Before I get this post going, I just wanted to direct you all to a really quick and dirty episode of Rhino and Compass Radio. Ran behind, was terribly flustered. Not the best, but I hope you will still consume and enjoy it.
Tonight is one of the biggest nights on the Big Ten basketball schedule. Well, it is for fans in Indiana, anyways, as Purdue and Indiana square off in an in-state rivalry that is one of the most vitriolic I have ever been a part of.
Nationally, IU is the higher profile program, having won 5 national titles, while more locally, the Boilers are the top team, with 2 more Big Ten crowns and a bushel more head to head victories. The Hoosiers have the more talented roster this year, but this is the kind of rivalry where either team could pull out a win. Purdue is going to be particularly tough since they are at home in West Lafayette.
And this is the kind of game that players also care about the rivalry. A lot of the rosters for both teams are from Indiana, or are from nearby in Chicago or Ohio and have grown up with the same passions felt by the other students and alumni. I am definitely a fan of multiple teams and really want to see them win, but there aren’t many games where I am just as concerned with Indiana losing.
In short, Purdue Indiana is a great riva— Wait, what’s that NBC Sports?
Oh…. The Wild are playing a rivalry game tonight? Is it against the Canucks? No? The Oilers? No? The Avalanche? No? The Stars? No? The Jets? No? Well, I‘ve guessed 1/6th of the league, I’m stumped. The Blackhawks? If they are a rival of the Wild, then they don’t even make the top 6.
I mean, I’ll still watch some of the Wild game, I guess, but the Boilermakers-Hoosiers game will be a lot more meaningful. You know, because it’s a rivalry.
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