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Why Yes, I did get a Tweet from Hercules Gomez

I probably shouldn’t be as excited about this as I am. 

Introduction

I follow a lot of sports. I love a lot of sports teams.

 

My dad basically raised be with summers spent at Cleveland Municipal Stadium loving, despite their many flaws, the Cleveland Indians, Fall and Winters spent sitting next to him on Sundays watching the Pittsburgh Steelers and living and dying with the Ohio State Buckeyes, learning to hate that State up North, and filling in the rest of the year with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

 

But, as much as i love those memories and those teams and some of those players … I can’t say I ever fell in love with a sport.

 

At least, I couldn’t say that. Until June 23, 2010.

 

I didn’t know what I was walking into. I didn’t know how that day would change me. Up until that day, I was a casual soccer fan. I’d watch big tournaments (European Championship, World Cup), but I had no idea of anything deeper than that. I rooted for the Yanks, but I doubt I could have named more than five players on the squad for that game. I knew of MLS, and drove past an MLS Stadium on the way to/from work, but had no desire to go to an MLS game. Hell, I had no idea what a CONCACAF was. Soccer was something I’d pay attention to and appreciate once every two years, and then go back to the other sports that I cared about.

 

And then, sitting at Columbus Crew Stadium, feeding on emotion, I watched with wonder and a thousand close friends who were complete strangers as this happened:

And I haven’t looked back since.

 

It’s become an addiction for me. Last year I followed the African Cup of Nations and tried to find a local sports bar to show the game. In fall of 2010, I was looked at by three staff members at a sports bar in Columbus as if I had four heads when I asked if they could turn one of the televisions to the Columbus Crew – Municipal CONCACAF Champions League Group Stage Game. Last September, I had to show a manger at a local BW3 that he did, in fact, get BeIn sport, and then take the walk of shame to a corner of the bar to watch the game on one lonely TV.

 

I’ve also joined The American Outlaws, participated in the Free Beer Movement, enjoyed the wordsmansmith of Shinguardian, and become a regular reader of Soccer ByI ves and ProSoccerTalk. I’ve used my vacation time to fly to Columbus Ohio to watch the National team take on Jamaica. I plan on repeating that and seeing more games and more stadiums. I’ve learned what my talking points are on domestic soccer and pro/rel. I’ve come to embrace the flawed MLS player allocation structure for the good it brings.

 

But, I’d argue it goes beyond an addiction. For me, it’s love. I love the game. I love the teams I support (USA and Columbus Crew), but above and beyond that, I love the game itself.

 

And that’s what this blog is (hopefully) going to be about. Me breaking down the love of the game. There are a thousand fans with better blogs for tactics and rumors and predictions. I’m not going to try to compete with them. I just want to talk about the game I love. And, I’ll mix that into analysis and predictions. But it’s going to be about why what I’m talking about is fueling my love for the game.

 

Don’t expect me to talk about the EPL and Barca-Madrid here. They are good for the game, but they aren’t where my love lies. Expect me to talk about the domestic game (including a lot on MLS). Expect to hear about my favorite tournaments (AFCON, Copa Libertadores, US Open Cup, FIFA Club World Championship, CONCACAF Champions League).

 

Don’t expect expert analysis.

 

Just expect my love and passion to come through. Loud and clear.