It was a heart-breaking Super Bowl for Carolina Panther fans.

But in a few years, I probably won't remember who won Super Bowl XXXVIII. Most likely I won't remember the exact score or who was MVP.

What I will remember will be cheering on Louisiana's own Jake Delhomme, Carolina Panther quarterback.

I will remember the two days leading up to the game, hearing radio ads cheering on the Breaux Bridge native and seeing the Carolina Panther signs hung in store windows.

I'll remember the pride we had.

The big things, like the Most Valuable Player and the statistics, may be what made the game important, but it was the little things that made it personal.

I'll remember watching the game with close friends, eating chicken wings and screaming at the television.

Every one who watched the Super Bowl last Sunday will have their own stories, their own memories.

Anyone could find out that the Chicago Bulls won the 1995-96 NBA championship.

But what I'll always remember about that season is that on April 8, 1996, the Bulls lost their first game in Chicago's United Center ever.

I'll remember that they lost to the Charlotte Hornets by one point that night.

I'll remember because I was there, and that is the little detail that makes it personal.

Everyone will remember Sammy Sosa hitting more than 500 home runs in 1998 and battling Mark McGuire for the MLB home run record.

But I'll remember that year I saw Sosa in Wrigley Field hit a home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to win the game for the Chicago Cubs.

This isn't just about Chicago sports teams. It's not even just about sports.

What were you doing Sept. 11, 2001? I bet you don't remember exactly what time the planes hit the Twin Towers. You may not even remember how many people died that day.

But you remember where you were when you got that call or turned on the news.

That morning my best friend called and woke me up.

"Turn on the TV!" he yelled.

As I reached for the remote, I asked what channel.

He answered gravely, "Every channel."

Sept. 11, 2001, to our generation was what John F. Kennedy's assassination was to our parents and what Pearl Harbor was to our grandparents.

And everyone has their own story.

Not about the big things, but about what made it big to them.

The big things don't matter to the people who experience these events. They're for history books and almanacs.

Statistics and timetables and records make events worth remembering, but the stories individual people take away from these events are what make them worth talking about years from now.

So in a couple of years I may not remember the near-asthma attack I had at the end of Super Bowl XXXVIII.

I probably will not remember just how disappointed I was when the New England Patriots made that field goal with eight seconds left in the fourth quarter to clench the victory.

But I hope I never forget that I had good food, good friends and a good time that night.

Because that's what really matters.

Heidi Hausmann in a senior journalism major from Opelousas and serves as editor for The Tech Talk.