Gold and Black @ 30: Year 28--2017-18

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 | Year 12: 2001-02 | Year 13: 2002-03 | Year 14: 2003-04 | Year 15: 2004-05 | Year 16: 2005-06 | Year 17: 2006-07 | Year 18: 2007-08 | Year 19: 2008-09 | Year 20: 2009-10 | Year 21: 2010-11 | Year 22: 2011-12 | Year 23: 2012-13 | Year 24: 2013-14 | Year 25: 2014-15 | Year 26: 2015-16 | Year 27: 2016-17

Gold and Black Illustrated is celebrating 30 years of publishing. Over the next last few months and for the next three weeks, we will continue our look at each publishing year, reflecting on some key moments.

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

1997 and 2017...Two football seasons unlike any other in my memory.

There is nothing quite like an unexpected surprise to ignite a fan base. And that is the common thread between those two seasons.

And while it fell short of what happened in '97, coach Jeff Brohm's '17 team did something I didn't think was possible: It filled Ross-Ade Stadium with fans. Back in '97, I didn't think it was possible that the Boilermaker faithful could come back in the way it did, but it did ... thanks in part to having Notre Dame on the schedule and beating the Irish in Week 2 in dramatic fashion.

Twenty years later, I would put even more money down that a resurgence wasn't possible. There was no Notre Dame on the schedule (with built-in capacity, or near-capacity, crowd). The fan base had left Purdue football for all intents and purposes during the Darrell Hazell era.

But Brohm brought 'em back in numbers I didn't foresee. And he and his teams did it quickly. First was an impressive, effort-driven performance against Brohm's alma mater Louisville at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Yes, Purdue fell a touchdown short, but it was the way it played that earned fans' attention and ultimately respect. Despite being a near four-touchdown underdog, the Boilermakers not only competed, but had a chance to win against the Cardinals and their reining Heisman Trophy quarterback Lamar Jackson. It was all about effort and it didn't take the Boilermaker fans but 30 minutes of football against the 'Ville to know they had something good brewing.

And in Week 2, the momentum picked up. It helped that his first home game was a unique Friday night contest and a surprisingly easy romp over Ohio University. Well executed trick plays and a festive atmosphere made for one of the more fun night games ever (to date). Brohm's team, though not flush with game-breakers, was fun to watch.

But there is nothing like exceeding expectations in sports. Especially in the first season as a head coach. When underdog Purdue bulldozed Missouri on the road by 32 points, there was a lot of anticipation for the Homecoming game the next week vs. coach Jim Harbaugh's Michigan Wolverines. Yes, Michigan throttled Purdue in the second half on a scorching afternoon, but a capacity crowd of 60,042 saw it ... and that was the story of the day.

Purdue officials aggressively marketed tickets, and the place was full. Football was fun again in West Lafayette.

There were bumps in the road in the 2017 season. Losses at Rutgers and vs. Nebraska, where Purdue couldn't hold a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter, brought things back down to earth a bit. But just when one thought Purdue would be home for the bowl season, it went out and won at Iowa and vs. IU to qualify for a bowl.

Again, it was fresh and exciting. And then to head to Santa Clara and defeat Arizona in the Redbox Bowl in dramatic last-minute fashion put the icing on the cake of the most memorable 7-6 season in Purdue football history.

You haven't forgotten the name Anthony Mahoungou yet, have you? I suppose no true Purdue fan ever will.

During my nearly 55 years of being around Purdue basketball in one form or another, Purdue has had some iconic senior classes make their mark on the program.

Yet, none were more important or more likable than this group of Vincent Edwards, Isaac Haas, Dakota Mathias and P.J. Thompson. They will go down in history as restoring the integrity and work ethic of Purdue hoops more than just about any other class.

Sure, had Rob Hummel not had his injury and joined E'Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson for a senior year, that trio might be at the top of the list. But the 2018 senior class was the definition of cohesive unit, that stayed together for four years, got better each season and was also willing to stick it out even when younger stars took a good deal of the limelight. And that happened twice during their four years.

First, it was Caleb Swanigan, who upon arrival in West Lafayette appeared to treat the hoops experience as strictly a business decision. Two years later, Swanigan was a consensus All-American who received most of the national talk. Meanwhile, the quartet, a year older than Swanigan, just found a way to play a complementary roll. And they did it all the way to a Big Ten title. And I like to think that the four had something do with Swanigan's transformation into a strong advocate and ambassador for Purdue basketball.

A year later, it was the same thing when Carsen Edwards emerged as a national standout. Carsen Edwards's personality and approach were different, if not difficult, at times, but he was talented. Boy, was he talented. And, once again, at least to the observer, there was some level of subjugation going on. Yet, it all worked again.

In the end, the senior class of 2018 was a bad performance at Wisconsin away from winning (or at least sharing) three Big Ten titles in a row. In the final evaluation, Edwards, Haas, Mathias and Thompson not only were great people and leaders, but they also were pretty darn good college basketball players, too.

Depending on how you count it, Gold and Black produced about 575 magazine covers in its first 28 years of business.

And the above image of junior linebacker Markus Bailey was the last one.

I remember the photo shoot with and colleagues Stacy Clardie and Kyle Charters joining me on a warm late spring day just outside the shiny new Football Performance Complex. It was a bittersweet time as Clardie and Charters, after a combined 21 years with us, were moving on to other opportunities after this magazine was being produced. But the photoshoot took me back to so many I had been part of in the past. Clardie and Charters were good at communicating with Bailey and also helping photographer Charles Jischke get the right shot. It was fun, as most of my previous cover photo shoots had been.

But most of all, I remember thinking what a decent human being Bailey was. He was jovial, interesting and a great representative of about what this is all supposed to be about: Kids growing into adults, getting an education, working hard while having an athletic experience that helped them down the road.

It might be my rose-colored glasses I sometimes wear a little too often, but to me this final cover was the culmination of all those 28 years of efforts. And I was left, after a little self reflection, with a good feeling of our future direction at Gold and Black without a print magazine.

In the print world, our job was done. It was time to move on.

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