Sports Nut.

Growing up, I only liked one sport and one sport only: football. My father is a Detroit Lions fan and my mother was a Chicago Bears fan. Being a 'mommy's girl', that meant I too was a Bears fan. Somewhere around the ago of four, I also became a Buffalo Bills fan. I ask my dad how that came to be, and the only conclusion he could come up with was that I like the way their name sounded, which sounds like a four year olds logic I suppose. The Lions play every Thanksgiving, don't ask me how they earned that honor. Back in the days of Barry Sanders, it made sense, but as of late, I question it. The Thanksgiving after my mom died, the Lions played the Bills and my dad decided he's take my sister Heather and I to the game. The Bills lost, but I remember how cool I thought it was. We didn't have a lot of money back then, so going to a game, a Thanksgiving Day game no less, and staying in a suite at the Radisson was a real treat! Looking back now, I think of how my mom would've loved it - she was a die hard Bears fan and I can remember her screaming at the TV and screaming when they'd get a touch down. I have her Walter Payton pin and I look at it and smile, and realize how much I am like her. Only with a different sport.

When I met my husband, I was introduced to baseball. He is a lifelong New York Mets fan and I had only seen baseball once when I went to a White Sox game in middle school. To take interest in something he liked, I decided to pick a team and go with it. I made the unfortunate mistake of becoming a Yankees fan. That lasted about a day when I realized I didn't want to be some sort of bandwagon fan. So I watched a Mets game and realized why my husband liked them. I can't explain it, but they are the underdog team of New York, and I love rooting for the underdog. We went to a game in 2005 and I loved it even more. I picked a player - David Wright - who happens to be good looking and really good. I never imagined myself as a baseball fan, but I love it and I am glad my husband introduced me to it!

Then in 2006, I met Kelsey at school. She was a hockey fan, and even though I am from Michigan, I never cared about hockey and couldn't understand her fascination. She finally convinced me to go to a Nashville Predators game in 2007, a playoff game, which they lost and ended their season. I loved it though, the energy of hockey is unmatched by any other sport. The next season I went to more games with Kelsey and fell in love with it. The next year, I bought a half season and became slightly obsessed with the sport.

Which bring me to the Olympics. I was so happy that Team USA made it to the gold medal game, as no one really expected that. Even though they lost the gold, they won silver, which really is an accomplishment, and I was really proud. And it made me happy to hear people talking about hockey. I hope that game brought more people to hockey and maybe created some new fans of the sport. I was sad for the Olympics to be over, but I am happy that NHL will be back in action this week.

Seven years ago, I was football fan. These days, I am sports fan.

Just 2&1/2 years until Summer Olympics, haha.