My 1st entry was brief, and here is the text, in its entirety:
I'm way behind the times. It's taken me this long to get a blog going. Anyway, here I am.
This blog will contain analysis intended to be serious, jokes intended to be funny, and maybe a surprise or two. As Ed Koch, former Mayor of New York (a man I won't normally quote, since I stopped liking him years ago) would say, "If you agree with me on nine out of twelve issues, that's good. If you agree with me on twleve out of twelve, there's something wrong." It would mean you're not thinking for yourself.
This blog will mainly be about my favorite teams: In baseball, the New York Yankees; in hockey, the New Jersey Devils; in basketball, the New Jersey Nets; in college sports, Rutgers University. I don't really have a favorite football team.
This blog is dedicated to the past, to my grandparents, George and Grace, who taught me to love the games, and that you don't have to be high-class to be classy; in fact, many who claim class have very little.
And dedicated to the future, to my nieces Ashley and Rachel, and hopefully to any cousins they might have, and to their mother, whoever she turns out to be. She doesn't have to be a Yankee Fan, she just has to be able to put up with one. In other words, built like Cindy Crawford but rooting for the Mets or Red Sox, out; built like Rosie O'Donnell but rooting for the Yankees, worthy of consideration.
Anyway, someday, Ashley, Rachel, and the hoped-for child (or children) of my own will be able to read this blog. So I'd better make it good, because chances are, they'll be at least as smart as I am. At least.
*
Some things to keep in mind:
* This was before I got into English soccer, and started supporting North London-based Arsenal F.C.
* It was also before the Nets made their move to Brooklyn official, leading me to give them up.)
* And I now have a 3rd niece, Mackenzie. She's 17 months old, while Ashley and Rachel are 10.
I have since seen America embrace political liberalism and racial inclusiveness -- and reject them both.
I have since seen my family lose beloved members -- and gain one. I have seen since us lose valued old friends, and gain valued new ones.
I have since seen Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and blogs go from curiosities that I had mostly avoided to activities I can't seem to go without using.
I have since seen the Yankees, the Mets, the Giants, the Jets, the Nets, the Islanders, the Devils, and the Red Bulls open new venues, and Rutgers further expand their football stadium.
I have since seen the Yankees win a 27th World Series -- and act as though winning a 28th isn't important.
I have since seen the Devils reach another Stanley Cup Final -- and prove that it was a brief aberration.
I have since seen the Nets abandon New Jersey, rendering me an NBA free agent -- and, 5 years later, I still am one.
I have since seen the Red Bulls win 2 Supporters' Shields, and provide memories galore -- but not win either the MLS Cup or the U.S. Open Cup.
I have since seen Rutgers win a share of the Big East Conference football title, but blow an outright title, and leave for the Big Ten Conference, which, at least competitively speaking, has, thus far, been a massive mistake.
I have since gone from having a mild interest in soccer to becoming fascinated by it, embracing what was, quite literally, an entire world of stories that I had not yet heard.
I have since seen Arsenal extend a trophy drought, then dramatically end it, and win 3 FA Cups, but also seen its fan base divided, thanks to a sliver of a minority of its fans who consider the last 13 years "failure" and "mediocrity."
I have since seen cheating in sports effectively declared okay, except when done by the Yankees and Arsenal, who don't do it, but get blamed for it anyway.
And I have since seen people get outraged by athletes (and non-athletes) making silent, nonviolent protests of white cops committing cold-blooded murder of unarmed black men and getting away with it, but give their silent assent to said murders and their lack of consequences.
In the last 10 years, in many ways, the world has changed for the better. In many ways, it has changed for the worse. This is true both in and out of sports.
Am I better off? In some ways, yes; in some ways, no. But I'm still here, and I will still speak up when I believe it is warranted.
"Life can't all be big issues and heart surgery. Something has to bring joy into the day. And baseball does this."
-- Thomas Boswell, longtime baseball columnist for The Washington Post
Sports can do this. I'm going to try to do this with it.
Thank you for reading thus far.