Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were relatively uneventful. Thursday was the same, but that night I was looking
forward to the big Illinois vs. Iowa game. Even though the line was 13.5, I had a bad feeling that Illinois might lose. It was
literally eating me up inside. So the day dragged on and eventually ended. I could not wait to leave considering I was literally
counting the seconds until I could. I had to listen to the game and I was literally on the edge of my seat the entire time.
When Iowa hit a shot that sent the game to overtime, my friend called and said, "I can't believe this, I am literally speechless.
I mean, how could this happen?" I didn't have an answer for him. By now you already know, Illinois got the W. Still, it was a
home game for them and Iowa had not been playing well during the entire Big 10 season. Anyway you look at it, it wasn't good.
Literally a sobering game for Illinois.
Living in Alaska, not Illinois
That night I was watching the news and literally every station was covering the big snowstorm that was expected to hit Chicago Friday
night. This was to be the first big snowstorm of the year. Most weatherman were predicting anywhere from 8-12 inches of snow. It
would as if we were literally living in Alaska, not Illinois.
My car is great in the summer but in the winter, when it's icy or snowy, it's literally a sled on wheels. Granted, I'm used to driving
it now, but when it's really bad I'll just put it in the garage and borrow my parents' cars. It's just not worth it it to drive my car
in the winter. I load up a couple salt bags in the trunk every year, but nothing I do prevents the eventual fishtails that I know
will come to pass. So sad.
Between a rock and a hard place
Friday at worked progressed as expected...slowly. Time had literally stopped, with each passing minute bringing yet another minute of
boredom. Luckily various breaks throughout the day helped and eventually it was time to leave. That night I planned to meet friends
at a bar and then go to a club afterwards to meet a friend who was leaving for California. I knew the weather would determine
whether I drove to the city or not. It had not snowed during the day, but by the time I was near home, it had started to come down hard.
Salt truck were already out, literally painting the streets with snow.
By the time I was ready to leave to go out, the snow showed no sign of stopping. I listened to weather reports and they all were
basically saying the same thing: snow until early Saturday morning. I was literally between a rock and a hard place; do I go to the
city or just stay home? In the end, I decided to drive into the city. It took me twice as long to drive in. Everyone was driving
slow but even so, there were a few yahoos driving way too fast. I got a parking spot surprisingly quickly and hung out with my friends
for an hour and decided to head back. Again, it took me twice as long to drive back than it normally does. When I got I home I was
happy I made it to the city and back in one piece, I was literally on cloud nine.
God buys white-out in bulk
Saturday was a day filled with errands. The snow had only take some small breaks during the night and was still coming down strong
that morning (and throughout the day). God had literally whited-out all of the midwest. I was supposed to drive into the city that
night to go to a friend's birthday party but after the excursion the night before I decided to stay in. I rented some movies and didn't
do much else. Sidebar: I did watch SNL and Amy Poehller and Tina Fey are carrying that show.
Sunday was a big day just because of football. The AFC and NFC Championship games were that day and with the Eagles playing the Falcons
and the Pats playing the Steelers, the stage was set for some good games. But, as everyone knows, both Philadelphia and New England
won decisively. I felt bad for Bill Cower and the Steelers, they were literally falling to pieces in the 1st half of the game. Oh well,
I really wasn't rooting for or against any team, I just wanted to watch some good football.
Just follow the orange and blue brick road
But after last Thursday, today was the day that I was looking forward to the most. Illinois plays Wisconsin tonight in their first
match-up of the season. The outcome will literally determine the fate of the world. It's an away game for Illinois and Wisconsin has a
38 game win streak at the Kohl Center. Illinois is undefeated this season with a 19-0 record. This pivotal game will clearly break
at least one streak. Everyone I've talked to thinks it is best if Illinois loses before entering the Big 10 tournament or at least
the NCAA tournament. I agree. If they do lose though, this is the game to do it in. Wisconsin has always been a mental roadblock to
Illinois and this season will be no different. Also, it's better to lose to Wisconsin now then to some cupcake team down the road.
But, then again, part of me hopes that Illinois won't lose and their road to the Final Four (and championship) will literally
be paved with orange and blue stone. So if they win or lose, it's literally a win-win game for Illinois.
Countdown to tip-off: T-7 hours.
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So I wrote everything above yesterday planning to post it before the game. Obviously that didn't happen. If you did watch it, I
am sorry, it was an amazing game. Illinois beat Wisconsin, 75-65, despite being down by as many as 8pts in the 2nd half. Ingram's
back-to-back 3s and then his steal in the last four minutes turned the game around. Amazing night. 20-0 for the Illini.
Fuck you Dicky V.
Do you know the pet peeve? Email me and I'll tell you if you are right.
