I am writing this post in desperation. I was informed at 10:50 this morning that I will be spending the entire UK/UL game with my in-laws. ALL of my in-laws, the entire UL loving lot of them. I had every intention of doing this year's game in a low-key manner. No big expectations, no big hullabaloo, no taunting phone calls to my nephews and their arrogant families with their Red and Black clad selves. It was bad enough when I found out that the wife went behind my back and bought them all Louisville garb for Christmas with our hard-earned money. Don't get me wrong, I want my family to be happy, all of my family, but I do not want one red cent(pun intended) of my money going to that institution. I have already forbade my daughter to attend that institute of higher learning, in spite of her pleas concerning some of their academic programs. That got me a night of pure pain and suffering in itself.



So now I will have to sit there, biting my lip in the interests of my father-in-law's heart condition and his love of his grandchildren, simply because we couldn't get the entire family to get out of bed and go to their house at 1PM to celebrate his birthday. Why does God do this to me? Does He laugh at me when I wince in pain from the indigestion my system produces every time some yells out at the screen for the Cardinals to stick it to UK? Or does He simply use this as a test of things I will face later on in life? Is this a character builder for me? Do I have some past sin to atone for that I have refused to ask forgiveness from? How is it that today, of all days, I have to be surrounded by Louisville fans, when tomorrow's UK Hoops game surrounds me with my own family full of UK lunatics who would gladly paint their faces blue and white just so they can claim they once did it?

I find myself entrenched in my solitude this AM. Searching for the inner strength which will prevent me from staring down a relative in pure unadulterated hate, or from telling someone across the room to sit down and shut the you know what up when things get tight. But know this, should this group of Cats earn their claws today and pull this out, I will be magnanimous about it. I won't do the Snoopy "Happy Dance" in my in-laws living room. I won't grab my brand new 8X UK Champs T-Shirt and wave it over my head while my protruding belly wiggles in disgusting proximity of their noses. No, I won't. I won't. The devil I won't!!