I love my Hawkeyes. I love football games, I love tailgating, and I love winning. The game Saturday was the best one this year. After getting our hats handed to us by Arizona State and Michigan at the beginning of the season, we came back and won seven games in a row to share the Big 10 Championship with Michigan. We don't get to go to the Rose Bowl, because Michigan beat us, but it's still nice to be champs. All the yelling and the chanting and the crowd on the field at the end of the game...I was just so proud. Mark my works, Drew Tate will be a Heisman candidate in two years. The way that kid rolls out of tackles and still manages to find a man...just gives me chills.

And they're rebuilding the south stands. They started tearing it down, supposedly the night after the game, but I didn't hear anything. Which is good, I suppose. I got a letter a while back "Dear Neighbors of Kinnick Stadium..." detailing the construction schedule: 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. six days a week, all winter - good thing it will be tax season soon and I'll be at work most of those hours. They're also adding two inches to all the stadium seats, from eighteen inches to twenty inches. So my seat may not be in the same place next year. I'm debating whether to start buying a pair of tickets instead of just one. This would be the time to do it. What if I start dating someone? This is one of the things I'd have to drag him to. Or 'drag' him to. Hopefully he won't be a reluctant fan. Wouldn't that be funny if he was, though? The girl having to drag the boy to football games. In the meantime, who wouldn't want to come to a football game once in a while?

I'm somewhat of an obnoxious fan. I went shopping with Mom yesterday afternoon, and I was seriously admiring the bibs at Scheel's. And the Kinnick throwback jerseys, and the wall prints, and the flags... Come on, wouldn't I look cute in those bibs?

One final thought: as part of our post-game festivities, we stopped by the piano bar, where where were having dueling pianos. I'm definitely making that place one of my new regular hang outs. It was so much fun. The guys just pounded on those keys and had some great song selections. And anyone who ends a great night of bar hopping with "Piano Man" is tops in my book.