I've been fortunate enough to cover my hometown sports teams for the last 8 years.

I was lucky enough to cover the Cardinals in the playoffs, the Blues in the playoffs, the Rams in the Super Bowl, and Missouri basketball in the Elite Eight.

And, my sports memory goes back to 1982 (my first Cardinal game in August of 1982...a game in which Lonnie Smith hit an inside-the-park home run...and the next day Glen Brummer stole home...meaning I was essentially served cocaine one evening and black tar heroin the next...perhaps explaining the Cardinal addiction and the field I chose to pursue).

However, nothing---nothing---ranks higher when you combine pure surprise, enjoyment, and excitement than the 2007 Missouri football team.

Holy shit...where the hell did that season come from?

Walking out of Arrowhead Stadium with Missouri fans chanting, "We're Number 1," and it not be a sarcastic chant that I was used to hearing in the mid-90's was one of my favorite---and most surreal---sports memories.

True story: being the sports "expert" that I am, I walked out of the Dome last year following the Missouri-Illinois game and said to the gentlemen with whom I went, "I'm glad they won, but those aren't very good football teams."

4 months later, one team is in the Cotton Bowl...and one team is in the Rose Bowl.

Perfect.

12 months after the last time Illinois and Missouri met, expectations for Tiger football are in another world. Quite honestly, I get the vibe that anything less than a BCS bowl bid would be a disappointment for many Missouri fans. And, to further the theme of "quite honestly," I'd put myself in that camp as well.

But, are those of us who consider ourselves Missouri fans setting this season up for a huge letdown by raising the expectations so high?

Are we on the verge of becoming the Atlanta Braves fans of college football...or the St. Louis Football Cardinals/Rams fans of college football? We went from nothing but torture for so long...to a Greatest Show On Turf-caliber offense and a #1 ranking in a matter of 3 months. Now, some of us bitch about "only" being ranked #6.

I got to be honest. After seeing #1 Colorado beat Missouri on 5 downs and  #1 Nebraska beat Missouri on a kicked ball, I'm predisposed to expecting the worst. I guess it's part of being a Tiger fan.

My guy who writes for insideSTL.com in the STL Fighting Illini section, Brad Sturdy, tells me that they're "quietly confident" in Champaign, and they're loving the attention Missouri is getting...because they think that if they can control the line of scrimmage, they're going to leave St. Louis with a huge win. The Illini know that no other team (including Oklahoma in both of their wins over the Tigers) put more yards up against that Missouri defense than they did last year at the Dome. And, they know that Juice Williams was wandering around queer street for most of the game on the sidelines with a concussion. And, they love that they're a 9 point underdog.

The talk of a Missouri National Championship could go from commonplace to a pipe dream by the time 10:00 rolls around Saturday night.

And, even if the Tigers get out of St. Louis with a win, they still have to go to Lincoln and beat Nebraska, go to Austin and beat Texas, hold serve at home against Colorado, K-State, and Oklahoma State, and then beat KU in Kansas City...just to get to Texas, Texas Tech, or, most likely, Oklahoma in a Big 12 Championship rematch at Arrowhead.

That's a whole hell of a lot to accomplish. That's a whole hell of a lot to survive.

But, you know what?

I honestly think that Missouri is that good, and I honestly think they can do it.

(insert Illinois or KU fan homer accusations here)

The reason why I was so damned critical of Missouri's performance against OU in last year's Big 12 Championship Game is because, to be blunt, I felt like they shit the bed. I still maintain that they didn't play *their* game against the Sooners. Now, I know they didn't have Chase Coffman to just throw the ball up to once they got in the red zone, but I was shocked by how few times they threw the ball and played their aggressive style once they got in Oklahoma territory.

Don't get me wrong, OU is/was a great football team. But, I firmly believe Missouri was better.

The (understood) mentality of both the hardcore and casual Missouri fan was that, "If you would've been told the Tigers would be going to the Cotton Bowl at the beginning of the season, you would've taken it."

Sure. I agree.

But, that's setting the bar too low.

I contend that, by the end of the season in 2007, Missouri may have been the best team in the country.

Yeah, I said it.

Just like I said after they went to Norman and lost to OU that I could see Missouri getting to number 1 by the end of the regular season if things fell into place.

And, the above fun fact/opinion about the Tigers being the best team in the country (or at the very least, one of the top 3) is important...because *so* many of those guys will be on the field again Saturday night at the Dome.

Sure, you know about and hear about Daniel, Maclin, and Coffman on the offense...and deservedly so. But, by the end of the year, it was the Missouri defense that was allowing the Tigers to really just dominate opponents (and even though the score was close, that KU game was a domination...and I think KU was one of the Top 5 teams in the nation last year).

So, for the Missouri defense to be returning 10 starters from 2007...including some legitimate potential superstars in William Moore and Sean Weatherspoon...that's flat-out deadly.

Combine that with two legitimate Heisman candidates on offense, and this season has the potential to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for Missouri fans.

One ESPN writer has Missouri playing USC for the National Championship. That's the kind of shit that only used to happen when I was playing PlayStation in my parents' basement. Now, it's considered at least possible.

It goes without saying that this is a critical year for Missouri football. A National Championship is the type of thing that can make Saturday's in Columbia a tradtion for years to come for thousands more than those who have been making the trip even during the many dark years. However, a letdown with expectations so high can cripple a fan base...especially the casual fan base.

The stage is set in St. Louis. The sports landscape this fall, for the first time in my generation's lifetime, can be owned by Missouri football. The pieces are in place for a run to glory.

It will be a sequel, indeed. It's just a matter of whether it will be Caddyshack II or The Godfather II.

I've got my money on the latter.

I think the best team in college football just might be 125 miles down Interstate 70.