The End of an Era, The Beginning of a New One

I spent much of this weekend camping with my son’s Scout troop. For the sixth time in my life Purdue was a single win away from reaching the Final Four. For the third time, that Final Four was right in our own backyard in Indianapolis where I would easily be able to attend.

In 1980 I was still a baby.

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In 1994 I was in middle school and not following Purdue as much. 14 year olds don’t have a lot of disposable income to go to Final Fours, either.

In 2000 I was a sophomore, and I probably spent the next few days furious at losing to Wisconsin for the third time that year and missing out on a Final Four in Indy.

In 2019 I was a full grown adult, sitting courtside as Mamadi Diakite and Kihei Clark ripped my heart out.

In 2024 I was at home watching, as life circumstances put me on the sidelines when Purdue finally broke through to the promised land. After this one, I admit that I was weeping tears of joy in my living room as it was a huge release after so much failure. I was also elated that something I had created years ago was the ticket to get guys like LEdman, Casey, and Juan in the building for that moment. It made me feel like a proud dad.

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This time I had my phone out and airpods in, sitting by a campfire as the Scouts bedded down for the night. I looked up at the stars above Mounds State Park with Purdue holding a 7 point lead and the vibes were immaculate. All felt right with the universe, and after said life circumstances prevented me from going to Phoenix two years ago I knew nothing would be in my way if the Boilers just held on for another 20 minutes. I felt great, at peace, and like my often chaotic personal life was in a good spot to where I was not using college basketball as an escape mechanism. I even asked a God I am not sure I still believe in, at least the way I used to, “please?”

It all began to come apart just 39 seconds in. Trey Kaufman-Renn missed a layup and committed his third foul on the rebound. After sitting a large…

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Publish date : 2026-03-30 15:22:00

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