I live in Florida but I still see that the most important two games of the year are against Purdue. I know that it has been that way forever but maybe that should change. I would rather go 18-2 in the Big Ten each year with the two losses being to Purdue if it meant a Big Ten title and a high seed in the NCAA. I think the Hoosiers felt on cloud nine after this years sweep of the Boilers but rather then get back to work, instead they celebrated and read their Indiana press clippings which again overestimated their victories. Yes they were nice wins, but come on, you still should never lose twice to Iowa, twice to Northwestern and to Penn State. I will trade you those five wins for two losses to Purdue anytime.
Is the Purdue rivalry overemphasized?
- Thread starter Rotonda Jim
- Start date
I don’t recall playing northwestern or penn state immediately after beating Purdue , so that’s not the problem. There has always been a rivalry in sports with a certain team throughout history. I get what you’re saying, but if we went 18-2 in the big ten, people would bitch about not beating Purdue. You have teams you wanna beat at all costs not just in sports but in life too. Ford wants to outsell Toyota, shell wants to sell more gas than marathon, coke wants a bigger market share than Pepsi, it’s how the world works and I think we’re just a little shell shocked after last night.
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ask Michigan FB fans what it’s like to win most every game except against your rival…
As a Boiler, I don't think so. The BigTen title is a very nice consolation prize, but the loss last Saturday is going to sting until the next time we win against IU. The rivalry is one of the best in sports.
One other silver lining that came out of that game, is that JHS might have upped his draft stock to where he is a one and done. He seems like a great kid, and he absolutely wrecked us. I'm wishing him great success in the NBA next year.
One other silver lining that came out of that game, is that JHS might have upped his draft stock to where he is a one and done. He seems like a great kid, and he absolutely wrecked us. I'm wishing him great success in the NBA next year.
Drawing a comparison to rivalries in football is not on the same level as rivalries in basketball. I lived in Ohio for 31 years and yes, the OSU/Michigan football game is based on pure hatred and just might be the best rivalry in sports. But you only play 12 games a year and regardless of how the season goes, you want to beat your rival and less you forget, it is always the last game of the year. Yes, it caps off your season and you want to win. In basketball, the teams are now playing 30-35 games a year. It is a long grind and getting up for a rival just might be an example of wasting extra energy since a win or a loss is often followed by a major let down. Remember that in basketball, upsets are common and happen to everyone. We need to expect them. Of course, I want to beat Purdue in everything but when the other team shoots the basketball, it goes in about 40% of the time regardless of your defense, so yes you are going to lose sometimes. If you want a rivalry game in hoops, why not make it the last game of the year and match up your rival, (IU/Purdue, Michigan/MSU, Northwestern/Illinois etc.) and only play them once in the season. In football, you need 50-60 guys and usually the team with the most talented players wins. IU rarely has 60 guys more talented than OSU's sixty guys so we lose. In hoops, you can get by with 7 or 8 guys and anything can happen. So yes, you can lose often. In football, OSU and Michigan win all the time because of their overwhelming manpower advantage which helps make it the great rivalry it has become.
Wins against purdue and wins against another team(s) aren't mutually exclusive.
Silly premise.
Silly premise.
Beating Purdue was far more important than the loss to Iowa. This is also about recruiting and The Who’s better lately edge now goes to IU along with the 5-0 NCAA National Championships edge that IU has over Purdue. PU has regular seasons to fall back on but so did the Buffalo Bills and Minnesota Vikings who still have NO Super Bowl Titles, so they are both forgotten. Nobody remembers the regular season after the Post Season Champion is crowned.
When I first started following, the IU/Purdue game was the last game of the year. One of the two anyway.
I feel like the loss, particularly since it was an absolute slaughter of IU by Iowa……it nullifies the win against Purdue. Who cares that we beat Purdue (very obviously our Superbowl) when we can’t keep from getting blasted by 21 at home? It means we still suck and expectations for any post season success are extremely slim.
