I'm so scurred

before I get all the hatred, let me clear up a few things.

First of all, typing is really hard, and my words per minute has decreased at least by half -- all due to the extreme numbness of my phalangies. Yes, I wore a t-shirt and shorts out to the rediculous Franklin St. scene tonight (rediculous as in, what the hell are we celebrating? We play on Monday!!!). So bear with me. This is requiring serious effort.

More to the point, Illinois scares the hell out of me. Earlier tonight, I declared -- out of character -- that I wanted to face the Illini should we win. I don't know why I said that. It goes against every sane fiber of my soul. First of all, I was anticipating a win, which I never do (and rightly so). And secondly, I was stating I wanted the better team to win (of course right after tipoff I immediately found myself rooting for the Cards). But I guess I figured that should we win the matchup everyone has wanted all year, it would be a win for the ages. This type of prognosticating is not becoming of me. And I should not have done it. I apologize and withdraw it.

But now that it's here, there's one main problem. And that is that I fear the Illini with undying respect. They are a team of destiny. You don't come from down 15 like they did unless the stars are aligned. Granted, if we play anywhere close to our second half tonight, I will accept whatever the result. I just hope we play at that level, and not the scared, lizard-facing-tire-tread play we exhibited in the first half tonight. Two great teams battle, and may the best team win. That's how the national championship should be. That's what I hope for.

To sum my feelings up, and to show exactly what is on the line here, I quote an IM conversation I had with my oldest sister:

DanTheHeel: i mean, i could easily be "satisfied," hell, even "very, very happy" with this season
DanTheHeel: but we all have dreams we want to come true
DanTheHeel: and this would be the absolute ultimate -- the pinnacle of life for me