Drumgate

 I used to tease the heck out of my mom. Always figured it was a job requirement for a son, and the oldest child to boot.

So there she was, a proud Purdue grad, and there I was, always cracking on Purdue. And my favorite line of attack was the World's Largest Drum, which was an easy mark because Purdue actually calls it the World's Largest Drum, which virtually invites ridicule.

"Hey, Mom, you know the World's Largest Drum?" I'd say. "I've been down on the field next to it. It's really not that big."

"Oh, you," she'd always reply.

If she were alive today, God bless her, she'd likely have a better comeback.

"Not that big, huh? Well, it's TOO BIG FOR NOTRE DAME STADIUM, so how about THAT?"

Likely you've heard now about Drumgate, because even the Washington Post ran a story on it the other day. See, Notre Dame plays Purdue today for the first time since 2014, returning the college football universe to its natural order. But unlike previous South Bend meetings in a series that goes back to the last days of the second Grover Cleveland administration (1896), Purdue will not be able to bring the Drum onto the field at halftime.

That's because Notre Dame renovated the stadium in 2017 and added a visitors tunnel. The tunnel, alas, is too small to accommodate the Drum, which stands 10 feet tall on its carriage and weighs 565 pounds.

So, no Drum today for the Purdues, at least inside the stadium (the plan is to set it up outside). Which in an odd way is kind of a point of pride, because it proves the World Largest Drum actually is pretty damn big after all.

OK. Mom. You win this one.