While you could definitely ask for a more entertaining contest on the court, the in arena atmosphere that surrounded the Purdue Boilermakers 66-57 win over #17 Louisville was top notch. It was electric, spirited and hostile all at the same time.
The fans were both very loud and extremely clever, as they taunted the visiting Cardinals with chants of FBI, and numerous references to the scandals that have plagued the program in recent years and led to the dismissal of Rick Pitino.
Just in case you need a refresher on the Adidas scandal, the FBI investigation, and all the other off-the-court issues that have surrounded the program and continue to dominate UL headlines, we covered that in our preview for this game at this link.
While the game itself featured numerous unforced errors, ugly shooting and a lot missed bunnies on both sides, the fans in Mackey Arena came to party, and they did their homework on the current events related to this B1G/ACC Challenge tilt.
Said Purdue Boilermakers star Vince Edwards in postgame: “before we end the press conference we want to thank The Paint Crew and you guys for coming out because you guys make the environment huge, so thank you all for coming out.”
UL acting Head Coach David Padgett was also impressed by the atmosphere.
“I’d be surprised if someone comes in here and beats them,” he said. “It’s one of the toughest environments.”
“This was a very good first road experience for our freshmen.”
I love you, @ThePaintCrew pic.twitter.com/CD02TBCOOB
— Juan More Tweet ??? (@Air_Force_Juan) November 29, 2017
What Padgett has to deal with right now is extremely challenging. In a world where the word “adversity” is grossly overused and persistently misused, to the point where it’s often egregiously offensive, Padgett is handling actual adversity. However, it’s also a classic example of the opportunity in every crisis narrative.
He really has a very talented group to coach up, before the end of the season comes, and he will most likely have to move on elsewhere.
“I think it’s a great challenge for him,” Purdue Boilermakers coach Matt Painter said.
“Sometimes the world flips around differently and you get opportunities, people look at you differently once you’ve coached for awhile..he’s also auditioning for somewhere else,” Painter continued.
“The one thing he has is players, take that and embrace that. Have fun with it and win a bunch of games. It’s fun when you have guys.”
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune corporation blogging community Chicago Now.
Follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Sound Cloud, LinkedIn and YouTube.