Welcome to the Birdhouse

   For a while now I've been contemplating doing this, and by this, I mean spewing my rambling thoughts onto the world wide web for most to ignore. Whatever the motivating factor for me finally taking plunge (I think it may just be pure boredom) I'm here now and I may quickly realize that all the stuff I thought I had to say makes no sense to me or anybody else once it leaves my brain, travels through the keyboard and winds up on this screen. That being said, I won't let that stop me from at least giving it a shot (if not only as a way to waste 30 minutes on a Friday morning).

   My focus will be on sports and as we all know, sports bleeds into just about everything else so if I get carried away, I hope you will accept this apology in advance. If you know me personally at all, you know I am fanatic about 4 teams...

1. The Baltimore Orioles. I've loved them since I knew what baseball was and some of my very favorite memories are of summer nights on the Eastern Shore of Maryland soaking in the games via AM radio with the attention span closer to that of a brain surgeon than a grade schooler. The last 14 years have been rough on me (14 years since the O's last saw a playoff berth) but I love that crappy team, if not only for the memories and heroes they gave me as a day dreaming little leaguer. I still have hope for them, as all good fans should, and I will surely address their woes in future postings.

2. The Washington Capitals. My relationship with the Capitals has now spanned over a decade. It began with a plastic puck and a wooden hockey stick about 3 blocks from my home on the Shore. I quickly became enamored with the game of hockey and shortly after, I adopted the closest thing to a home town team that I could find. 12 Years ago the Caps were not the glamorous powerhouse of goal scorers and nightly sellouts that they have grown into over the last 4 seasons. Sure, there were fans, and there were playoff runs, but DC was never a hockey town and it showed. With the emergence of the Capitals as one of the premier powers in the NHL, hockey has taken DC by storm and I couldn't be happier.

3. The Virginia Tech Hokies. I understand this may be more of a niche since I'm sure most of you that take the time to read this aren't Hokie fans, but I will do my best to write not only about VT but about College Football and Basketball in general as it relates to my alma mater. I had the pleasure of attending that great school tucked away in a little town called Blacksburg for 4 years. During those 4 years I attended every home football game and what started as just "the thing to do" turned into something much more integral to my life as a sports fan. Some of you will know what I'm talking about, that feeling of being more than just a fan, of being a real part of whatever is happening down on the field or court. This feeling of membership is much harder to attain as a fan of a pro team. I guess it's just more of an exclusive club, and if you are lucky enough to be in it, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

4. The Baltimore Ravens. My first memories of the Ravens came via my great aunts and uncles in Baltimore proper. I can remember their horror stories of the Colts sneaking out of town and the longing to have a team to root for again. In 1996, they got their team. I'd be lying If I said I paid much attention to those early years. I was a baseball kid and baseball is all that mattered. On January 29th, 2001 I woke up to a headline hailing the Ravens as Superbowl champs. Little did I know that those Ravens had just won the only title that I have seen so far. Fast forward a few years and I have grown into a dedicated fan of the purple and black and if when they bring home number 2, let's just say I'll know about it before the morning paper.

   So there you go, my sporting life boiled down to a few lines. While these 4 teams will receive a majority of my attention, I'm sure I will be delving into fantasy football at times (and addiction that there is no cure for) as well as general sports and life happenings. Who really knows where this will go or if anybody will take the time to go with me but, whatever the case, I'll enjoy pretending like I know what I'm talking about :)