Is it too soon to drink the Kool-Aid? Am I allowed to run upstairs, put on my track suit and Nike's and wait for the mothership to take me to Miami for that magical February weekend?

Can I believe it when I see ANYONE mention Bart Scott for consideration for NFL MVP? Is it possible for me to say "okay, this is real"?

Yes my team is 4-0, and I am beginning to feel like this could be a great year. Of course there is another 4-0 team in the conference, and another in the other conference. All 3 cannot win the Super Bowl. I know that. What I don't know is if a team that started 4-0 has ever missed the playoffs. They would have to go 4-8 the rest of the season to realistically miss the playoffs. Even 5-7 doesn't seem likely. And after 2 straight years of disappointments (especially last year), hope is a wonderful thing. I just don't want to hope for too much too soon. And it is getting harder and harder to not get my hopes up.

It doesn't help that the Ravens are getting more and more national play. Sure, they were home 'dogs last week, but given the track record of the two teams, I understood. I also understood that the team used that to motivate. I think the whole "They Don't Respect Us!!!!!" thing is overdone and really holds no weight. Especially in regards to the Vegas line. Ego has nothing to do with it. There is no regard for the talent or ability of any team in the line. The line is one thing and one thing only, and that is what will make more people pick the team that is going to lose than the team that is going to win. And it isn't about the professional gamblers opinion of the team. It is about the rubes who bet with their hearts or just because they happened to read Bill Simmons' latest rating system (Rule 6...THERE IS NOOOOO RULE 6!) to beat the spread. But yes, they were underdogs last week. Now they are (at the time that I am typing this) 3.5 point underdogs for Monday night, and there are people playing the respect card again (local radio personality Anita Marks was trying to push that yesterday. Chuck Evans, former NFL'er, was quick to shoot it down). The team they are playing is coming off a bye, which came after a win. They are rested and in a positive frame of mind. They are (as mentioned before) one of the only teams that can truly claim a home field advantage. The Ravens lost their starting left guard and may lose their return man. It is not going to be an easy game. And to be honest, they have only beaten one team that they can legitimately brag about beating (in the last 20 or so games) so the spread is fair, since the team they are playing has been to the playoffs the last 3 years.

I guess there really is no answer to this. But I will say this. If the Ravens DO win Monday night, I am in all likelihood going to get out the pitcher and a packet of "powder".