I’m heading to enemy territory.

From day one I’ve made it clear that I am an Arizona Wildcat fan. I’ve been such since day one and I lament the two years of my life in which the Cats didn’t dance. Those were rough and I recognize that such an existence is rare. Believe me, I do not take this for granted.

And as a fan of both this team and this conference, it’s about as fun of a road trip as there is. From Seattle to Eugene to San Francisco, LA, Phoenix and now Boulder and SLC, there are few if any conferences that offer that sort of  road power. I mean, Lubbock, Manhattan, Stillwater, Morgantown? Good grief no thanks!

And so I’m heading to Boulder. I’m going for a game coined the #ValentinesDayMassacre by a fan base conducting a “wear black” game. Not a blackout. They can’t be trusted with such verbiage. And to be honest, neither can I but that’s irrelevant. Your next Facebook cover photo is relevant:

Your new Facebook cover photo.

Right click, Save Image As, Edit Cover Photo, Upload Photo, add that one because that will be me and Sarah and Spencer and Matt and Peter and relatively countable others amongst the black. Shining through in the colors of Bear Down on Saint Valentine’s day of love.

And let me tell you I cannot wait. I’m going to see some of the best Cats I know and since starting this here house of narcissism I’ve grown to know a good group of Buffs. This is going to be one helluva weekend in the greater Denver area.

I’ve addressed the Buffaloes on this matter which lead to some fun message board banter (jump in here). Evidently their 2012 Conference Tournament Title (sincere kudos) affords them a thirty year eraser. That’s cool (sarcasm font). The spark:

Dear Buffalo Nation,

I’m on my way.

I’m flying to Denver International Airport in my red shirt and when I land I’ll look deep into that crazy blue horse’s red eyes and it will know exactly what’s up. Because this is the week you host a Top-10 team. And I expect a Top-10 treatment: That Keg had better be black as night so that everyone knows exactly where the Wildcats are. Because I know exactly where they’ll be.

They will be so locked into the chests of Ski and The Mayor that those two will think they wore the wrong jersey. You think Nick Johnson is about to let someone go Crabbe on him again? No and I just called Kenny Boynton about it and he vomited. Puked. Probably has something to do with his 2-10, 3 turnover night in Tucson.

They’ll be coming at Josh Scott with so many big bodies he’ll forget he’s ambidextrous and defer to the three-named kid who will also get chewed up and spit out just in time for Roberson to rebound it. He does that well.

And they’ll go right at Sabatino. He is not scary. We could watch video of him banking his fifth career three-pointer that no one wanted to let count but all we’d really focus on is that pristine hair. Unflappable, glorious locks.

This is the program you asked for and this is the game that you wanted. And now you’ve got it. But do you really know what you got? This is a program that doesn’t play for invitations or eleven seeds or first weekends. Wildcats play for one game on a Monday night in a football stadium to hang some cloth in a gym that we call McKale. This is Arizona.

So we’ve indeed got our Saint Valentine’s treat: A trip to Boulder and a whole lot of fun and the Buffs chance to make a mark on this conference and this budding rivalry. A Top-10 moment (and believe you me, I too wished this was a Top-3 team you were facing). I’ll see you there because it sure beats dealing with the fallout of the girl you’re doing nothing for who you mistakenly took on date two on 2/7 (rookie move). Get your popcorn ready…

I’m on my way.

Adam

PS. Seriously, I will see you guys there and I’m really looking forward to meeting you. Not entirely sure where I’ll be pre-game but post-game, let’s do Boulder.

So I’ve grabbed every sweater, jacket, scarf, beanie, hoodie, wool sock, and glove I could muster (not much for a kid from Tucson) and I’m set. Let’s do this. If you’re going and I don’t know yet, let me know: @pachoopsab. Let’s get undergrad on Boulder.