Tonight marks an exciting night for Purdue Basketball! It is our first time in the NCAA tournament since 2012, and I had to do all that I could to support my Boilers! In order to not draw attention to myself, I dressed in University of Florida colors (Orange and Blue). I have an orange Boiler Gold Rush shirt and blue Under-Armor shorts, which made me look like a Gator fan. But little did students know, there was a huge Boilermaker Special printed on the back of my shirt, which would be covered by my backpack. I had this planned since the beginning of the week, and I couldn’t have been more excited to share my Boilermaker spirit discreetly on campus.
On our way to campus, Sydney picked some fruit that I have never seen before – a Loquat. It is a southern-China fruit that is also known as a “Japanese Plum”. I guess they can also grow in the southern United States.
Afterwards, Meghan, Sydney, and I headed to the place where a bunch of Florida students take pictures at – the stadium. In a series of poses, we expressed our “love” for the Boilers.
I spent the rest of my day in the ACM office getting caught up on some school work, since I was sore from walking the previous day. I was also pumped to watch my team play in the tournament, so I had blocked some time to get dinner in the evening.
At tip-off time, Meghan and I headed to Mother’s Bar and Grill, a popular sports pub in Downtown Gainesville. All of the March Madness games were going on… except for the Purdue game that tipped off. We asked our waitress if there was any way to switch to the Purdue game, and she was very willing to help us out. They turned off the Villanova game in favor of the Purdue game, to which Meghan and I were the only ones watching.
On the screen to the left of us was Harvard taking on UNC. Both games came down to the wire, as Purdue’s went into overtime, and Harvard was coming close to upsetting UNC. Unfortunately, both teams I was cheering for lost a close game.
It was a great season for Purdue Basketball, and they played great after a rocky start. I was glad that I was able to watch their season come to a bittersweet ending at a bar 700 miles away from home.
