Purdue Positivity a Problem?
By: Dakota Isgrigg, @PositivePurdue | November 14th, 2022 | @BoilerInTexas | @PositivePurdue
**Note: This article is not intended to attack any individual person and all mentions of the public should be taken as a generalization.
Written By @BoilerInTexas
If any of you follow me on Twitter then you’ll know that I consider myself to be a very positive and optimistic person. I always try to find the silver lining to every issue and try to put a little positive energy into the universe to combat the negativity flowing at the same time online. I think Twitter, as a whole, has a negativity problem to its core where it seems the people who are the most upset rise to the top. So I always try and be the antithesis to this, and be a change of pace when it seems like everything is going wrong with Purdue sports. But, is eternal optimism and a personal outpouring of positive tweets about Purdue a problem?
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I wasn’t always the eternal optimist though. When I went through my time at Purdue I really dove into Purdue sports as a fan. It was my first time, after growing up playing sports all the way through high school, to just be a fan and I dove in hard. I found myself at any sporting event I could get a ticket to, even willingly sitting through the entire Darrel Hazell tenure at the head of Purdue football. I was there to watch the 4-year turnaround of Purdue’s men’s basketball team from bottom feeder to Big Ten Champions. I bled Black and Gold and when they suffered, I suffered.
It got even worse once I graduated and moved from Indiana to Texas and could only watch on television instead of being one of the thousands in the stands. I found myself totally controlled by the results of Purdue sports to the point where it was affecting my mood and my relationships in my day-to-day life. My clearest memory of this was in 2018 when Ohio State beat Purdue in Mackey Arena to keep Purdue from winning the Big Ten. I remember silently tossing my phone across the room and retreating to the bedroom to sulk in the dark. I was devastated and heartbroken and my then-girlfriend didn’t understand why every time Purdue struggled, it affected me so much.
Without the outlet of being a fan in the stands, I turned my emotions inward and I found my real life significantly affected by Purdue sports. In this, an idea spawned for a way to release my emotions and engage in the Purdue community once again. Thus, here we are! You’re reading my idea and outlet for Purdue sports! I started a website and social account specifically to talk about and engage with members of the Purdue community. I had a very effective method to direct my emotions and it worked for a little bit. But when Purdue struggled I found myself tweeting very negative and short-sighted things that I would always regret the morning after. I had a method to outlet my emotions, but I was still being negatively affected by the same outlet and feared I was only making it worse for others online.
So, I made a decision then and there. I wasn’t going to tweet my negative feelings anymore. I decided that I was going to try and be what I needed more than anything, a positive outlet to offset all the negativity I was feeling/seeing on Twitter.com. The results of this for me personally were almost immediate. I found myself in a much better mood during and after each Purdue sporting event. I would always tweet encouraging things on the official Purdue accounts and try and interact with others in a positive/lighthearted way. Because at the end of the day it’s just sports. I found myself loving the idea of being a bright spot amongst all the dark moments online. I found more personal fulfillment and therefore I only wanted to do it more and more.
The problem with this is when things go really wrong, and people are really upset. And they start to turn on you when they are upset with what they see on the field (in this instance).
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Is only portraying positivity online a problem? I had a few people coming at me on Twitter claiming that I’m “accepting mediocrity” and “refusing to see the truth”. Claiming that I was uninformed and refusing, either consciously or subconsciously, to see that major issues were occurring and things needed to happen. I found these takes very interesting because while I don’t think they are 100% valid, I don’t think they’re 100% invalid either.
So the biggest question I started to ask myself was this, is it a problem to only post the silver linings? I watch every game like everyone else. I see the issues that the team struggles with like everyone else. I also get frustrated like everyone else. Humans by nature are very reactionary and passionate. I don’t blame people for accusing me of turning a blind eye to the issues or even wishing the program to regress back to how it was when I was on campus.
I pretty quickly came to my answer though, it’s no. I don’t think it’s a problem; frankly, I think it’s ridiculous to think so. Trust me, I see the issues and want more than anything to see them fixed one way or another, but I think it’s just as important to support our programs no matter what as it is to tweet our displeasures and voice our opinions. I would never say people shouldn’t be allowed to post negatively online. If you follow me and engage with me regularly on Twitter you’ll see I try and do my best to give people an outlet for their emotions by offering up positive takes and inviting users to use that tweet to vent their emotions. I do this because I would much rather them tweet nasty things at me instead of at the official team accounts or worse, at the players directly. I’ve since held this as an opportunity.
You won’t see me tweet many negative things, or if I do then I always try and include counterpoints to balance it out. I feel the same negative emotions others do, but I know that I always feel better when I tweet out the silver linings in negative situations. I’ve never woken up the following day and regretted tweeting out that Purdue would come out the next week and play better, or encouraging fans to not give up on the team.
I’ll never regret the way I’ve decided to run my account. The world needs more silver linings, more people willing to look past the quick negativity, to always assume or hope that brighter days are ahead. That’s my mission with Boiler in Texas. I’m just a 28-year guy trying to make a difference as a small fish in a very big pond. I welcome your negativity towards me because I want you to know that no matter what, I know brighter days are ahead.
Written by @PositivePurdue
I had a few motivations for starting @PositivePurdue this past spring. I’ve always admired the attitude of Boilermaker great, Walter Jordan. He isn’t afraid to show frustration, but always has a good attitude when it comes to Purdue and life in general. He’s inspirational. I was also motivated by a lifelong friend and a fellow Boilermaker who is a bit of an “Eeyore” when it comes to most things, including Purdue sports.
What prompted me to actually pick up my phone and launch positive vibes were the moments that followed our loss in the Big Ten basketball championship to Iowa. I saw fans lose it and talk about tearing everything down and rebuilding the basketball program and other similar sentiments. I felt the urge at that moment to counter the negativity with positive thoughts as we still had the NCAA tournament ahead of us. I believe I found others seeking a less dramatic response to the loss.
I didn’t start PPV to be an annoying fan who is blind to the challenges, but yet to be a fan of the bigger picture with a belief that good things lay ahead. PPV is about Purdue, not just Purdue sports. I’m proud as hell to be a graduate of Purdue, it was a life-long dream to follow my uncle/godfather, my father, and three of my siblings to Purdue. None of us are from the state of Indiana.
I’m not criticizing those who express frustration or feelings of negativity, I’m just here to remind them of the positives and maybe steer them back a bit from the brink. I’m not blind to disappointments and I feel them like everyone else. I’ve always just believed in trying to be a positive force wherever I can.
Throughout my life, and very much so in my career, I’ve always been the one to break the tension and to try to bring people together. I’m that “can’t we all get along” person in the crowd. I want to give people a laugh and maybe show them that everything is okay even when it doesn’t feel that way. There’s always another day, another chance, another game. There’s a bigger picture that we all sometimes lose sight of in those frustrating moments.
I believe I’m just an older version of “Boiler in Texas.” He’s not blind either but just prefers the positive position. I don’t think either of us is here to be critics, but as my description says, “The emotional support Twitter account to Purdue University and those who love it.” It’s really that simple. I’m a positive life preserver in the ocean of sports!
I enjoy being an attitude on Twitter rather than an individual. Maybe someday I’ll introduce myself, but for now, I’m just a positive vibe that absolutely loves all things Purdue and that includes all Boilermakers and fans, even those who are challenged from a positivity standpoint.
