About
Kate, the Sports Socialite, is a twenty-something who graduated from Purdue University. Born and raised in Southern California, she made the choice to move east for her degree and ended up being part of a fortunate group of coeds who experienced the rebirth of Purdue Football under head coach Joe Tiller, and the legacy of basketball coach Gene Keady. Also instrumental were the experiences of going to a Big Ten school, the rivalries, and living in the cold.
Growing up on the green hillsides of Palos Verdes, CA, Kate was put into various sports at a young age. With no positive male role-model in her life, she was also raised as an only-child by her mother, it is a wonder that Kate did not develop into something else. What helped was the type of environment Kate grew up in; one with farm animals (yes, in Los Angeles) and encouragement to try everything and get dirty.
Kate participated in gymnastics, soccer, diving, swimming, horseback riding, basketball, cheerleading and dance through her youth, and eventually went onto Purdue University where she was on the crew team as a freshman and then landed a spot as a Golduster (Purdue’s pom squad).
At first glance, for a girl like her to end up loving football is a surprise. She didn’t have the family Thanksgivings like on the tv show “Friends” to introduce her to football through a friendly family game. She didn’t have brothers to hog the tv watching football on Saturdays and Sundays or to make her play with them because they were short one player. Instead, Kate grew to love football through her male peers who played. Although she began cheerleading in Pop Warner in the 6th grade, the interest in football did not manifest itself right away. She grew more interested in football as her social network as an adolescent grew to encompass the boys of her age group who played football.
It’s not just football that Kate only thinks of. This Sports Socialite is willing to go and see almost any sporting event. She draws the line at sports that are cruel to animals (she has a huge heart for them), but still will go watch horseracing. She was taught how to bet the ponies by her grandfather. Watching some sports on tv, she will admit, is a bit more difficult. One of her favorite things is going to any game that is played outdoors and having that “fresh-cut grass smell” on game day.
Kate does have a growing wish list of sporting events that she wants to see in person, and continues to work on it.