Mathematically Alive

Things got off to a good start on Saturday for us, as the Huskies of Northern Illinois cranked up their offense once again pounded the Ball State Cardinals 59-21, a happy three star winner. 



Answer: Who are Ernie, Billy and Willie.
Question: Name three empty heads who got
paid to show up on Saturday.

 The day had actually gotten off to a troubling beginning for me, when at 8:00 a.m. I flipped on ESPN Sports Center, broadcasting from Wiggley Field for the NU-Illinois game.  It is customary, of course, on Game Day for fans from the home school to gang up behind the set and wave posters, signs and sometimes cheerleaders.  It was there that I saw why NU inspires a distinct enmity from the fans of many other schools.  The first two signs I saw were "Illinois: clean up your A.C.T." and some goofy-ass reference to Harry Potter.  Somebody tell the dorks in Evanston that football games are supposed to be about football, not their wimpy "we're smarter than everyone else" crap that the geeks were going for.  Embarassing.  Oh, and while they painted everything purple prior to the game, they forgot that the Game Day set is provided by Home Depot.  Everything was orange.  Home Depot orange, just like Illinois orange. Ultimately, it proved to be foreshadowing of an all Illinois day.

Next numbers to come in were from Kinnick Stadium.  Ohio State and Io_a was a bookie win.  They hit it on the head, OSU by 3.  Two star push.

Arkansas State and Navy ended up scoring 54 points, and that ain't 64, the number we needed to win.  One star loser.

Then came the crusher.  UAB won 31-15.  Good for them, bad for us.  16 fails, four star loser.

There's three weeks left.  We're 22 in the hole.  Breaking even in the regular season has been reduced to "a mathematical possibility",  a term Wiggley fans embrace for six months each spring and summer.

Yes, the Wiggley reference was mean spirited and unnecessary, and yes, that's what it has come down to.