Hi Everyone,
As I kick off this new project, I thought it would make sense to answer a few questions up front just to give you all an idea of who I am and why I decided to start this sports blog. There are a ton of them out there, and I certainly am not delusional enough to think that I can make a living doing this. The truth of the matter is starting this blog was the logical alternative to some of my insanely long posts on FaceBook. You will see what I mean when you read my answer to the second question below. So, here are three questions to help get the ball rolling.
1.) Who am I?
My name is Karl Darden. Like most of you, I am a sports fan. I am not a sports journalist. I have a lot of respect for what they do. Michael Wilbon and Bill Simmons are two of the best. However, my journalistic experience does not extend beyond two years on the high school yearbook staff writing about a variety of things, including sports. My sport growing up was baseball (all the way through high school). I also enjoyed playing a ton of intramural basketball, tennis, volleyball, and lacrosse over the years. About eight years ago I added distance running to the mix and have run a variety of races from 5Ks to marathons. I graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and served nine years on active duty, then joined the corporate world while remaining in the Navy Reserves for another eleven years. I have lived in Phoenix, Arizona for the last ten years with my wife and two kids after spending most of my adult life on the east coast. I will be sharing relevant stories about my family as time goes on. So that should pretty much bring you all up to speed.
2.) Why a sports blog, and why now?
The decision to do a sports blog was an easy one. I've enjoyed reading about most sports since I was a kid. And even though I can't remember where I put my car keys from one minute to the next, I'm betting that at least 80% of what I hear and read in the sports world sticks in my brain. I couldn't get the information out even if I tried; unless I got flashed with one of those neuralyzers from Men In Black. So I figured I would put it to good use and expand my knowledge base by connecting with others that share a similar passion for sports.
Regarding why I chose to start this blog now, there are two factors that played into that. As I was looking back through my FaceBook posts, I noticed that a very high percentage of them were sports related, and most of those were pretty lengthy. This is especially true during college football season when I like to recap Navy's football games with my classmates on our FaceBook page. Other postings covered men's and women's college basketball, the NBA and NFL, Major League Baseball, college lacrosse, and the Olympics (winter and summer) just to name a few. After reading several of my observations, one of my old college roommates asked me if I had ever thought about starting a sports blog. I told him that it had crossed my mind several years ago, but I hadn't followed up on it. Over the last couple weeks, I decided it was high time I did. That brings us to today.
3.) What's are the expectations?
The truth is I don't have many. I'm not doing this to make money. I'm just in it for fun. There's nothing I enjoy more than sharing my perspective on different sports and reading what other people think. Whether they share my view or not, I figure I can probably walk away having learned a little more from the conversation. That brings me to the one concrete expectation that I do have for this blog, and that has to do with the overall tone. I am looking forward to exchanging views with anyone who chooses to visit this site. I am also a big believer in civility. One reason I don't often participate in conversations on other blogs is that many of them can get pretty vicious, and I don't want to deal with any of that. There are those out there who will lash out at other people commenting by engaging in some pretty inappropriate and personal attacks. They do it because they know they have no fear of reprisals. That's probably the one thing I dislike most about the internet. If you want to share a point of view here, you are perfectly welcome. My only rule is that you keep the San Antonio Spurs in mind whenever you participate. Win or lose, that organization does things with class. That's the environment I want to establish here. I totally expect anyone who shares an opinion to support and defend it enthusiastically. After all, that is why we are called fan(atic)s. Humor is more than welcome. Clever sarcasm is entertaining also. But I'm drawing a pretty bright line at the name calling and blatant disrespect. There are plenty of ways to get your point across without resorting to that. I just want this to be a place where people can embrace being a fan without having to deal with the equivalent of those who have had too much to drink. That's all I am going to say about that.
Finally, if you are around my age, you will probably recognize that the title of this blog represents a tip of the cap to a program I used to watch all the time when I was growing up: ABC's Wide World of Sports. Who can forget Jim McKay's classic introduction?
"Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sports . . . The human drama of athletic competition . . . The thrill of victory . . . and the agony of defeat."
I don't know that I will be nearly as entertaining as I found that show to be, but I will do my best. There will be lots of things to discuss next week. By then, the NBA and Stanley Cup Finals will have been decided, and we will be in the latter stages of the FIFA Women's World Cup.
Until next time . . .
Karl
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