Purdue's Boilermaker Special turned into the little engine that couldn't ahead of Saturday's game against Iowa.
The Boilermakers were all set to perform their pregame tradition of leading the team out onto the field at Ross-Ade Stadium. Except, the Boilermaker Special — known as Purdue's official mascot — stalled on the field.
4The Boilermaker Special not only failed to lead Purdue's team onto the field, but also got in the way of the Hawkeyes as they came out shortly after the home team. Eventually, staff had to help push the engine off the field, probably to the cadence of, "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can."
It made for a humorous scene for everyone who isn't a Purdue fan (and probably a few Boilermakers as well).
The little train that couldn’t pic.twitter.com/CwqwA1QFMx
— Scott Dochterman (@ScottDochterman) November 5, 2022
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No word on what the issue was, but surely someone at Purdue's College of Engineering can figure it out before the team's last home game vs. Northwestern on Nov. 19. Unfortunately for the Boilermakers, the stalled engine appeared to be prophetic as Iowa rolled into West Lafayette and beat Purdue 24-3.
The silver lining is that Purdue (5-4) is still in line for a bowl game, needing only to win one of its three remaining contests to gain eligibility. Moreover, their pregame accident wasn't as embarrassing (or scary) as a similar incident that occurred for Oklahoma in 2019.
In that incident, the Sooner Schooner flipped over in a scary pregame accident. No one was hurt in that incident, and Oklahoma ended up winning 52-14.
Sorry, Purdue: You can't have it all.
