Directly to the stones, how exactly is this fun?

It might have well of been a swift kick to the apples.

As a Hawkeye fan, that one hurt. Bad. On Sunday, I coped the only way I knew how ? I went to Taco John?s. It wasn?t quite the same.

At the beginning of the year, would I have taken a 9-1 record through 10 games? Yes. But Saturday was not the beginning of the year. Saturday was a home game against Northwestern, and expectations change as events happen ? events such as winning nine games in nine tries and having as much on the line as Iowa has possibly ever had in the history of the program.

No doubt, having that much to play for is what makes things fun. But at the same time, it?s what makes things painful.

So why do I let these things affect the way I feel so much? After all, it?s a game. Iowa linebacker Pat Angerer ? who is probably ready for the insane asylum judging by some quotes from previous weeks ? may have said it best. ?We lost a football game. No one is dead.?

Well said. But still.

Why don?t I care this much about health care issues, progress in Iraq or anything else coming from the White House? Ya know, things that actually ?matter.? Just the way I?m wired I suppose, but I can guarantee you I?m not alone. There wouldn?t be such a thing as a sports page, and I wouldn?t have a job if people didn?t care.

Disclaimer: To anybody that?s one of those ?non-sports? people, I apologize for sounding like I?m ready for the insane asylum.

Oddly enough, had just a few simple things gone just a bit differently, I would be in a ?good? mood right now. I think back to last second wins vs. UNI, Michigan State, and, had a single moment not happened like it did, those would have been horrible days. Instead, because of plays that took just a couple seconds, they?re wins that I will have fond memories of for a long time.

That?s why sports are fun. One minute you?re on top of the world, the next, you?re sitting in Kinnick Stadium pondering what you did to upset Mr. Karma ? and vice versa.

Along the same lines, I can play the ?what-if? game all day long on this one. Saturday was the first time this season I had an overwhelming confidence entering the game. It was the first time that I put an actual ?prediction? down (I said 35-10 Hawks) ? something I had deliberately avoided doing for the nine weeks previous. Was it me, from 35 rows up, that decided the outcome? It?s hard to argue against it.

What if injuries didn?t happen? What if officials happened to be looking somewhere else at a certain moment?

Well, the chips fell and hats off to Northwestern. Those are all part of the game.

But as I said before, it?s a game. And all in all, even with the losses, it can be fun. I haven?t missed a home Iowa football game in nearly six seasons now, and there?s no doubt I will be back in two weeks when Minnesota comes to town. If a couple hour span can affect me so much that I feel the need to tell all Ledger readers how I feel, just imagine what it?s like when things go well.

Wouldn?t it be easier if I just picked up and decided to be a USC, Texas or Florida fan and go to a BCS bowl every other year? I think so, but that?s not how it works. Ledger publisher and Chicago native Jeff Wilson, who happens to be a fan of my most despised team in the entire country right now ? Northwestern ? said he tried to be an Iowa fan when he first moved here. It does not work that way.

So, because I?m an Iowa fan, probably will be for the rest of my days and because I care so much, I wouldn?t miss next week?s game at Ohio State for the world. Saturday was a tough spot for freshman quarterback James Vandenberg to step into, it may be even tougher this Saturday in Columbus. From what I saw, he has a cannon for an arm but didn?t have much of a clue on how to use it. Let?s hope that gets fixed.

There are three games remaining and this is certainly no time to get down on anybody. With Vandenberg, do I think we can win those? Yes ? no doubt about it. However, I?ll save the predictions this time.

Please, consider my chin up from this point forward ? I am the fan of a 9-1 football team. It?s a game. It could be a lot worse.