Things I love: Soccer

I love soccer. Or, should I say futbol/football? That is, afterall, what the world calls this great sport. Whatever name you wanna call it, I'm all about soccer. In particular, I love:

(1) Seattle Sounders Football Club (Sounders) - Were named the 2010 Sports Franchise of the Year by the SportsBusiness Journal and SportsBusiness Daily, beating out the Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints. I just its 2nd year in Major League Soccer, (MLS) the top-flight U.S. soccer league, the Sounders have won the U.S. Open Cup and qualified for the playoffs in each of its first two years. Perhaps more importantly, the Sounders pack the house, breaking the MLS attendance records and giving the league a definitive shot in the arm. Soccer snobs may continue to bash U.S. soccer, but the MLS is really beginning to pick up steam and the Sounders have been a huge impetus to the league's growth and success! If all that isn't exciting enough, the MLS Playoffs kick off tonight (Columbus v. Colorado) and the Sounders host the L.A. Galaxy in game 1 of their two game playoff tilt Halloween in Seattle. Qwest is gonna be rocking and I'm so bummed I won't be there in person, but you better believe I'll be decked out in Sounders gear supporting the rave green!

(2) Tottenham Hotspur Football Club (Spurs) - A few years ago, I initially started getting more interested in becoming an international soccer fan and figured the English Premier League (EPL) was the league to follow. Many believe the EPL is the top soccer league in the world top-to-bottom. I tend to agree - though that in no way disparages the excellent soccer played in Germany (Bundesliga), Italy (Serie A), and Spain (Primera Division). Whatever your league of choice, the EPL is clearly exciting football and the season is fairly recently underway. I decided I would start liking the Spurs on a bit of a whim, they have historically been a middle of the road type of team that has a tough time shaking the underdog stigma. Thankfully, my Spurs have found a recent vein of success. Currently, they sit near to top of the table (what they call the standings in England) and are also three games into their first Champions League campaign (Europe's championship tournament for top club teams) since 1962, which they qualified for with their fourth-place league finish last year. Currently, the Spurs sit 2nd in their group of four and are in position to advance to the knockout stages of this prestigious tournament. Between the EPL season and Champions League matches, I've got no shortage of Spurs football to follow!

(3) "Rec-league soccer"! Mostly, I love watching my sweetie out there tearing it up! I'd love to play more "rec-league" soccer, but the last pick-up game I played saw me run into the goal post. OUCH!! Soccer's not easy when you don't see too well. So, I'll leave it up to Cara to be the soccer star in this family!

Things I love: Cara

I love Cara. You wanna know why? I'll give you three reasons:

(1) She's incredibly patient and understanding. Cara truly is the first person where I have felt comfortable being my true self. In previous relationships, I always tried to be PERFECT. Granted, I never was (and I'm still not) perfect, but I was afraid to let my guard down and show my insecurities, fears, anxieties, stress, frustrations, etc. I'm sure Cara doesn't always appreciate getting to see these less than perfect sides of me come out (and there have been many instances in the past year with the stresses of job searching and dissertation defending), but throughout, she has been patient and understanding. She is, without a doubt, a constant, steadying foundation in my life.

(2) She's spontaneous and fun. You see, I'm not a particularly spontaneous person. On top of that, I'm an accountant which is on the opposite end of the spectrum from fun. Cara, on the other hand, loves doing spontaneous, fun things. Things such as spontaneous dance parties. Or buying bicycles and becoming "quasi-cyclists". Then there was the time she up and registered us for a "Down and Dirty Mud Run." Okay, so she ran that one by me first and yes, we'll be mud-covered and exhausted this Sunday (more on that to come). The point is, she encourages me to live a bit more spontaneously and a lot more FUN. And I love that about her!

(3) She's my best friend. I don't have much to add to this one - it's quite simple. Whether I'm in a good mood or a bad mood. Whether we're engaged in serious conversation or watching brainless television. Whether I'm anxious and stressed or "on top of the world." Whether we're sitting down for a carefully orchestrated dinner, or eating fast-food on the go. From the highs of life to its lows and for everything in between, I cannot picture spending my life with anyone but her, my best friend, my wife.

I love you sweetheart! It's been an incredible first year of marriage - here's to a lifetime of incredible memories together!