Post #2 - I am on a roll!

Alright, time for post #2. I think once I officially finish this post I will be on a roll and ready to quit my job to become a professional blogger! Ok, not so quick I suppose, but the follow up to post #1 is just as important as the former. Gotta keep building some momentum.


Since we are still in the infancy stages of this grand social experiment, I decided some more background info may be good on me and my sports preferences and team affiliations. (Note: Please flag and bookmark this post as their will be references to it from time to time, it may be handy to catch me jumping on a bandwagon, and there will be a test):


NFL- If hard pressed, I would say the Bucs. That was the last NFL city I lived in and I spent the second longest part of my life in the that city. However, calling the Gulf Coast home now, it is hard to not cheer for the Saints. Yes, I am late to the bandwagon. But for me, the Saints resurgence earned my respect for the organization and a perfect case study for the importance of sports in our world. For an academic tactician, it's hard not to give that organization some major props. I will always throw my support behind these teams. However, I will pledge to take up the colors of a new team once and when I move to a town that has one. I don't care whether it is the Super Bowl champion Pats or the mired in despair Rams or even worse, the Raiders... I will cheer for them as the first NFL team I will call my own.


MLB- Boston Red Sox. I am a Boston junkie. I love the team, the history, the rivalry, the city (at least what I make of it in my mind); sometimes, when alone, I even like to walk around the house and talk like I am from "Bahston". Just kidding. However, I am a late bloomer to the Boston love fest. I joined the ranks of the Fenway Faithful the year that they won the World Series. Now, before you shame me, here me out. I was never much of a baseball guy. When I was growing up in Tampa, we moved just after the Rays (then known as the Devil Rays) came to town and my father never found baseball attractive and thus I was never exposed much to it. When I joined my fraternity in college, my big brother was a huge baseball fan. Being as that we spent so much time together and I really wanted to be initiated in the fraternity and the quickest way to do this was to conform and not piss anybody off, least of all, him, it made sense to follow the team he followed - the Boston Red Sox. Like I said, I had no idea the run they would go on or how they had building and growing their team - I simply chose the path of least resistance. I still have and love the very first Bo'Sox cap I bought... one of my most prized and worn possessions.


NBA- No team here. I like the game, don't get me wrong. But I follow certain players more so than teams and generally don't watch much until the playoffs. This probably stems from the fact that this may be the one sport, try as I may to even have a chance at competing in, I always fell short. My reflexes are too slow, my rhythm is off and I am white and fat...Though, like I said, I still follow the league and will offer my opinions from time to time.


NASCAR- My car fetish explains my connection to NASCAR. I first started following it after reading a piece on Jeff Gordon when I was younger and began watching and learning the sport. Its a fascinating blend of endurance, skill, and science and a lot of fun to watch when you keep up with it (and yes, even makes a great Sunday afternoon nap). I cheer for Hendrick's Motorsports, particularly Jeff Gordon, but the one thing I like about NASCAR is though you have your favorite drivers, you can cheer for more than one competitor and there are several drivers I will throw my support behind - Dale Jr, Martin Truex, Jr, Jaime McMurray, Tony Stewart. Two drivers I despise - Kyle Bush and Kevin Harvick.


NHL - So, I am new to the sport and growing to appreciate it more and more. Like I said earlier, I work in hockey now with a minor league franchise in Pensacola, Fl. Growing up in the south, my exposure to hockey was very limited. I consider myself a fan of the sport, but find it hard to follow a team because of my relative newness in the arena of hockey fandom. However, I was around in Tampa for the Lightening's inaugural season so I always have a spot in my heart to see them do well. However, I do have a slight conundrum in the sport. Our owner is the great Tim Kerr. Yes, that Tim Kerr that rose to greatness in the Flyers organization. So, naturally, I find a desire cheer for the alma mater of the guy that signs my checks. However, my love for Boston comes into conflict as I feel a desire to cheer for the Bruins and that is just not allowed. So, like I said, I am more a fan of the sport vs one particular team (except of course the Ice Flyers... I gotta root for them!)


PGA - This, like NASCAR, has me following several players all the time. Three top faves, hands down, however, are Freddie Couples (smoothes swing in golf), Boo Weekley, and Bubba Watson. Others I enjoy watching include Phil and Tiger (great rivalry), John "The Trainwreck" Daly, Tom Watson, and the list goes on. I love playing the game, watching the game and failing miserably at trying to understand it.


MLS - Love the sport, don't care too much about any particular team. Wish it would gain more momentum in the States.




College Athletics - Mississippi State University and Penn State pretty much anchor my love of college sports. However, I always enjoy a good story or feature on a school. Though I usually try to see past institutional differences, (ie I am not a Gator Fan, but enjoyed seeing Tim Tebow), there are some schools I can rarely justify ever cheering for. Ohio State (THE, my ass...) Ole' Miss, Miami (The "U"), and Alabama ("Roll Tide"). These schools have done something to me that has scared my soul. I can't and wont ever root for them and you will rarely hear me praise one of their actions. More so, their fans suck too :-)!


World Series of Poker - Just kidding... not a sport. Neither is flair bar tending so don't even try :-)


So, that is my sports leanings in a nut shell. I will voice a ton of opinions over all because when it boils down to it I am a fan of sports. I love what it does to us and what it means to us. How seemingly normal human beings can become rabid fans over what some 19 year old freshman does with a spherical shaped object. I love the life lessons. I love the business of sports and how uniquely complicated it is from selling widgets.




So, that is is for now... I hope to give you my take on some current events next post and enough rambling about me. Until then, those are my TFTSL.