#4Purdue/Alabama 73-65!

Okay, so this past weekend I was like a kid in a candy store! Being in the south, you really start to miss all your hometown favorites, like Big Ten sports because for some reason, southerners only think there is one conference in the U.S. and that of course is the SEC. Now, I have to admit, I have become an SEC fan especially when Alabama beat Florida and seeing Tebow cry at the loss, was sweet! But there is just something comforting about being around fans that you grew up with. I drove three hours to Tuscaloosa, Alabama (yes, only my second trip to Alabama) to see the Purdue Boilermakers take on Alabama. And what was even sweeter was that we could maybe burst Alabama's overinflated heads after winning the SEC Championship. The Atlanta Purdue Alumni Association had a huge group of fans heading over. I got into the lobby of the hotel, and there they were, the Purdue banner, flags, fans dressed in their t-shirts, jerseys and the Purdue fight song playing in the background. I quickly checked in, headed to my room and changed. A meet and greet was around 4:30. It was a great event. Eventually, one by one the players started coming down from their rooms for a team meeting and there I was, autograph ball in hand (and juggling a drink) for all the players to sign (a christmas gift for Christopher). I got all the starters and Coach Painter. It was so great to be there, to cheer them all on!

Coach Keady (love Coach) was also there who said he remembered me from working at the John Purdue Club back in the 90's. I also had a chance to talk to Larry Clisby whom I hadn't seen in probably 20+ years. I worked with Clis back in the 80's at TV18 when Chris was only about 6 years old! Crazy how time flies!

The entire game was nailbiting as we were down by 16 points. We couldn't let no-ranked Alabama beat us. But late in the 4th quarter, Chris Kramer came out of nowhere with two steals to turn the game around - the fans went crazy. We ended up beating Alabama, 73-65.

We then headed back to the hotel for post-celebratory drinks (but of course)!

It was a good weekend!