Seattle Sports Fan

I love Seattle sports. Let me correct that: I am obsessed with Seattle sports. Cara gives me a hard time about it and points out that I devote way too much time and energy to this obsession. And, I totally agree...but, I'm sucked in! I can't help it! So, I turn to blogging in an attempt to give my obsession an outlet. Maybe it'll help slow me down. Then again, maybe it'll only make my obsession grow. And grow. Poor Cara...

My obsession started innocently enough. As a kid, I loved sports and stats. I got a baseball video game (Bases Loaded II: Second Season) and never looked back. Since the game did not calculate statistics beyond one game itself, I christened myself league statistician and did so myself. There I was, a 9-year-kid crunching away batting averages, ERAs, on-base percentages, etc. Nerdy? You bet. The sports obsession seeds were planted.

I grew up loving the Atlanta Braves. I think this is largely because I could listen to every game on the Turner Radio Broadcast in Gaithersburg, MD. And listen I did. I would stay up late with the radio down low getting my fill of sports and stats. Feeding the growing obsession. Other than that, I can't recall being particularly obsessed with any one team in particular. In fact, it wasn't until I moved to Seattle that I really started feeling pride for the home town teams. And it has only been since I moved to Knoxville a few years ago that this pride has turned into obsession. I am obsessed with NW sports.

I think that the root of this obsession is that it connects me with the NW. I miss my family, friends, the weather, the sights and sounds. Following NW sports obsessively helps connect me to the NW. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. But, I probably could stand to turn it down a notch. Here's a sampling of what drives Cara crazy:

• Seattle Mariners: I watch all of the M's games on MLB GameTracker and simultaneously refresh the M's Live game blog page at the Seattle Times website (see the blog, here). So, under the pretense of "work," I am typically keeping a watchful eyes on my boys in grey and blue. So far, the M's are off to a surprisingly hot start at 8-5, leading the AL West by 2.5 games. I'd like to claim this is due to my obsessive vigilance. But, Cara has convinced me that is poor logic. So, I'm gonna try to keep a slightly less obsessively vigilant eye on the M's.
• Seattle Sounders FC: Ever since the expansion Seattle Sounders FC MLS team was announced, I have eagerly snapped up any information on the new hometown franchise. And now the dream is a reality. The Sounders stormed into their first season as an MLS franchise with three straight wins. And I was (you guessed it) keeping a watchful eye out the whole way! Well, sometimes it was a watchful ear I guess. The games are broadcast online at KIRO radios website, so I've taken in a game or two with headphones in my ear. In fact, there have been a couple of occasions when I had both the Sounders AND the M's to stimulate my sports/stats obsession!! Awesome!! Nevermind my first professional/semi-professional soccer experience was when Cara took me to a Timbers game in Portland. She claims that I have to be a Timbers fan. I have a blast proving her wrong and cheering for the Sounders that much louder! It'll be even more fun when the Timbers join MLS in 2011! A rivalry is born! Now I just need a jersey!
• Seattle Seahawks: In reality, my Seahawks obsession is more of a fantasy football obsession. I posted about this obsession here. It's a long blog. So, I'm just gonna leave it at that.
• Gonzaga Bulldogs: I would say that the Bulldogs are probably my healthiest obsession, in that both Cara and I are passionate about our alma mater's basketball team. So, at least we can share in the obsession. Within our first 12 hours of dating, we were snuggled up on the couch watching our Bulldogs in the 2008 NCAA tournament. And the "fan-dom" continues in Knoxville. ESPN2 and the WCC have a suh-weet deal where a handful of league games are broadcast nationally. Unsurprisingly, Gonzaga hogs the spotlight which is perfect for us! So, we get to see quite a bit of our Zags in Knoxville! The game times are killer, usually starting at 11pm EST. So, Cara watches the 1st 4 minutes and falls asleep on the couch. I promise to go to bed at halftime if the Zags are blowing their opponent out. The Zags dominate the 1st half. I proceed to watch the ENTIRE game anyways. Then I wake Cara up and we go to bed around 1am EST.

Bottom line. It's exhausting work. But, that's the life of a SUPER fan. Make that an obsessive, super fan. I'm trying to drop the obsessive part. But, I've got a ways to go. Well, I gotta run. M's are on GameTracker...

Kidding.