Is it really 2005?

Last night I left for dinner at 5:30 PM. By 8:30 we were heading to a friend’s house where we watched TV for a while, and talked about the old times.

At 11:58 PM, we turned on Dick Clark’s Rockin’ Eve. Clark was in the hospital, so Regis filled in. Regis – obviously nervous and had no idea what he was doing – started the ball countdown, and as the clock struck midnight, he had only counted down to two.

And that’s where this all begins.

I find myself sitting in front my PC waiting for the New Year. All indications show 2005 is here. My Dilbert calendar is flipped to January 1. The Sci-fi Channel is showing their new year’s Twilight Zone marathon. My ATM receipt even says January 1, 2005 on it.

So why is it that I feel no difference in the atmosphere? The traffic was light, but it’s Saturday, so that’s normal. Little Caesar’s was open and I was able to get a pizza. Heck, my wife even went to work this morning.

To be honest, the only way I’m going to feel like 2005 is here is when the Rose Bowl starts. To most of us College Football fans, we view the January 1 as Rose Bowl day. Like many of you, my relatives were informed that we’d only come over if they had the Rose Bowl on for me to watch.

Michigan gets Texas this year in the Rose Bowl. A match-up that scares me. Not that I think Michigan can’t win, it’s just that I know that Texas can.

I wonder if anyone remembers what a running QB did against Michigan this year? Notre Dame’s won, MSU’s would have won, and Ohio State’s won.

Guess what Texas has?

That’s right.

They have a running QB.

They also have a running back that put up near 1800 yards, and fell just short of 20 touchdowns.

But enough of the same old “stop the running game” talk. Let’s get back to the point of all this. New Years. Rose Bowl.

Let’s petition the world’s leaders to change New Years to 5 PM on January 1. Then make December 31 a party day, and add a December 32nd. Would that make any sense? Maybe, maybe not.

Maybe it’s time we – as true sports fans – drew up, and abided by, our own calendar. We could declare new holidays, and still keep the old ones.

The only problem with all this is what do you do about December 31st celebrations? Do we observe that as we do now, or do we simply use it as an excuse to go out and have a good time?

Heck, I don’t know. I think for now I’m going to go ponder my thoughts, watch a couple more episodes of The Twilight Zone, and then ring in my New Year with the Rose Bowl at 5 PM.