So we're going to the Rose Bowl.

And I'm about the only person in the Illini Nation that is NOT excited about it (OK, I can think of 1 or 2 others).

I'm going to channel my inner Outkast here:
"I know you'd like to thank your #$%@ don't stank
But lean a little bit closer
See that roses really smell like boo-boo
Yeah, roses really smell like boo-boo"

Let me tell you why. First, it is Pasadena, CA and that means $$$$ *rubs thumb and two fingers together to symbolize $$ that I don't have*. Second, even if it is the freaking ROSE BOWL, we are going to lose. Everyone says "yeah, we beat tOSU at the Horseshoe, surely we can bea USC in their backyard." Right. We are facing a football powerhouse in an unfamiliar environment 2000 miles away. I hope I am proven wrong about my 2nd point, but I digress.

I'm going to work on planning a CU gamewatch party with my left-behind friends instead. We'll have a good ol' time and spend $$ on NYE that we didn't have to spend airfare, sleep in on Jan. 1 and watch us march into enemy territory at 3:30 p.m.

I don't want to be a COMPLETE pessimist here, but I don't like the look of Illinois athletics for the course of the next 2 months. I'm afraid of Arizona and Mizzou in basketball. After going to STL for wins for nearly 7 straight years (read: I didn't go to all 7), I am not prepared to lose on the 8th time. And Arizona is at the UC this weekend. They're not unbeatable, but they're good. I guess the upside of the UC is that it IS our home away from home, and MJ will PROBABLY be in the house. OHMYWORD!!

Alright... I have some work to do. And even though I'm crabby, I must sign off with a thunderous GO ILLINI!!!