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BIG CROWDS OF A LIFETIME

Big crowds signal over population? Not when it’s an Olympic crowd in Paris. Did I feel like part of the crowd watching on TV? Yes, I did, and it felt close enough.

YOUR PURPOSE? WHO’S ASKING

You’re supposed to know your purpose in life? That’s the question I got while watching the second part of the two part Muhammad Ali documentary. With my wife. She was asking a serious question and deserved a serious answer. I tried.

POWER COUPLE OF THE LAST NFL GAME OF THE YEAR

Power Couple? You and who you’re with. But there are others of note, especially today. What day? Super Bowl Day, or the last time my wife says, “Is there a game on, a big game, a REALLY BIG GAME,” dripping with fake enthusiasm. My answer (with authentic hype-man energy): “They’re all big, honey. It’s the […]

SPORTS FAN HISTORY: SING IT OUT

Sports fan used to be a grubby, sweaty, man who enjoyed watching other men do what they couldn’t do. His observations made him an expert to those who didn’t know sports, and an annoyance to those who did. Those were the good old days when men dressed in suits and ties, wore a hat, and […]

TRUE JOY, A COMPENDIUM

Who thinks of true joy as the day your parents permitted you to ride your bike to your pals house a couple of streets over? They trusted you because you demonstrated proficiency on your street. Now you were one of the big guys. When you got that first bike you wanted to ride it everywhere. […]

SPORTS FAN REVIEW: IN THE BEGINNING

Sports fan knows one thing: Rivalry. Without rivalry, sporting events resemble theater without the curtains. With rivalry we feel something deeper, way deeper, way down there. If you come from a certain time and place the only rivals that mattered were the Marshfield High School Pirates. But, everyone grows up. Right?

SPORTS FAN KIDS TO SPORTS FAN ADULTS

My sports fan days started early with this picture. It’s a shot of Dave Wilcox who went from Oregon to the NFL. Sports fans love pictures of their heroes. I can’t remember how I got it, but it’s been with me for decades. There’s only one problem:

CHOOSING SIDES: IT’S MORE THAN SHIRTS vs SKINS?

The secret to choosing sides? Sometimes you don’t choose, you get chosen, picked. Then you find yourself standing on one side of a line. How do you make sure it’s the best side for you when you know the other will eventually look better?

SPORT FAN MARVELS AT MODERN ATHLETES

Sport fan comes in two flavors: ‘Awe struck’ is one. The other is, “Come on, it’s not that hard.”. One gets it, the other never will. I’m in the awe struck camp, but love hearing how it’s not that hard.

GOLDEN MEMORIES: HOW SPORTS DEFINE YOU

Golden memories, the ones that stand the test of time, reveal you who you are. Remember when you hit the homer that won the game in extra innings? When you picked up a fumble and ran ninety-nine yards for the score? Or when you drained a half court shot to win in overtime? Sure you […]