Gold and Black @ 30: Year 12--2001-02

Related links: Year 1: 1990-91 | Year 2: 1991-92 | Year 3: 1992-93 | Year 4: 1993-94 | Year 5: 1994-95 | Year 6: 1995-96 | Year 7: 1996-97 | Year 8: 1997-98 | Year 9: 1998-99 | Year 10: 1999-00 | Year 11: 2000-01

Gold and Black Illustrated is celebrating 30 years of publishing. Over the next few weeks, we will look at each publishing year, recalling the moments that took place in that particular year.

Note: Captions describing each cover are not available on mobile platforms.

My guess is I am no different than just about everyone of you.

The Tuesday morning in the second week of September 2001 dominates my memories of this athletic year.

I recall making my way from home to our downtown Lafayette office where we were located at the time. I had heard about the first plane hitting the World Trade Center when passing the Merou Grotto on State Road 43. When I arrived, I turned on the office television to see if there was any more information about that incident. I had walked away from the TV only to hear of the second plane's horrific impact.

Brian Neubert was the only other person in the office at the time, and I remember his concern for his dad's whereabouts as Mr, Neubert was due to fly that morning from his home near Newark, N.J.

That was a traumatic day, and It took a while for us to start thinking about sports again. But in our business, it wasn't all that long. After all, Purdue was scheduled to play host to Notre Dame at home that weekend, in what was going to be a very important game. I remember going to a press conference the following day in the basement of Mackey Arena and hearing the announcement of the postponement of the game. Purdue-Notre Dame would have to wait until my 42nd birthday, Dec. 1, to be played.

But much like we are experiencing now with COVID-19, we knew things would change after 9/11. Yet, it was far easier back then to figure out how things were going to change. Security, security and more security. I remember walking into the old press box (it was in its last year) for Purdue's next game on the schedule on Sept. 22 vs. Akron and looking at long security lines. It was armed security in our midst and bags being checked, etc., giving us a new normal that we reasonably could have anticipated. Still, it still took some getting used to.

And it didn't keep the crowd away. The Ross-Ade Stadium attendance for the game with the Zips was over 62,000 and I don't recall there being many no-shows.

Looking back, nothing was totally normal that year. Purdue started with redshirt freshman quarterback Brandon Hance, who had the unenviable task of replacing Drew Brees. Hance wasn't awful, but when the Boilermakers hit a losing skid in early November, true freshman Kyle Orton took the reins.

For the first time, we saw Tiller's team really struggle ... and the bounces (or rain drops) went the other way late in the season. The 13-7 loss played in a first-half downpour at IU was a game Purdue would have won in Tiller's first four years. Orton threw the ball 63 times, but the Boilermakers couldn't punch it in from the 1-yard line. Then, Purdue completely dominated Notre Dame in the finale, holding the Irish to under 200 yards, yet still lost.

Yes, in Year Five, it was different both on and off the field.

Gene Keady's team also struggled, and much more than Tiller's. Purdue finished 13-18 and it was the first "train wreck" season of Keady's career. Yes, Keady had endured one losing season (15-16 in 1988-89), but the 2001-02 campaign stoked my concerns for the long-term success of the program that we had all come to expect from Keady. These were feelings I had in Albuquerque, N.M., after Purdue fell just short of the Final Four two seasons earlier in a heartbreaking loss to Wisconsin in the Elite Eight.

Keady was struggling to recruit the talent he needed. He worked as hard as he ever had molding his team, but I remember thinking that the end of his tenure was approaching. In typical Keady style, however, he proved me wrong the following season by making it to the Round of 32.

As was often the case, photographer Tom Campbell was in the right place at the right time. And the same holds true for the Boilermaker's offense, which started at its own 3-yard line down three points with no timeouts and 19 seconds to go in regulation. Campbell knew he had to get up field in a hurry. Heck, so did Hance, Taylor Stubblefield and John Standeford, too.

Yet, Campbell had the good sense, or maybe the good fortune, to stop at about the Purdue 40 when Travis Dorch and the Purdue field-goal team rushed out on the field and quickly lined up for the dramatic game-tying kick. It was so quick, as many of you recall, that the only people under the goal posts to call the kick good were Purdue football managers. The referees weren't able to get into position in time.

The reaction of Dorsch, and the entire special teams unit, made for one of the best images of Campbell's 22-years of working with us. And when it came to picking out the cover, both Campbell and I agreed that a horizontal orientation would work best. It was the first time we had tried it at Gold and Black, but I am glad we did it.

I just wish we had collected money from Budweiser for putting a banner on the cover of our issue. The King of Beers' placement couldn't have been much better. And after the Boilermakers' win in Minneapolis, it was time to crack open a cold one.

... Dealing with uncertainty.

It was relevant in the post 9/11 world and is front and center as we all navigate our way through the coronavirus pandemic.

Still, the uncertainty of what we all are feeling under COVID-19 and what might be ahead for how we enjoy college sports seems heightened. Especially as compared to how we felt after 9/11. Though in truth, we've had nearly two decades to figure out stadium security and airline security, etc., and to acclimate to the stricter environment.

I suspect surviving the experience of 9/11 and subsequently how we enjoyed the privilege of going to college sporting events a bit more when sports resumed, will be present again once we enter packed football stadiums again. This time, however, the return to normal won't be as quick. But that might serve to increase the enjoyment even more once it does return.

I think it is safe to say we all hope that is true.

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