Raymond Doyle graduated from Purdue University in 1969 and he is tired of how the younger generation acts toward visiting student athletes and fans. The 70-something-year-old wishes the Boilermakers of today would stop being so mean.
More specifically, he hopes to put an end to the “Indiana sucks” chant… for the entirely wrong reason.
Doyle wrote a letter to the Purdue Exponent, the university’s student newspaper, to express his hope for the future. It was published on Tuesday as classes got underway in West Lafayette.
Of course, the grumpy olds exist in all facets of society. College sports are not the exception. As people age, they turn on the youth. The fun they once had, for some reason, doesn’t seem as fun.
Doyle wants the students to be more welcoming of opponents.
Instead of being welcomed with a chorus of boos, would “Welcome to Purdue!” be a more civil and hospitable greeting for all visiting teams and fans?
— Raymond Doyle
He goes on to say that being hostile toward visiting sports teams does not give a good impression of Purdue as a host. Doyle wants to start a new tradition of “being a more welcoming, respectful, as well as very competitive university without being obnoxious fans at any athletic venues.”
And then his focus shifted toward the Hoosiers.
Likewise, “IU sucks” is offensive and borders on being disrespectful and crude. It is great to know the rivalry is intense, but sometimes they beat our butts in spits of the Boilers’ best efforts. Plus, it seems a bit disheartening when your teammate and maybe your best friend in high school is disrespected just because he or she chose a different career path and university.
— Raymond Doyle
I get it. Doyle is an almost 80-year-old man who wants to see his alma mater succeed both on and off the court/field. He means well. His heart is in a good place.
Unfortunately, Doyle’s stance is extremely lame. The Boilermakers are already cast as giant nerds and their Class of 1969 alumnus is not helping their case. Sports are more fun when they are rowdy. Hostile and disrespectful road environments are a good thing, so long as they stay between the lines.
With that being said, Doyle did get something right.
Purdue needs to stop chanting “Indiana sucks” at sporting events that do not involve Indiana. Not because it is mean. Rather, by chanting about your school’s biggest rival when said rival is not even in the picture is embarrassing. That is little brother mentality.
Getting rid of the “IU sucks” chant would be a good idea, but not because it is mean. Because it is embarrassing.