43 days.

It's 43 days to kickoff. Oh, don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. UT's first football game is Saturday, September 2. You knew that. It's on your calendar.

I'm only thinking about it because Julia and I went to Scholz's for lunch today. (They need someone to redesign their Web site by the way - it's kind of a mess.) I love Scholz's. You smell like meat when you leave, but the food is good and reasonably priced, and the place is just so Austin...UT football, politics, beer, BBQ, shorts on the patio, history, music. I never want to go back to work when I have lunch there. I want to grab a beer and go sit out back and hang the rest of the afternoon.

Anyway, I want to be excited about the first game. I want to be excited about the whole season. But last year was the best football season of my entire life. The Rose Bowl was the best game of my entire life. It was nirvana. It was perfection. I'm not ready to let go of it. I don't think it can be repeated this year, so the season can't help but be a letdown. No more Vince Young. No more David Thomas. No more magic. The 2005 season is gone. It's almost painful. National Champions...for 43 more days I can hold on to January 4, 2006. The best night ever.



And then it's a new season. A new season kicked off with a game against UNT at 11 a.m. on September 2. Do you have any idea what the temperature will be like during that game??? We're going to be dropping like flies - crispy, red, blistered, shriveled flies with no moisture left in our roasted bodies. There won't be any shade - there's no relief from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. The sun will sit over us like a mocking ball of sizzling death. Relief doesn't start until the sun starts to set behind the West side upper deck, and we'll have been home for hours (with Gatorade IV drips) by the time that happens.

Now, I could be wrong. Maybe it won't be like the Iraqi desert. Last year, according to weatherunderground.com, the high was a balmy 93 on Sept. 2. That's doable (with constant application of sunscreen - I'm telling you the sun is RIGHT ON YOU for three hours). But check out the record temperature - 107 in 2000. We've already had a bunch of 100+ days this summer, so I can't help it - I'm concerned. Someone recently said to me, "It could be worse. It could be a 2 p.m. game, then you'd be sitting up there in the heat of the day. 5 p.m. is the hottest part of the day." True. But at a certain point, a few more degrees just doesn't make much difference - too freakin' hot is too freakin' hot. Maybe we'll catch a break and have some freakish cool front and match the historic low weatherunderground shows for 1915 - 58 degrees. I'd probably just complain that I was cold, wouldn't I?

And for what is all this weather angst? UNT?? Are you kidding me? Between that and Sam Houston on Sept. 30, I'm just disgusted. Our schedule is a travesty. And I don't even want to *discuss* what they're charging for tickets to those games. Now, Ohio State on Sept. 9 is a bright spot. That's a real game, and that's at 7 p.m. Of course, that's also a little scary without Vince. We may find out how far the mighty have fallen on Sept. 9. We shall see, though. Ya nevah know.

But for now, I guess I'll just enjoy the last 43 days of the 2005 season. We're still National Champs. Hook 'em.