 I suppose I came into being a sports fan a little later than most. Sure, I played soccer (ugh) until about age 10, but I still did not watch any major sports with any regularity. Growing up in central Virginia with your nearest major sports teams being in Washington DC or Maryland will usually do that.
However, I had my epiphany around age 10. I watched the entire 1985 World Series with my father, and I was hooked. I developed allegiances to the Royals and Cardinals (mainly because I liked the way they played), and to the Braves, because they were my father's team. I recall watching NFL football that season, as well, and started to pick up on that. I also became hooked on the Celtics-Lakers rivalry of the 80s, before the NBA began to suck so royally. I have many teams I follow in baseball, and in football, I probably follow the Cowboys and Titans more closely than any other. I can watch the Celtics and Kings in the NBA, but even that is becoming a labor to put up with these days.
In terms of my sports pedigree, well, it goes a bit like this. I played basketball, football, and baseball as a teen, but my best sport by far was baseball. I stayed with baseball from the time I was 11 years old until the summer after my freshman year of college. After that time, I became a coach, starting with 13-14 year old kids. I eventually moved up to the 15-16 age bracket, and stayed with that until moving full-time to Tennessee. I was (and still am, to a small degree) involved with Dixie Youth Baseball. I got to play and coach on the district, state, and national levels in Dixie Youth, and for that I am grateful. If you ever happen to be in the southeast at any time when a Dixie Youth World Series is going on, check it out. It is some of the best baseball you will ever see.
I, too, am a simple fan, just like the rest of my fellow staffers here at ContractBud.com. You might be a bit annoyed watching a game with me, because I still have coaching in my blood, and I tend to yell at the TV when someone does something fundamentally stupid... but I have a heart of gold, honest. I look forward to providing some alternative insight into the world of sports, and to sharing my views on some of the greatest... and worst... things to grace our television sets and mental imagery on a daily basis.
Brian Wilmer is a senior staff writer for ContractBud.com and lives in Tennessee
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