Your heart skips a beat. Butterflies flutter in your stomach. It's the magical moment when you know you have found that special someone.
It is in this instant, when everything seems right with the world, when nothing could possibly go wrong, that the floor drops out from under you. Your significant other no longer thinks you're significant. Your date goes to the bathroom and mysteriously never returns. Instead of strutting your stuff at the bars, you sit in your apartment listening to Phil Collins' greatest hits with your new best friend Captain Morgan.
Why the negativity? Am I a cold, heartless cynic? Have I watched Moulin Rouge too many times? Am I still depressed because and Nick and Jessica split up?
No, actually, I just want to give Badger fans a little reality check.
Over the past few weeks, it seems everyone on campus has been blissfully buzzing about a trip to the Rose Bowl. With the way UW has steamrolled its last four opponents, it's hard to blame them.
P.J. Hill looks more like Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne than a red-shirt freshman. John Stocco has thrown for 1,590 yards and 12 touchdowns, and ranks second in school history in career passing yards.
On the other side of the ball, a unit that resembled Swiss cheese a year ago now stands in the top 10 nationally in passing defense and total defense.
Then there is the schedule. The Badgers should handle Illinois and Penn State, and I think my grandma's church choir could score against Buffalo. So if UW upsets the Hawkeyes in Iowa City, the Badgers will finish 11-1 and be bound for Pasadena, Calif., right?
Wrong.
In 2003, the Badgers started 6-1, upset the defending national champion Ohio State Buckeyes and climbed to No. 14 in the Associated Press Poll. They then proceeded to drop five out of their last six games, including a 28-14 loss to Auburn in the illustrious Music City Bowl.
Badger fans had a national championship on their minds in 2004. Wisconsin took their No. 4 ranking and 9-0 record into East Lansing, Mich., where the Spartans humbled UW 49-14. Nevertheless, a victory over Iowa the next week would have sent the Badgers to the Rose Bowl. The Hawkeyes won 30-7, and Wisconsin lost to Georgia in the Outback Bowl.
Last season, the 8-1 Badgers stood in the thick of the Big Ten race before losing back-to-back games against Penn State and those pesky Hawkeyes. Unlike the previous two seasons however, UW rebounded to win their bowl game, beating Auburn in Barry Alvarez's final game as head coach.
Bret Bielema's squad has been too busy blowing out their recent opponents to worry about what happened in the past. But are the 2006 Badgers really a Rose Bowl team?
Probably not.
Indiana, Northwestern, Minnesota and Purdue boast a combined conference record of 4-12. Bowling Green, Western Illinois and San Diego State are 8-14 collectively. The only time the Badgers played a ranked opponent, they lost to Michigan, and the second half wasn't pretty.
Barring a gargantuan upset, the Wolverines and the Ohio State Buckeyes will both enter their season-ending showdown with records of 11-0. The winner will play for the national championship. The loser will probably head to Pasadena or another BCS venue.
Don't get me wrong. I think the Badgers are a great team. They have exceeded expectations and created a season's worth of highlights and memories in their first eight games. Yet, as we have seen in the past, a good start does not guarantee a good finish or a Rose Bowl bid.
I know you've got butterflies Badger fans. I know you think this team might be the one, but be careful. Don't be heartbroken when you're not smelling roses in January.
