For the next 500-1000 words or so I would like to take this time to hopefully not bore you to sleep about who I am and where my sports views come from. I was born and raised in the South Suburbs of Chicago in a town called Homewood. I grew up a die hard Chicago fan..when it comes to baseball I am definitely more of a White Sox fan than a cubs fan.
I can attribute much of my love for sports mainly to my father but also to my mother as well. As a child I can recall my dad watching some sort of event on TV growing up, whether it be Football, Basketball, Hockey, Baseball, Golf…Sports was something that I saw daily in my house growing up.
I would say my love for sports started at a very young age. I started going to Bulls games with my family when i was a small child and I can still remember my first Notre Dame football game back in 1993 when Notre Dame played Purdue @Purdue. It was a cold and rainy afternoon and my dad told me later in life that he was worried that due to the weather and it being my first football game that I would want to go home and wouldn’t be able to sit through the weather. But I did not ask to leave or think of it once because to me this was a special moment.. I sat through all four quarters that day and watched Notre Dame beat Purdue 17-0. Thia occurrence started an amazing bond that I still have with my father up til this day around the world of sports.
For the next several years my dad acquired Chicago Bears season tickets…and yes I sat through those horrific times and watched some pretty horrific players(in no particular order): Alonzo Spellman, Jeremy Lincoln, Cade McNown, Curtis Enis, Shane Matthews, Kordell Stewart, Rashan Salaam, and the countless other airhead players who should never have been allowed to play any form of the game football that sadly wore a bears uniform through the 90′s and the first 5 years of the new millennium. But I still love the team and going to the games. I also sat through some pretty crummy weather as well… There was a Jets game in the mid to late 90′s that I can remember that rivals how cold it was for the Monday Night game a few years back against Atlanta when the temperature was below zero. A rainy preseason game against Kansas City that turned into mud fest and was later cancelled due to lightning…. and yes the walk back that day, through the old parking lot, through McCormick place and into the garage was one of the most miserable walks I can remember. But enough of my rambling.
I come from a huge line of Illinois fans and alumni. My grandfather went to Illinois, My grandmother to Illinois… many of my aunts and Uncles…Illinois…My mom…Illinois….My stepbrothers…Illinois… several of my cousins…Currently at Illinois…My sister…Currently at Illinois….So naturally you would think I too would become a fighting Illini and also sport the orange and blue around the house. WRONG! I am a proud Hoosier and bleed Crean and Crimson..yes I said Crean. I am a firm believer that he will do great things for the IU basketball program in years to come. But, can you just imagine how hard it was for me to show my face this past winter with only 1 big ten win!
I also like to play many sports leisurely, I am a former IU Club volleyball player (starting middle blocker all 4 years so far), I am a pretty decent 6’4″ small forward with a good outside shot, Never played competitive football in my life, but am always down for a game of flag football with the guys, I got an 80mph batting practice fastball with no movement (I also tend to leave this one up over the plate) that Jim Thome would be licking his chops over, an inconsistent golfer with scores that can range anywhere from 88-100, But my first love is one of the more obscure sports…Bass Fishing.
