The Carolina Panthers Love Me Again!

OK, so they never hated me. But still, they proved it on Sunday. Of course, I thought I would have a heart attack in the process as they kicked a last second field goal (by my beloved John Kasay! Seriously, I've loved that man since I was 8 years old) to defeat the New Orleans Saints in the Superdome. I still don't know why John Fox left 6 seconds on the clock for the kick, giving the Saints another shot to score, but whatever. We won and I'm not going to complain! They secured the No. 2 seed in the NFC and earn a first round bye and a second round home game.

My brother has been plotting how he is going to get tickets when they go on sale Thursday. We have a secret Ticket Master location where we got our tickets to the Monday night game this season. We were the only ones there! At our old haunt, there were tons of people clamoring for tickets. I would really like to go to the game, but I'm planning on going to my uncle's in South Carolina for his 50th birthday with my mother and grandmother. I could probably make it to both, since his birthday is on Friday, January 9 and the game is Saturday night, but I wanted to spend the weekend with my family. Besides, I have to be back in Chapel Hill by Sunday since classes start that Monday.

Then again, playoff games are AWESOME! The atmosphere is the best. We went when the Panthers played Dallas at home in 2003 and it was one of the best Panther games I have ever attended.

We'll see. I still have a couple days to think about it. Ugh. Why can't I be in two places at once!

Anyway, speaking of Chapel Hill and football, my Tar Heels broke my heart losing to West Virginia in the Meineke Bowl in Charlotte on December 27. The game was amazing, and so close! In better news for the Tar Heel Nation, the men's basketball team is kicking ass and taking names. They defeated Rutgers by 22 the other day, but they've also got a couple of tough tests coming up. Tomorrow, they play No. 3 Pitt and then head up to No. 2 UConn. I think those games will determine how good the Tar Heels actually are. So far, they've looked great. Even Rutgers coach Fred Hill praised them saying, "They have no weaknesses."

So, things are looking good in my sports world. The Panthers are headed to the playoffs, the UNC football team played admirably in their first bowl game since 2004, and the men's basketball team are ranked No. 1 and undefeated. I only hope things stay this good!