What It Takes To Be A Fan

Fan hood is something we should all be proud of. We are all fans of one thing or another at some point in time in our lives. As fans we are passionate about our sport and will defend it to the best of our ability. Fan hood means watching every second of every game that you could. Its feeling like something terrible happened in your life when your favorite team loses. From a young age I have been following sports and I feel they are a part of me. Baseball season start tonight and the Mets will play the normal 162 games this year. That’s 162 nights give or take that I will be watching the Mets play. I have been a Jacksonville Jaguars fan since their inception into the NFL in 1995. I began to like the Jaguars because their colors, teal and black caught my eye. Today I am a fan of more than their colors but that is how it all started. After so much time and dedication to your team fans like to feel they are a part of the team. People speak in terms like “we won today” or “my patriots will beat the giants today”. Fan hood is a special thing, that no one can take away from us and for that reason it should be cherished.

FInal Four Set to Score

For the first time in history the Final Four teams remaining in the NCAA Tournament are all number 1seeds. Since 1979 when seeding began this phenomenon never occurred until last night when Kansas edged underdog Davidson to complete the final four number one seed quartet. North Carolina, Kansas, Memphis, and UCLA are the four remaining teams in the tournament that started with 64 teams. I am surprised that all four number 1 seeds have not made the final four before. After all if they have the number 1 seed distinction then they should be the best teams and therefore they should be expected to go further in the tournament. The final games of the tournament should be interesting because all the teams remaining are very complete teams. North Carolina plays Kansas, two powerhouses with one thing in common, Roy Williams. Roy Williams now head coach at UNC was a longtime legendary coach of the Kansas Jayhawks. It should a very good game with both teams scoring close to one hundred points. It was my prediction that Kansas would win but so far in the tournament North Carolina has a certain mystique. I think Memphis will defeat UCLA and there will be a North Carolina v. Memphis Championship game.

My First Game Ever

The first ever football game I attended was the Jacksonville Jaguars vs. The New York Giants at Giants stadium. I remember that day as it were yesterday and I can still feel the freezing cold wind on my face. It was so cold that day I had multiple layers of clothing and even brought a sleeping bag in order to combat the cold. As a Jaguars fan I was dressed in teal and black and all my clothes were emblazoned with the jaguar’s logo. Many giants’ fans found it odd and even questioned my father as to why I was a Jacksonville jaguars fan. I found it amusing that these fans actually found it offensive that I was a jaguars fan sitting at Giant’s stadium. I vividly remember waiting in the line at the stadium in my Jaguars gear standing behind a barrage of middle aged men who all were proudly wearing their giants garb. Even though the Jaguars lost the game I enjoyed it because it is was an exciting game with many lead changes. Ironically At the time the Jaguars head coach was Tom Coughlin, who is now as we know a super bowl winning coach with the New York Giants. No one could have guessed that less than ten years later Tom Coughlin would be coaching the giants to one of the greatest Super Bowl wins ever.

Creative Non-Fiction

Creative Non-fiction is a broad genre of literature that writers use to blend the facts with interesting detail, insight, and ideas. Most likely the author of a creative-non fiction work is trying to send a message or invoke strong feelings in the reader. Creative non-fiction is different from basic non-fiction because of the inclusion of artistic ideas, literary techniques, and opinions. The writers of creative non-fiction usually write works on topics that interest them. Creative non-fiction writers are passionate about the subject matter of their works and therefore their works are very good pieces of literature. The writers of creative non-fiction tend to use literary methods writers would use in order for their works to be as compelling and captivating as a novel. Writers of creative non-fiction use techniques like suspense, drama, and others to make their works hold the readers attention and inspire a reaction. According to Bruce Dobbler’s Creative Non-Fiction Compendium, creative non-fiction is a branch of writing that includes literary techniques and artistic vision to portray actual people, ideas, and events. There are many different types of works that can fall under the creative non-fiction umbrella. Types of works like personal memoirs, prose, narratives, non-fiction novels, and even poems can be considered to be creative non-fiction. Creative non-fiction is also sometimes referred to as, “literary journalism”, or “journalism of fact”. Creative non-fiction is different from genres like “creative writing” and “journalism”, but is similar because the genre consists of aspects from both categories. Creative non-fiction must hold a readers attention and be interesting like creative writing, which uses imagination and literary techniques in order to grasp the audience. Journalism is a genre based solely on the facts and nothing else. Journalism writers are restrained because their writing should never include opinions or their own ideas. In creative non-fiction there can be much more flexibility in literary style and method. Creative non-fiction authors use their own ideas, beliefs, and opinions to give birth to the work. Overall, creative non-fiction is more efficient than both creative writing and journalism because it can include both facts and ideas and get a point across more effectively. The book, “The Curve of Binding Energy”, written by John Mcphee is a prime example of a creative non-fiction work. John Mcphee, an acclaimed creative non-fiction writer, uses the life of nuclear scientist Theodore Taylor and the inclusion of personal opinion on nuclear materials to create a thorough creative non-fiction work. Mcphee is successful in alarming his audience and I believe that was his intention in using the creative non-fiction genre to publish this work. He uses the experiences of Theodore Taylor with nuclear materials to inspire deep feelings within the reader. “The Curve of Binding Energy”, starts with a series of quotes from nuclear professionals and what they reveal are at times frightening. I think it is interesting how John Mcphee uses the quotes of the scholars and the opinions of Ted Taylor to portray to his reader the dangers of the nuclear existence. “The Curve of Binding Energy”, is the epitome of all creative non-fiction works and uses the creative non-fiction style thoroughly.

Sweet 16

March Madness is in full swing as the final four draws closer and closer. It is truly Sweet 16 time. There are only sixteen teams remaining in the tournament from the original 64 teams trying to become the national champions. We already have seen our share of upsets with Davidson defeating Georgetown and Villanova defeating Clemson. Teams like Davidson and Western Kentucky all advanced by playing great and better than their competition. Davidson is led by young guard Stephen Curry who has been the MVP of the tournament so far. He has averaged about 35 points per game in the tournament. It will be interesting to see if Davidson and Curry can outplay a very good Wisconsin team. Anything can and probably will happen during March Madness. All four number 1 seeds are still in the tournament but if history repeats itself one of them will be gone come the Elite 8 next round. Stanford has been playing well and I think they will upset a highly touted Texas team when they face off this weekend. I also think Michigan St. will defeat the number 1 seed Memphis, a team that many people think will win it all. The sixteen teams remaining are North Carolina, Washington St., Western Kentucky, Louisville, Tennessee, Kansas, Villanova, Davidson, Wisconsin, Stanford, Texas, Memphis, Michigan St., UCLA, Xavier, and West Virginia. Although I still think Kansas can win it all I also think North Carolina has a great chance. Both Kansas and North Carolina have teams that I think are superior to the competition.

March Madness

This is the time we have all been waiting for. The month of March is among us and March Madness is set to start in the next couple of days. March Madness is the yearly NCAA Mens Basketball Championship Tournament. Every year teams across the nation compete throughout the season in order to qualify for the big tournament. The tournament starts off with 64 best teams in the nation and ends in April when the two remaining teams play for the National Championship. After Round 1, 32 teams are reamining. After Round 2, there are only 16 teams left. This round has become known as the "Sweet 16". After the Sweet 16 round is complete. the 8 teams remaining are known as the, "Elite 8". The next round is the "Final Four", where the four best teams still remaining fight for a shot at a National title. March Madness is very entertaining and many people and fans even have pools or tournaments amongst themselves usually with a cashprize going to the winner. The tournament is so unpredictable and thats what makes it so much fun. Miracles occur annualy and teams that shouldnt win one game could wind up going all the way. My picks this year for the "Final Four" are Kansas, Tennessee, Pittsburgh, and UCLA. I think Kansas will win it all because they have the most balanced and complete team. Dont take my word for it, because you never know who is going to win.

Detroit Tigers

The Detroit Tigers have one of the best teams in all of baseball. What makes them so good is that they have a lot of depth and experience on their roster. They have big name players like veteran catcher, Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez, outfielders Gary Sheffield and Magglio Ordonez, starting pitcher Dontrelle Willis, third baseman Miguel Cabrera, and many others. The Tigers also recently acquired all-star shortstop Edgar Renteria who will probably bat lead off to set the table for a lineup full of power hitters. The Tigers added young stars like Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera from a trade with the Florida Marlins. The Marlins were willing to part with both players because their contracts were close to expiring and the team realized they probably wouldn’t have the money to resign them to new long-term deals. The Tigers have been getting better every recent year after a long period as the worst team in baseball. Don’t be surprised if the Tigers are the best team this year because they really do have a loaded roster. Their roster is just full of big name guys who draw a lot of attention and fans. Other players that will make a good impact are outfielder Jacque Jones and smart second baseman Placido Polanco. I think the team this year is similar to the Yankees teams who dominated so much in the 1990’s. The Tigers are by far the best team in the American League Central Division that includes the Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox, and the lowly Kansas City Royals.

Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars have been one of the most active teams this off-season and will have a new revamped team on the field next year. The Jaguars have pulled of some great trades hoping to make the team younger and faster on the field. The Jaguars traded a 6th round draft pick to the Minnesota Vikings for speedy wide receiver Troy Williamson. Troy Williamson is a former 1st round draft choice that came with high expectations that he never quite accomplished. This move has a small risk and high reward possibilities because the Jaguars received Williamson at a very low price but he could have a huge impact on the field next year. Williamson gives the team a deep threat that the team has lacked for a few seasons. The Jaguars also signed wide receiver Jerry Porter to a six year contract and will look for him to be the leading receiver in the Jags passing attack. Another good signing by the Jags was signing cornerback Drayton Florence. Florence had a good season for the Chargers last season and had two interceptions in the playoffs. The Jaguars also traded the often injured star defensive tackle Marcus Stroud in return for a 3rd and 5th round draft choice in this years’ draft. The extra draft picks will help the team with rebuilding the defensive line and hopefully they can draft some impact players that can help the team reach even further in the playoffs next year.

Mets

The baseball season starts in less than a month and I couldn’t be more excited. I haven’t watched a baseball game since the dreadful collapse of the Mets that concluded with the last outing of Tom Glavine's career as a Met. In less than one inning the hall of fame pitcher have up a career high seven runs. Throughout the playoffs, the World Series, and a long off-season Mets fans have been depressed. Something died on that day, the last day of the season. Maybe it was Tom Glavine’s popularity in New York that died because since that game he is not very liked anymore. Or maybe it’s just the fact that he resigned with his former team, the Atlanta Braves who just happen to be the Mets biggest division rivals. But it is time to forget all about that. Glavine will probably face the Mets about three or four times next season as a brave and it is my prediction that he will get rocked. Glavine is way too old and has nothing left in his crumbling left arm. A new season is upon us and the Mets will look to dominate the division like they did most of last year. The Mets season kicks off on March 31st against the Florida Marlins with ace Johan Santana on the mound. Young pitcher Mike Pelfrey is pitching great this spring training and is making a push for the fifth and final spot in the rotation. Odds are he will get the spot instead of veteran Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez who is working to perfect a new more conventional pitching style. The Mets will do big things this season and another team to watch out for is the fully loaded Detroit Tigers.

NFL Off-Season

So far the NFL off-season has been pretty interesting. There have been a lot of trades, signings, and retirements already. Just a few days ago one of the best players in football history has retired. That man is Brett Favre, who over seventeen seasons has seen it all and accomplished everything. He like most NFL players have had his up and down years but his best span of football was the around the 1993-1997 seasons where he won 3 MVP awards. Brett Favre holds records for most consecutive games started, most touchdowns ever thrown, and ironically even the most interceptions ever thrown. It is funny that Brett Favre is known as one of the greatest football players ever yet he has the most interceptions ever. He averaged at least 1 interception per game.

Players all over the league will have new teams next season. Superstars like Randy Moss have been resigned to huge deals and salaries have never been higher. Randy Moss signed a new contract with the Patriots that is worth almost 30 million dollars over three years. Never before in history has so much money been spent in free agency. Even mediocre players are drawing big money offers just to play the game they love.