My Lord....

If any of you were blessed enough to see the Illinois/Arizona game, you better thank the Lord. There is nothing I can say in this entry that will be an overexageration of the last 10 minutes of this game. It was a hard fought game until the 2nd half when Arizona started destroying the Illini. The Illini were helpless inside and the Wildcats were just racking up points on the scoreboard. With 4 minutes left Arizona had amassed a 15 point lead. Flashes of defeat flashed through my mind. I tried to imagine how I would face the world after having the Illini embarassed like this. Then suddenly Deron Willaims pulls up and hits a 3.....only 12 down. No, there is no way they can come back. Then suddenly a steal, layup, another 3. Still they are down by 9 with 1:30 left in the game. I'm nervously excited. I want to believe they can win, but it will still take a miracle. What do I get? A freakin miracle. I didn't even sit down for the entire 2nd half...and i went from being embarrassed, to nervously excited, to absolute joy. I didn't believe it when it happened. The Illini win 90-89 in OT. It was the best 10 minutes and best basketball game I have seen in my entire life (I say all this taking into account the Bull's decade full of championship runs). Never had I seen just raw passion and heart during a basketball game. Illinois played with absolutely everything they had, and honestly it's an example for us all. Every single one of those players played as if that was the last game they would ever play, and that can be applied to our lives. Everyday has to be taken advantage of, as if it is our last. Every day is precious just as every possesion of the last 5 minutes of that game was. Maybe, just maybe, if we live our lives with the same passion the Illini displayed on the court, we can teach a few people what life is really about.