She wants to watch Barbie Movies...

I have always loved the St. Louis Rams. The Blue and Gold. In 1979, I was 8 years old when I sat on my mom's couch and cried, as I watched Vince Feragamo throw three interceptions in the second half to give away the Superbowl to the Pittsburgh Steelers. I hate the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The thing is, even when the Rams are down by 38 points, or when they haven't won a game in 9 straight weeks, I am still confident they are going to win the game and go to the Superbowl. I can't help it. I am a believer. I am a fan.

My wife is a fan of the idea that we are having a little girl.

On Sunday morning, I wear my lucky shirt, I avoid stepping on cracks, if I find a rogue penny...I know it is on! The Rams will come away with a victory!

So why does it seem so crazy that my wife takes every factoid as a sign that in September our boys will have a little sister?

"My tummy is poking out early, I heard that's a sign that its a girl,"

"I looked on this website, the Chinese believe that if a baby is conceived on a certain day..."

"Does 159 beats per minute seem fast? I heard if the baby's heart rate is fast..."

"Does my hair look shinier?"

"I'm craving fruit...what do you think that means?"

I think it means you want a girl. I think it means your belly is poking out because you are tiny and there is a baby growing beneath your bellybutton; I think it means the Chinese think they know everything; maybe the baby's heart rate is high because it is doing crunches, your hair looks great and you've always loved fruit.

Damn the Internet.

What did women do 50 years ago? Sure there were a couple old wives' tales to keep an expecting mom entertained while she peeled away the days on the calendar waiting for the delivery date. Dad's stood by with buckets of pink and blue paint, but I don't think anyone really expected an answer until D-Day.

Now there is the Internet. An endless supply of front porch gossip. It's like an electronic needlepoint circle filled with a limitless supply of rocking chairs and advice from your grandmother. It's like my wife logs on to www.tell-me-its-going-to-be-a-girl.com for her nightly dose of superstition. If she is hot, or cold, hungry or tired, it all means boy or girl.

Honestly, a couple used to wait until the day the baby arrived, then we got the ultra sound. Now there is high powered 3D imaging technology that can tell you 100% for sure whether there is a stem on the apple in week 20, and, of course: The Internet - loosely translated from its Latin root as - Home to All Bologna. Seriously, the ultra sound is in week 20, that gives me 5 months to paint the room: We can wait.

But it is just eating her up.

When you want something bad enough, I guess you will look to any indicator to prove it is coming true. When the Rams won the Superbowl in '99, I just knew it had something to do with the cereal I ate that morning. When something goes the way you were hoping for, all the superstitions in the world make sense. When it rolls the other way - It's just a load of bologna.

Me? I'm hoping for a baby. Truth is, I'm afraid I'll jinx it if I say it out loud.