Purdue will honor the nation’s military this weekend as they host Missouri on Saturday in what is shaping up to be a huge game for the Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium. As part of the festivities, the night game will feature coaches wearing “military-themed apparel” on the sidelines and the players will sport a special version of the team’s matte black helmet -- including the American flag on one side and “a decal, picked by the player, of one of the five U.S. military branches.”
Pictures posted on the team’s Twitter account showcase the helmet designs, which are rather sharp:
Purdue football will honor the military by wearing branch stickers on the back of their helmets, personally selected by each player.
— Purdue Athletics (@PurdueSports) September 14, 2018
More: https://t.co/uzLHcL3V14 pic.twitter.com/wfctQIUduf
Salute to Service @BoilerFootball gameday lids. #PurdueSalute #BoilerUp pic.twitter.com/eTJlLSGDKt
— Purdue Athletics (@PurdueSports) September 14, 2018
The full release on the ‘Salute to Service’ festivities includes all the details of what will take place on Saturday and also lists all of the friends and family members of the players who have served or are currently serving in the military. Veterans are also able to receive free tickets to the game as well.
As nice as all these tributes are, Purdue hopes they’ll help inspire the team on the field too as the program is 0-2 on the season after losing to Eastern Michigan last week and will be hosting an explosive offense led by Heisman candidate Drew Lock on Saturday when the Tigers come to town.