November 19, 2006

At the bleak, ungodly hour of 11am, I disentangled myself from my toasty husband and crawled out of bed to take up my ceremonial listening perch at my desk. And that is dedication, voluntarily getting up and leaving a beautiful naked man in your bed on a lazy Sunday morning to listen to a soccer game online. But it was UP, playing Texas in the 3rd round of the playoffs, and everything else in the world would have to wait. That, and I knew Ross would still be lounging in bed after the game because he knows what victory means (nudge nudge, wink wink).

Blearily wiping sleep from my eyes, I fired up my MacBook and tried to fight the butterflies in my stomach as the game got underway, but couldn't help but feel anxious. This was top seeded Texas UP was facing. Texas was 17-3 in the regular season and UP was having to play them on their home turf. And UP's had to play all their playoff games on the road. Was UP up for the task? Would they be able to win another tough road game? 'God, I hope they're up for this," I fretted to myself and then... Gooooaaaaalll! Just 3 minutes into the game and UP scored, at which point my butterflies packed their bags and left.

And after 90 minutes of cheering and running around like a maniac in front of my computer, the final whistle blew and UP notched yet another playoff win, leaving me frolicking round the apartment with joy. Oh, sweet thrill of victory - faster than a bong hit, stronger than anti-depressants, and able to leap season depression in a single bound. Who needs Prozac when you've got UP?

And there was one other thrilling event in the playoffs today. The one team no one wants to face is the dreaded University of North Carolina. UNC has 18 national championships to their name, they play an extremely rough game, and they're nearly impossible to beat. But the key word is nearly. UNC suffered one loss this season, and it was to Texas A&M, so we offered burnt sacrifices to the soccer gods in hopes they'd answer our prayers for a UNC-Texas A&M match up in the playoffs and that it would happen before UP faced UNC. And as of today, it is official. UNC and Texas A&M will play each other in the quarterfinals next Saturday. Hallelujah and glory be! It turns out there is a god and he wears Pilot Purple.

Now it's off to the quarterfinals where UP will play UCLA on Friday, November 24th, which also happens to be my birthday. And considering how dismal and depressing my birthday usually is, I'd be thrilled out of my mind if, for once, I was doing a victory dance on that day, rather than drowning in memories of my own defeat. To be a happy, crazed UP fan victoriously dancing with joy is my one birthday wish.

listening: bjork . reading: --

walk: 40 minutes . weight lost: 0 pounds

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