BOAM Nominee #9: Indiana University

INTRO:
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On March 3, 2018, I will release The Best of Alma Mater, and I will need some help in selecting the crème de la crème. The best way you can assist in doing so would be to purchase each of the four Alma Mater volumes – Midwest, Northeast, West, and South, each docked at $0.99 and free for Kindle Unlimited Subscribers. Because the more pieces from the series you read, the more qualified you are to state whether or not a piece belongs in the “Best of.”

There were a total of 400 poems in the Alma Mater series, 100 from each volume: The Midwest, Northeast, West, and South. As it is now, the list sits at roughly 120 poems that will appear in the “Best of.” Ideally, I would like to cut it down to 100. So feel free to provide feedback either in the comments or, preferably, through my contact link, to let me know why a piece should be left out….or if you think a piece is a must-add, those comments are especially welcome. For the sake of selecting the best piece possible for this collection, if there is any piece that you feel could be omitted, please do not be afraid to add your feedback and it will be considered constructive criticism for the betterment of the piece. I am trying to put together the best representation of the series possible, so I do not mind being told that I could do without a piece either here in the comments through in the “Contact Author” page. On the flip side, when I say a piece is currently not planned to be included, also feel free to tell me that I’m crazy and that it’s a must include.
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This second piece shared today is of Indiana University. I’m torn on whether to add this one at the moment. Any feedback is welcome. I’m leaning towards the decision of not including it, but it’s definitely one of the best stadium pieces of the series. The primary reason I’m leaning towards not including the piece is because I question if it is as timeless as the other nominees, but am also wondering if this is a must-ad. There were other great stadium pieces for basketball in the series, such as University of Arizona (Vol. 3), Louisville (Vol. 4), KU (Vol. 1) among others. Therefore, I’m considering doing without this one. Feel free to comment or contact me with input or feedback.

*IU*

It’s game night in B-Town at Assembly Hall.
Everyone has their ticket,
It’s Hoosier Basketball.
No Stripes, No Glory,
17,472 strong…
21 Big Ten Championships,
Five National Banners
brought along:

1940
1953
1981
1987

The Blessed Hoosiers of ’76.

Fans from all over town stand under
The Banners of McCracken and Knight,
Some came from Indiana trails,
Others from an on-campus site.
From the Rose Well House
deep in the Dunn Woods,
The breathtaking arboretum—
With arbutuses in their books.
They stream like the Jordan River
into the raging storm of red,
They pound the Indy Limestone—
To have their Hoosiers led
by the most passionate fans in college hoops,
Indiana Basketball is in our roots.

The Hall is sold out and our voices lift,
It’s almost time for tip-off,
And when the Crimson and Cream take the court,
It’s time to blow the lid off.
They warm up in their candy-striped pants,
Then Martha cleans the floor,
Our Indiana, we’re all for you,
Now let’s finish mopping the floor.
This is our culture, We are the Hoosiers,
The opponents are just the Losers in Blue,
Over in Row 8, well, those are the Boozers,
but they’re part of our culture, too.
So are the brains from the SPEA,
And performers from the Jacobs School of Music,
Also, the informed Business Majors
are here in attendance to support The Movement.
Even fellow athletes like our champion hurlers,
And alum Will Bruin from our prestigious soccer team,
Have come through Sample Gates
to show support for Indy’s team.
And shoutout to the racers of the Little 500—
The Beta Theta Pi is in the house!
We’re all still recovering from Little 5 weekend,
Drank enough Hairy Bears to fill a frat house.
Eight months later and those times we still miss,
But if they didn’t end—we’d miss nights like this.

It’s the second half and we have the lead,
Now it’s the World’s Greatest Timeout:
Cheerleaders and William Tell Overture,
Dickie V is about to fall out.
He’s in the Basketball Nation, Baby!
And this excitement is too much to take,
Break’s over, let’s get back to work:
We’ve got many more baskets to make.

“Zeller the rebound! Hulls is open!”
#SWISH!

“WATFORD FOR THE WIN………”

Every Hoosier in Assembly Hall, the street, and the campus,
Even students watching from Kirkwood & Indiana…
Could feel the foundations shake as Hoosiers charged the court….
17,472 strong.

And throughout Indiana and Sports Nation,
All the way to Kentucky,
You couldn’t help but
feel
#TheMovement.