Crossroads Classic: Tales of Eight Fans

These stories are good for some reasons, bad for others...They are funny for some reasons, sad for others. I'll let you deduce the way you think about them.

What I can tell you is they're all true...and they're a quick read.

Trustworthy?

Scenario 1:
Two IU fans headed to downtown Indy, from outside the state, to see their Hoosiers lose to play Butler, but didn't have any tickets.  They sought out some good seats from scalpers as there were scalped tickets available.

They found two tickets down low for $400 each, and took the crook fine gentleman up on his offer.

They were surprised when they got to the ticket scanner and found out that they had bought counterfeit tickets and were denied entry.

They drowned their sorrows, both from the loss of the game and the loss of $800, in red wine and steaks at Shula's Steakhouse in the Westin.

Scenario 2:
Two IU fans headed to downtown Indy, from Carmel, to see their Hoosiers lose to play Butler, but didn't have any tickets.  They sought out some scalped tickets as there were a ton of vendors out and around Bankers Life Arena.  The cheapest tickets they found were $150 each.

They decided to watch the game a few blocks away in the comfort of Harry & Izzy's while eating delicious steaks, shrimp cocktail and on draught beer.

They didn't need to go through the hassle of leaving the arena to reverse their jackets or take off their Hoosier sweatshirts to reveal their UND t-shirts beneath.

Two down low

Scenario 3:
Two Purdue alums met in downtown Indy.  One coming from just outside of Indy via car, the other from the Southwest via plane.

They enjoyed a meal at Harry & Izzy's before the game while watching crappy bowl games and the first half of the IU loss to Butler.

They headed a few blocks East to the arena, didn't have to fight the crowd (as there were 12 minutes left in the first game of the double-header), used their tickets that had been purchased through Purdue...and enjoyed watching IU lose to Butler before being disappointed in the double-digit loss by their Boilers to Mike Brey's maroon mock turtleneck.

Scenario 4:
Two Purdue fans, one an alum (Dad), a second a current student (son), went to downtown Indy to take in the Crossroads Classic.  Like a few of the fans above, they found scalped tickets were simply too expensive to swallow as bandwagon IU fans die hard IU fans had driven the price through the roof.

Instead of calling it a day and heading to a nearby bar or restaurant, they broke the law used good ole-fashioned American ingenuity.  They hid in the crowd...got past the security...got past the ticket-takers...and enjoyed both games in the double header from the lower arena while paying $0 for their seats.

With their savings, they drank countless $45 beers from vendors within the arena...and probably ended up behind on the deal.


I'll let you guess which pair of fans included yours truly.

Raphael Davis Show Comes Up Short in Indy

Raphael Davis led the Boilers with a game high (and career high, for that matter) 21 points in just 18 minutes...but the 23 point deficit that he and the Boilers had dug proved to be too much to overcome.

Frustrated.

In shockingly-familiar fashion, Purdue went nine and one-half minutes with just one bucket to start the second half.  But a few minutes after one of Matty's rare technical fouls, Purdue began running and Davis started scoring...in bunches. In one stretch he scored on five-straight Purdue possessions...and had about 2/3 of Purdue's offensive output in the second half.  He drove into the teeth of UND's bigs, hit jumpers AND hit free throws.  Maybe more important that that, he played with a ton of energy and was the perfect compliment to Ronnie Johnson's up-tempo style.  Purdue has no option but playing the faster pace, in my opinion...and they showed their collective inability to shoot, yet again.  And if you can't shoot, you gotta drive...and you can't let defenses set up.

You know it's a lousy season when a 13 point lends some excitement...but there's been so little to cheer for this season, just an interesting second half versus an OK opponent is a soothing salve.

This team is still struggling to find continuity and an identity outside of having a pitiful offense and inconsistent defense...so the hustle plays that we saw flashes of this afternoon in the first half, and the high energy offense that was on display for about six minutes in the second half could prove to be a turning point of sorts. Will they lead Purdue to the post-season? I doubt it...but they might help our Boilers find their way to what's coming next season.

This is a pretty bitter pill for a guy like Byrd to be forced to swallow...but after two games that will help Purdue claw its way back to .500, they'll be rudely welcomed into conference play by three-straight ranked opponents; two of them in the top-10.

Not only is Purdue more down than they've been in the last seven seasons, but the B1G seems to be better, top-to-bottom than it's been in nearly 20 years.  In order for Purdue to complete, let-alone be above the lower third of the conference, they'll need Davis...or somebody to play huge nearly every night.

Byrd played a solid game, scoring 13, pulling down five and stealing the ball three times. RonJohn had 15 points and three assists and Hammons struggled against UND's bigs, but finished with seven points and four rebounds.  But AJ wasn't the only one who struggled against UND's defense- Purdue turned the ball over 15 times and had five shots blocked. Our Boilers also struggled rebounding the ball for only the second time in the season. BUT, they hit their free throws; 74% of them...that could be a big deal, if they continue to do that.

Now, I hope I'm wrong, and this team gels and figures a lot out versus the next two opponents...But if I was a betting man, which I'm not, I wouldn't be betting on Matty's boys playing into the third week of March.  Hope I'm wrong...and if I am, I'll gladly admit it on this very site.

A bit more salve...
I got to watch the game with my pal Ed who came all the way from Tejas to see his Boilers play in today's contest...that was fun, but the highlight of our afternoon was probably watching IU lose to Butler.

We've said it before, this IU team is awfully good.  They've got slashers, shooters and the best center in the nation.  BUT, Tom Crean's in-game nervousness and inability to effectively use #40 knocks the Hoosiers down a rung or two.  Conversely, Butler's Stevens is a good witch who can take a handful of brass and make it shine like gold.  Butler plays hard all the time...and smart almost all of the time.  And while they don't have anywhere near the individual talent that IU has, he had a better team this afternoon in Indianapolis.

The atmosphere in Banker's Life was pretty damned electric for the upset as Purdue fans joined Butler fans to cheer against the forehead's squad.  This is why this event is superior to the old Wooden Classic- odds are, one or two of these four teams will probably be solid, if not better, each season...and everyone in the place loves their team, and hates at least one of the other three playing.

I'm already looking forward to next season's Crossroads Classic...but in the meantime, I'm excited to see these Boilers get better now.

Purdue, UND, Butler and IU Do Something Blatantly Logical

It's official. The four big-time hoops programs in Indiana (I'm sorry, the three big-time programs and the one national program) will actually all get together starting next year (yes, we know they wanted no part of Purdue this year) for the inaugural "Crossroads Classic" in Indianapolis. The name needs some work, but the upshot is that Purdue will play Butler and IU will play Notre Dame. The following year, the opponents will flip and Purdue will take on national powerhouse Notre Dame, while IU deals with Butler.

Man, what a brilliant idea!!

Seriously, we asked for this exact thing for the past couple of years and even specifically requested it be these four teams over the past year. Now, I'm not saying this is because of us, but, well, like EF Hutton (kids, ask your parents), when we talk......

Well, okay, nobody really listens. But we're married, we're used to it.

(Not to each other.)