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Let the party begin Fans celebrate national title in West Lafayette
Posted: Monday March 29, 1999 12:21 AM
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) -- A sports bar near Purdue University filled with deafening screams and outbursts of the school fight song Sunday night as more than 200 students with clenched fists watched the Purdue women win their first national basketball title in the NCAA championship game. The game was so tense at times that some fans didn't know what to do with themselves. "I can't decide whether to stand up or sit down," said an exasperated Amanda Barber. The graduate student looked at the television screens in disbelief. "I mean this is the national championship," she said. "We're sitting here watching the national championship." Purdue had a bad first half, then bounced back to beat Duke 62-45 Sunday night in San Jose, Calif. Once the game was over, fans poured out of the bars and into the West Lafayette streets. Every car in sight blew its horn as the hundreds of students screamed and hollered. Some waved Purdue flags, others wrapped themselves in the flags and ran through the streets. "I knew they would win," Barber said after the victory. "We're number one!" Fans, like Purdue junior Mike Troup, started staking out tables at area bars as early as two hours before the game. "I expected the women to get to the Final Four, since they were number one in the country," Troup said. "I don't know if the championship game was expected as much, but it's great to see them there." Though the Boilers trailed at the end of the first half, those loyal to the black and gold had faith. "They work hard, they play hard, and they don't give up," Barber said. She was right. While the fans in the bars were fired up during the game, the scene on campus earlier in the day was lacking enthusiasm. There were no banners hanging around campus and few signs on area businesses offering support for the No. 1 team in the nation. A small flyer hanging in a campus snack bar seemed to be the only acknowledgment that a tournament was going on. It read: "All the way to San Jose." "Oh, that game's tonight?" one student asked. "Yeah, I think I heard that on TV. Against Duke right?" Right. But if the men were playing, students agreed there'd be a lot more excitement in the air. "If it was the men, this campus would be nuts," said Preston Meng, a junior. "I dreamt I should've made a big sign out of a sheet or something, because they don't get any recognition." Indeed, even the West Lafayette and Purdue police departments were disregarding the championship game. Both departments said they had no plans for beefed up security Sunday night, despite the fact that college championship games often inspire students to take to the streets in celebration. Just hours before the game, junior Vicki Sherwood sat on the floor outside a Purdue classroom studying an accounting textbook. She said she might catch the game, but she was concerned about her 7:30 a.m. class on Monday. "I just don't think women's basketball has caught on just yet," Sherwood said. "It's unfortunate." Although this is their 10th tournament appearance, it's the first time in history the Lady Boilermakers have made it to the national title game. A 1994 trip to the Final Four was cut short of the championship game when the Boilers lost to North Carolina in the semifinals, 89-to-74. The Boilermakers regularly drew more crowds of more than 14,000 to Mackey Arena during the season. But with the NCAA title on the line, hitting the books was on the mind of most students. One students summed it up as he hurried toward the library: "I support them and all, but right now I have to support my studies."
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