The Day I Became a Sports Fan

Welcome to my personal sports blog, My Take, which will be my take on issues and events surrounding the world of sports. One week I may give my take on the Detroit Lions, probably on how they can improve. Or another week I might talk about the MLB Playoffs, or the NBA regular season. Every week you can count on me to give you My Take.

My personal love for sports started at a young age. The first sport I grew to love was college football, and my favorite team is the Michigan Wolverines. That’s right, Go Blue were practically the first words I learned. I remember the day I became a sports fan. I woke up early on a cool fall Saturday. I got up, put on my jersey, ate a quick breakfast and walked across my yard scattered with leaves that I would have to rake later.  My family and I all piled in my Dad’s old green 1994 F150 for a two-hour ride to Ann Arbor.

When we arrived it was a beautiful day for football. We parked our truck and I learned about tail-gating. Tail-gating is a sport in itself. The menu could be as simple as a hotdog or burger with a fist full of oreos, or as fancy as shish kebab with side of shrimp and cheese cake for dessert. We finished our grub, and began to walk to the stadium.

The smells of game day filled the air as we walked to the stadium to watch the game. When I entered the stadium, or as I should say, The Big House, I saw thousands of people there to cheer for Michigan and I really didn’t know why. As I took my seat, I heard the announcer’s voice boom over the crowd “Please rise for our national anthem.” I stood up, put my hat on my chest and sang the anthem with courage because I was old enough to know it is a privilege to live in freedom. The game was about to start, and we all cheered as the team ran out of the tunnel and jumped to hit the banner as a game tradition. I was too young to understand first downs, or penalty flags, or why people booed at a man wearing a striped shirt. but I did know which team had more points, so when Michigan fans cheered, I cheered. Michigan ended up winning the game in overtime! On the ride home, I knew I was hooked!

Ever since that game I began watching football games at home. Eventually, I began watching and learning about other sports like the basketball, tennis, and hockey. Still to this day, I’m discovering new sports and leagues I’m interested in. So I hope you will stay tuned in the weeks and months to come as I share my feelings and opinions on sports in all fields and courts.