, Central Michigan, and Indiana Sate, but no one else is impressed.  An 8-4 record may look nice, but when half of those wins come against teams from the MAC and the D-1AA level it doesn’t mean that much.  I know you play a full Big Ten schedule (which isn’t saying much these days) and you play in-state rival Notre Dame every year (which also isn’t saying much these days), but that doesn’t mean you are forbidden from playing any other teams from BCS conferences.  If you want to make some noise on the national level, and gain some respect then you need to improve your schedule.  Big-boy programs play big-boy schedules.

3) Joe Tiller is a pretty good coach and he’s as good as you’re going to get. It never ceases to amaze me when I hear Boiler fans complain about Joe Tiller.  Do you remember what your football program was before he showed up?  You were a bottom-feeder in the Big Ten and a national laughingstock.  If you can’t see the obvious improvement, you’re blind.  College football is about two things: coaching and talent.  You’ve got a decent coach but you will never have enough talent to win.  You cannot recruit with the likes of Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Michigan.  Be happy with your two and three-star recruits and do the best you can.

Purdue football kind of reminds me of that Junior High bully who makes life a living Hell for the smaller kids.  We all know that guy; every kid grew up with a bully.  Eventually, that bully runs into someone bigger and stronger than him who really puts him in his place.  That’s how it always works in life and that’s how Purdue football works.  Sure, you can pick on the Toledos of the world for awhile, but you eventually show your true colors against the Ohio States and Michigans.  So, “Boiler Up!” Purdue fans, “Boiler Up!” indeed.  But next time you get spanked by a real team…….don’t say you didn’t see it coming.

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