I like the sound of football. For most of the games, I don’t care who wins. I just like to hear the sound of the game.
When I was a child, the sound of football meant my dad was home. It meant family time and my dad was not working. It usually meant the adults would be laying around on couches, relaxing, talking, watching tv and taking naps. That is important to a child. It meant no school, and a big family dinner sometime that day. I would usually be playing in my room, making up games, going outside to see who was in the neighborhood, riding my bike or roller skating a bit, then coming inside again to hang out with the adults. As a little girl, I was not expected to watch or enjoy the game. But any time I wanted, I could hang out in the game room, listen to their voices, and hear the sound of the game.
Purdue football games are even more nostalgic. I’ve heard Purdue football since I was born, sometimes at the game itself. Today, hearing and watching Purdue football takes me back to my home town. It is where I am from, it is who I am, no matter where I live now. It is good to know where you are from. It gives you a sense of belonging, of identity. I am a Hoosier, but I am not IU, I’m a Boilermaker. West Lafayette has a certain identity, very different from Bloomington. Purdue is the enginnering school, IU is the artsy-fartsy community. Purdue is northwest Indiana, closer to Chicago; IU is southern Indiana, closer to Kentucky. Plains and cornfields vs. hilly southern Indiana. Even today, I wear more black and gold than anything else.
Doctor Grandma 
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