T-Minus :5 minutes 'til airtime

It's Gameday in God's country. A band of buffoons have ascended upon Mackey for a long-overdue taping of the poor derivative of a football franchise that is pretty amazing. Sure, the basketball version isn't horrible, but it's pretty tough to replicate football Saturday in an arena. Plus, this crew has Digger...so they're destined for failure.

That said, I'm glad they're in West Lafayette because every little bit of pub The Forces of Good can get, the better off they should be come March. We've received a few photos of what's been happening on campus and here's a look (thanks to everyone, specifically our pal Devon, who's sent these...please send more! We really need some up close shots of Ms. Andrews, by the way.)

Purdue's admin (probably wisely) wouldn't let the students camp last night due to the cold. I'm usually not a proponent of regulation for things that generate spirit before a big game...But the sub-zero temps, ice-cold concrete, wide-open spaces and nothing but nylon shells for protection from the wind is a bad combo. All that said, keep up the great work, Paint Crew.

We've been asked if we'd be there in Mackey for the big event. Sadly, my tickets fell through for the game, so I'm not going to be on campus. But really, this day is for the students. The Gameday atmosphere is ultimately a showcase of painted faces and boundless energy that old guys like J can't sustain for hours at a time. I'm excited to see you guys relentlessly giving Digger Hell.

By the way, when I was in college, I never would have foreseen a situation in which I would have welcomed Bobby Knight into Mackey with open arms. But, once again, I think Knight is one of the true gems of EsPN's basketball coverage team.

Notes

-In case you haven't seen it, Purdue will have a Pro Combat uniform next football season:

I don't like everything about it, but I like that it's not completely goofy like many of the Pro Combat offerings. I'm not a big fan of the numbers, but I like the color tie-in with the current basketball unis...hopefully the names on the back will be gold outline too.

-We've heard the rumor for a while that Purdue has silver uniforms that they might wear for a big game this basketball season. But, I'm beginning to think these may go the way of the golds last season, and not see the light of day...If they're not unveiled today. Guess we'll see in 10 hours.