In my third year covering Illinois football coach Lovie Smith, I have come to realize he is anything but sentimental.
Still, I am stubborn and persistent. So I asked.
How does it feel to be going back to Soldier Field?
Smith didn't bite. Not even a little bit.
"I just don't hardly live in the past an awful lot," Smith said. "That's just not a real story to me."
No disrespect to the building, which he likes a lot.
"Soldier Field itself, going back there," Smith said, "it's neat."
But there won't be a wistful walk into the locker room, No flashbacks to big wins at his home for nine successful seasons.