So I went to the Loyola game yesterday...

...after all. I couldn't resist.

When I got up on Saturday morning the weather forecast turned out to be accurate: forty degrees and rainy. Hardly ideal football-watching weather. Especially after a week in which I ate lunch at Hackney's outside on Monday and took what was surely my last nap of the season in the back yard on Wednesday. But I went for my usual three-mile walk anyway and discovered it really wasn't so bad. And after watching the first half of the Northwestern-Ohio State game, in which even a Wildcat quarterback named Kafka from St. Rita couldn't prevent what has become an annual butt-kicking, I found myself looking out the window more and more.

"You know, it's really not so bad out there," I said to my wife and son. "I think I'll just drive over there and look at the scoreboard." If it was a blow-out, I could just continue on to the nearest Vienna hot dog stand. If it was a game, I could check it out.

When I pulled into the parking lot it was 13-0 at the half. Not exactly a tie score, but a lot closer than the Northwestern game I had been watching at home. So I pulled into the first available handicapped spot I saw and, walking with my best fake-limp, made my way to the stadium. Now a word to the wise: if you see a fifty-year old white guy in a hurry, GET OUT OF THE WAY! That old lady I barely touched should get an Academy Award for the way she screamed when she hit the ground. Offer it up!

Fortunately the teen-ager manning the ticket booth looked like he was serving a weekend detention. In my best Dad-imitation, I assured him that although I didn't exactly have my card on me, I was certainly a member of the Maine South Booster Club and shouldn't have to pay the three dollar admission like everyone else. With his feet up on the counter, he barely looked up from his car magazine and waved me on through. Beautiful!

So I made my way in and found the perfect seat on the fifty-yard line at a Standing-Room-Only game. What luck! Apparently the grandfather of a Maine South senior had just gotten up to go to the bathroom at the half. (Hey, on your feet, lose your seat!) But you wouldn't believe how unreasonable the old guy was when he got back. And everyone around me took his side! These Maine South fans obviously have a chip on their shoulder about people from Glenview. So I magnanimously relinquished my seat, with the satisfaction that I had acted more maturely.

I finally found the last seat in the end-zone, which is much better anyway because you can see more scoring. (There really wasn't a seat but a guy graciously moved over for me. He was funny, too. He sarcastically acted like I was putting him out. What a cut-up! It renewed my faith in Maine South fans.)

So I settled in to watch the second half of the Charlie Goro-Matt Perez Show as they put up 26 points in all to Loyola's 7. Maine South now advances to the Quarterfinals against Barrington and Loyola goes home after a very respectable 8-3 season. I still think the Hawks are beatable, but when I look at the rest of the field I'm not sure who that would be. I'll have to spend my usual hours and hours poring over each team's statistics before I make my next predictions. Stay tuned.