Day of Truth

A well-known Cincinnati sports broadcaster came into the restuarant tonight. In between Warsteiners, I asked him how confident he felt about the Bengals-Steelers match-up. He shrugged. I said, "So give me some words of wisdom, something to make my heart stop jumping out of my chest. I'm nervous as hell."

He's so old-school cool, and didn't skip a beat. "Jen, just wear orange, and have fun," was his advice.

I'll try. It wasn't what I wanted to hear, because I'm tortured, really. I'm sick and nauseous about the game. But I'll try to enjoy it. Besides, I'm hungry for some burgers.

A toast to the football fans of America. Enjoy the games!

Updated Monday, January 9

Well, it's Monday morning. The Bengals just weren't ready for that, were they? Of course, we were dealt a bum deal when Kimo von Oelhoffen blew out Carson Palmer's knee and took him out of the game on, like, the second play. Yep, that sucked, and I can't express how heartbreaking it felt to watch Palmer squirming in the middle of the field. It was just like you knew, you knew the second they showed him, that the playoff dream had ended, and quickly. The last time I felt like that was when former UC Bearcats center Kenyon Martin broke his damned fibula on the eve of a number-one seed in the NCAA Tournament. Pure nausea, Cincinnati-style.

Kitna's always made me nervous, even though he peformed admirably in the first half. But everyone in that stadium and in the bars knew, even though we were leading at halftime, that fate had already decided the outcome. What should have been an amazing game and a great party regardless of the winner just turned into a kind of sickly buzzkill. We had a dream season, but it's just painful watching your star quarterback go out like that.

I guess I could be bitter and say that the Steeler's victory is tarnished, but I'm not going to be a sore loser; instead, I'm forced into the uncomfortable position of rooting for the Colts next week.

Steve? Congratulations! Five hamburgers coming your way. Email me?