How 'bout dem Rice Owls?

So, funny story! I got up this morning for church, and went to my closet to get a shirt, and thought, hmmmm, today is Pentecost, right? So I should wear red. Okay. So I get to choir practice, and it turns out I missed a week somewhere. Today is Ascension Sunday, not Pentecost. Oh well. I'll have to dredge up another red shirt for next week.

Anyway, after mass today we had our annual choir lunch at Ninfa's, so it was around 1:30 PM when I got back to my apartment. The Conference USA championship tournament has been going on since Wednesday, and my Rice Owls were slated to play our cross-town rivals, the University of Houston Cougars, in the championship game starting at 1 PM. Now, even though I have a degree from both institutions, there's absolutely no question who I root for. The coogs have a very respectable baseball program, and were second in the conference standings coming into the tournament, but when it comes to choosing between the boys in blue and the boys in red . . . I pick my Rice Owls every time.

By the way, my boys in blue? Yeah, consensus number 1 pick in the three national polls, an RPI of 2, and number 1 in CUSA conference standings, just so you know. In their first season in the conference they've set a new record for winning percentage, and all this in a conference that's stronger in baseball than the one we left. The boys have been on fire!

So I get to my apartment, and decide I'm not really in the mood to face a crowd, so I'll just stay home and watch the game on line. I fire up the computer feed, and, OH NO! My Owls are losing 2-0 going into the 2nd inning. I look down and realize, uh oh, I'm rooting for the wrong team with this red shirt of mine. But I'm not a terribly superstitious fan, so I laugh it off. We got one back in the bottom of the 2nd, but then give up 3 more in the top of the 4th. At that point, I said, out loud and to myself, "Fine, already, I'll go change shirts."

I grab a blue shirt out of the closet and put that on, and settle back down on the couch. Somewhat grumpily and anxiously, I might add. Then! In the bottom of the 4th inning! Rice scores 3! Bottom of the 6th, Savery gets a 2 out 2 run homer, then in the bottom of the 7th we get 2 more runs! U of H didn't score for the rest of the game, and with a final run in the bottom of the 8th my Owls won it 11-5!!! I take full credit of course. :-P

So next weekend we'll host a regional tournament here at Reckling Park. After that comes super-regionals, then . . . drum roll please . . . Omaha. Let's go Rice!!!