I settled in to watch the Gator Bowl and the Louisville Cardinals played a great first half.
New Year's Day in Louisville felt like we were in Jacksonville.
It was partly sunny and uncommonly warm. But, the Cards were hot.
Then the weather intervened again.
The game was interrupted by tornado warnings.
Then my wife, with some urging from Ken Schulz, ordered us all to the basement as the wind roared outside.
Virginia Tech scored the winning touchdown, while I watched the storm from a basement window.
By the time the storm cleared, I was relegated to watching the Sugar Bowl

The Sugar Bowl? Yes, the same Bowl game that was moved to Atlanta because of hurricane damage at the Superdome. It was a difficult day to escape the weather.
But at least West Virginia preserved a little dignity for the Big East Conference by downing Georgia 38-35. The Georgia Dome was full of hang dawg looks as the Mountaineers proved that the Big East belongs in the BCS final eight.

And speaking of bowls, allow me just one mention of the New Year's Eve Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte. Instead of Car Care, .it should have been Who Cares. But, it gave North Carolina State a platform to shut out, yes shut out South Florida. These are the mighty Bulls, who scored 45 points on Louisville in September. Can anybody tell me, how these guys beat a 9-3 Louisville team.? At least the weather was calm for this game.

I wound up my holiday seeing the tornado damage in Hardin county. There was also the news of wildfires in Oklahoma, where it refuses to rain, and a torrent in California, where it almost never rains. And whatever happened to snow in January? It was a holiday slightly out of kilter.
Here's hoping for a 2006 where we return to normal weather patterns and a very short hurricane season.
Happy New Year.