Growing up, I was always exposed to sports. My mom played volleyball growing up (and one of my uncles...who passed in 2007, may he forever rest in peace...was this amazing athlete), and my dad is a huge basketball nut. He loves to play ball. I, however, wasn't too big of a fan of sports. I mean, I played volleyball and liked basketball, but it wasn't an obsession growing up.
Fast forward to my college years, and the obsession set in.
I don't even know when it started. I guess it started in 2000, when I became a Dallas Mavericks fan, went to my first NBA game with a group I volunteered for, and fell in love. Or maybe it was later that year, when I started to discover ESPN. Or maybe it was 2004, when I decided I was going to OSU and we made the Final Four that year. Or maybe it was during my college years, when I became emerged in college football and basketball. I really don't know when my love for sports started to take over, but it took over pretty fast. I went from ESPN hater to ESPN lover nearly overnight. I have a good half-dozen apps on my phone devoted to sports (and will add more once fantasy basketball and college basketball start). I just can't.get.enough.
That's probably a big reason why J married me, but that's a different story for a different day.
I don't really like playing sports. I'm not in the best shape [and i'm lazy as hell...i'd rather sleep than walk any day], and I really hate running, so that knocks out a good 99 percent of sports right there. And golf...I just can't get into golf. I'd fall asleep on the course. So, I've taken to being an awesome spectator. I've been to more than my share of OSU home football games, the Cotton Bowl, a ton of Thunder games [including playoff games vs. the lakers], and I've taken in a few OSU men's/women's basketball, softball and baseball games, too. It's so fun to cheer, to yell, to boo with everyone else. To be a part of - if only for a little while - something that doesn't require me to think about life's problems or dwell on what to make for dinner [um, pretzels with cheese, anyone?]. Sports - for the most part - is one big happy family of fans from all over the place who, most times, feel the exact same way you do about your team.
It's fun. It's awesome. And I love it.
My recent dive in sports has taken me to NFL. I'm not a big fan of the NFL [and i really, really hate the cowboys], but I decided to play fantasy football this year and actually start watching games. It's kinda difficult to sit through an entire set of games when you've got a curious 21-month-old, but that's what highlights and NFL shows on ESPN are for, right? Right. I suck at fantasy football right now and am still getting the hang of it, but it's been fun so far. And I plan on playing for many, many year - who knows? Maybe next season, I'll take on my husband. :)
Consider this my intro into my sports life. I'll probably wind up blogging bits and pieces about basketball and football seasons, so this is your warning. Now, I'm off to go check my fantasy league and see if it can be salvaged. Oi.
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