IU football fan supports team for 60 years

Big Al Carpenter said he would rather beat Purdue University than eat.

On Saturday, he will take his 1979 Holiday Bowl ring out of its box in his dresser drawer and don it on the sidelines of the Old Oaken Bucket game. He’ll park his motorized scooter in the North End Zone of Memorial Stadium, the same place he’s sat for every home game but one in the last 30 years.

 It’s where he can see the whole field.

Born with cerebral palsy, Big Al has cheered for IU for nearly 60 years. He loves IU football, and he loves the rivalry game.

“Have you seen that Old Oaken Bucket trophy?” he asked. “It’s something worth fighting for.”

From his usual spot in the North End Zone, Big Al has supported the team through seven head coaches. Though he never attended the University, he became a volunteer coach in 1973 for former IU Coach Lee Corso, traveling with him to the Holiday Bowl six years later.

Big Al’s IU football fan career began at age 5, when he heard his first game on the radio at home in Spencer, Ind. From that moment, he dreamed of playing for IU.

“In my house, you never was caught listening to Purdue,” he said. “It was always IU. It’s our state school, for one, and two, I developed a love for IU every time I listened to a game. It meant something to me.”

Big Al saw his first game, which was against the University of Iowa, when John Pont was IU’s coach.

“It was amazing,” he said. “All the pageantry and everything that went on. I used to tell my mom, one day I’d be on the football team.”

It was another game against Iowa that Big Al missed in 2010, the first home game he didn’t attend in 30 years.

“I used to have mini-migraines,” he said. “I knew I had to get somewhere where I could get a shot. For me, it was kind of sad because when I woke up the next day and asked who won, we’d lost by a smidgen.”

In 1973, when Big Al still used crutches to get around, and Lee Corso led the team, Al hitchhiked from Spencer to attend football practices.

“One day, Coach Corso said, ‘You understand people. How would you like to be a part of my staff?’” Big Al said.

Big Al remained on staff all 10 years Corso coached. Now, Corso lives in Florida, but Big Al said they’re still best friends.

“I have his phone number, and he has mine,” he said. “There are times I wish he was here to talk about anything.”

Big Al still attends football practices when he can, making the 30-minute scooter ride from his home in Bloomington down the B-Line Trail on fair-weathered days.

But no matter what weather, Big Al will make it to the football games. Those are important. That’s when the team really needs his support.

Big Al said he believes the team will win this Saturday. Then again, he believes that about every game. On Oct. 29, he waited for the Homecoming game against Northwestern with the same belief.

Two hours before kickoff, Big Al entered the stadium to look across the empty field and mentally prepare, a tradition he has before every game.

“I go into the stadium and get psyched up for the game,” he said. “I try to put myself in the players’ shoes. Football is a very intense game. What more can a person ask for than to be a part of something like this?”

Minutes before the Homecoming game, Big Al inched forward in his scooter chair and looked toward the double doors, where the team would enter the field.

“We’re about ready,” he said. “Here it goes.”

One hundred eleven players walked onto the field. Big Al doesn’t know each by name, but he supports every one.

One player stopped a few feet from Big Al’s scooter, bent his knees and flexed his arms inward, yelling Big Al’s name before rejoining the team.

Big Al smiled.

“I try to let the guys know, no matter what, we will prevail,” he said. “You just go and let the kids know you’re not giving up on them.”