12.31.2009

Coming Soon. Very Soon. Like...Maybe Tomorrow.

Hi there.

I'm Michael.

As you may have already guessed, I'm a sports fan, and as my friends and family can attest to, I sometimes have a lot to say (or write) on the subject. That being the case, I had it in mind to keep up a blog littered with my random thoughts on various sports related subjects.

As far as my fandom is concerned, I paint with a broad brush. Unquestionably, my two favorite sports, the ones I follow on a daily basis, are college football and soccer. Being born and raised in the South, it's only natural that college football, especially SEC football, holds a hypnotic appeal for me. Being a graduate of Auburn University and a former manager with the football team there, it's fair to say that my Auburn Tigers will probably take up a few column inches here from time to time as a result.

Compared to college football, my affinity for soccer is much more organic. I spent part of my youth playing the sport, and kept up with things a bit during World Cup years, but for the most part it didn't hold sway with me. Then 2002 happened. A confluence of events (a video game, a Champions League Final, and the 2002 World Cup) provided me with a different lens with which to view the beautiful game and its appeal has not since waned. My favorite teams are the US Men's National Team (if you have to ask why, you've clearly never listened to Lee Greenwood), Manchester United, and SK Rapid Wien. Similar to Auburn and college football, I imagine soccer will make up a fair bit of the content on this blog, especially since we are about to be in a World Cup year.

My overall sports palate, however, is much more expansive than just college football and soccer, and next on my sports food chain would have to be tennis and college basketball. Given the nearly year round nature of the professional tennis season, I guess to a certain extent I follow the sport on a daily basis as well, but my interest begins to subside considerably after the US Open, except for Davis Cup and some Masters Series events here and there. With regard to college basketball, I love the sport wholly and am not just a fan of the sport in March, though I do contend that March Madness and the NCAA Tournament is just about the greatest annual sporting event there is. We are right in the thick of the season right now and I've already logged a fair amount of hours game film, so I'm sure I'll have plenty to say on the subject.

Beyond these sports I've already mentioned, there are several others that will probably draw my attention from time to time. I know I'm very much in the minority for thinking this, but a fellow contender with March Madness for the greatest annual sporting event is the Tour de France, and hopefully I can help to show you why come July.

Golf has been in the headlines for the all the wrong reasons lately due to its chief ambassador, but that shouldn't diminish the appeal of the game itself. Some of my fondest sports memories growing up are of me and my Dad sitting in our living room and watching just about every shot of every major down to the final hole.

The Winter Olympics are also coming up and I loves me some Olympic Games, both winter and summer. The Winter Olympics always arrive a little bit under the radar compared to the grandeur of the Summer Olympics, but I enjoy the Winter Games as much, if not more than the Summer Games. And this edition's host, Vancouver, will do little to blot the appeal for me. Vancouver and British Columbia are near the top of my list for future travel destinations. I'm also an avid skier, so I look forward to seeing as much of the famed Whistler Resort on HD television as possible. We're just a month and a half away from the opening ceremonies you know.

If you're looking for a lot of MLB, NBA, or NFLcontent on this blog, you'll be disappointed, though I might have something to say on these things every now and again. As the title of my blog indicates, it will represent the keyhole through which I view sports. It will be both reverent and irreverent. Given the relative apathy with which soccer and tennis are treated in this country, it might not be the most intelligent move on my part to dedicate as much time towards these sports as I probably will. I might do just as well to title my blog Nobody's Reading, but I guess these entries will probably be as therapeutic for me as they will be for my (no doubt) few readers, though I hope you find something interesting here. I'm just using this blog as a platform to put my hours upon hours of sports watching to some decent use and some perspective, for what it is worth.

So come along, join me if you wish as I try to put into words what sports means to me. I can't promise to update this thing every day, but hopefully I can add a few things a week. I also can't promise that you will be enlightened by anything I say here, but it's probably better than watching Jersey Shore.

My Auburn Tigers take on Northwestern tomorrow morning in the Outback Bowl, so I'm sure I'll have some reaction to that game at some point. In the meantime, thanks for stopping by and be on the lookout for future posts.