Hello

Hello

Feet are feeling light
Head on out to see the sights
Ain't life a many splendored thing?

Ducking up and down
All these crazy lights and sounds
Bounce around like puppets on a string
Never gonna find, anything to change my mind
Famous last lines of a fool.

Just when you think
You're a chain with just one link
Something comes to tip you off your stool.

Hello Hello
Hello Hello
My My My, what have we here?
What a surprise
What a surprise!

"Hello, Hello"

- Lady Gaga & Elton John 

For the theme "Hello", I really wanted to be in Minneapolis to take a photo at IKEA.  There's a sign with the word "Hello" and I thought that would have made the perfect picture for today.  Plus it would be a chance to visit IKEA, one of the gay high holy sites (along with Restoration Hardware). But today would provide an opportunity for another type of photo.

And this post should really be titled - "HELLO!" 

Regular readers of my blog know that I am a very big fan of the Iowa State women's basketball team. I haven't missed a home game since 2006 (and that was due to a funeral). 

Today the girls played third-ranked and undefeated Texas. 

On Wednesday, Iowa State played at Texas Christian.  The Cyclones led by 21 at half, but ended up losing the game by 2.  We also lost one of our starters to a stress fracture during the game. It was an ugly loss.

So with the #3 Longhorns coming to town, Matt and I weren't overly optimistic about our chances in the game. I was just hoping that Iowa State could keep the score close. 

The first half was unfortunate. It seemed that Texas couldn't couldn't miss and we couldn't make a shot. At one point we trailed by 18 points, and ended up down 37-24 at the half.  

In the second half, suddenly our shots started falling, and you could see the Longhorn players starting to panic a bit.  Before we knew it - ISU had the lead 57-50. Hilton Coliseum was ROCKING and the crowd could sense that an upset was truly possible.

The team's fortunes changed and suddenly we couldn't hit a basket or a free throw. UGH! Texas tied the score at 57 and things looked desperate.  With about 19 seconds left, ISU forward Seanna Johnson completed a layup to put the Cyclones ahead by 2 points.  

The game ended with a flurry of activity under the Texas basket as the Longhorns had three shots at scoring a game-tying bucket.  The horn sounded and ISU had upset Texas, 59-57.

The entire crowd was cheering and there were hugs and high-fives all around. It was a good day. 

Okay, it's off to Des Moines to do a little shopping. :-)

Love you Awesome Nerds!

Robert