No, not Billy Beane, even though he is definitely the "official" AN inspiration.
I'm talking about the reason each and every one of us comes to Athletics Nation or any other sports Web site for that matter...I'm wondering, what's the reason you became a sports fan?
Let me back up and explain my story.
It is early in the 1980s. I'm a youngster in New England with a father and three older brothers who are sports maniacs, both playing and watching nothing but sports. At the time, I was more interested in Transformers than sports transactions.
But it all changed for me one random day when my neighbor offered us two extra tickets to a hockey game. My Dad and I joined them on a voyage to Boston Garden to see the Boston Bruins play the Winnipeg Jets. I'd never seen a sporting event live in person and it was magical. The fans, the noise, the adrenaline rush. I was hooked, for life.
Suddenly, I wanted to play hockey and football and baseball.
And as I made my way into my teen years, my family had partial season tickets to the Red Sox and I went to several games with my Dad during the A's Bash Brothers era.
I've explained that this is where my fascination developed with the now national embarrassment, Jose Canseco.
But the funny thing was that if I'd never gone to that hockey game and then shared such great experiences with my father, I probably would've never thought twice about sports.
So, what made you into the rabid sports fan you are today? Was it a single game? Was it someone in your family? Maybe you read Moneyball out of the blue and decided to become a sports fan? Perhaps it was a lot of little experiences.
I'm just curious to find out what occurrences brought this community together.
Who, or what, was your inspiration?
