Thread by @Air_Force_Juan

So I am going to start by saying that the @PurdueBands is probably the lone bright spot for Purdue fans on gamedays these last few seasons.

But I think they might also be why Purdue hasn't beaten a P4 team since they play the Alma Mater song during pregame.

LET ME EXPLAIN. 1/8

While dealing with flight delays getting to Detroit last night, I happened to stumble upon the AAMB's videos during the delay (shows from the OSU game weren't posted yet). While not a band nerd, I just wanted to see if the pregame changed (especially with the new RA set up). 2/8

While skimming through, I noticed that the band now plays the Purdue Alma Mater during pregame. To see if it was new, I checked 2024's pregame show and noticed it was there too, but it wasn't there in 2023 or 2022. Interesting...so I went back further. 3/8

The last time the Purdue AAMB played the Alma Mater during pregame was...2013!

I know it's a slim sample size, and Purdue has been bad, but maybe the band playing the Alma Mater is why Purdue never beat a P4 team in 2013, 2024, and 2025. 4/8

I will also admit my bias/CoI: I think playing the Alma Mater during pregame is a buzzkill. There's a reason why most bands don't play it until after the game. It's not really a song that amps up the fans.

But my stupid superstition doesn't want to ignore the correlation. 5/8

Who knows, maybe Purdue would have at least beaten Rutgers this year and Northwestern last year if it weren't for the Alma Mater curse? Maybe Illinois in 2013 as well? Sure, Purdue would still suck, but it would at least have wins against P4 teams in those seasons. 6/8

Now it's probably too late; the team is doomed to not win again, even if they don't play it for IU. Seems like it was skipped for a few games in 2013 (like when there was a visiting band), and it didn't impact it then. And you could argue that the teams would have lost anyway 7/8

But for 2026, perhaps it's time for the AAMB to drop the Alma Mater from the pregame show. Even if it's not for the fact that I think it's a buzzkill in pregame, at least do it to test out my hypothesis.

fin.