DC Summer of Sports: The Story of My Passion

BY DC CUEVA

> @DC408dxtr / @DC408dxnow

Welcome everyone to the DC Summer of Sports on DCBLOG and DCNOW. Summer is the time when sports is taking over the country's attention during the hottest season of the year. And it will again be a busy time with the FIFA Women's World Cup, NBA & NHL Finals and free agency, baseball, major golf and tennis, NFL training camp & preseason, and much more. And over the course of the next few months, this lifelong sports fan will be devoting his spare time her to covering this passion that I've had since I was a kid.

   DCBLOG will be blogging on the events, sports and much more, with all of those aforementioned events and a lot more to be given at least some coverage from here until fall. Likewise on DCNOW, you will have a front-row seat to the big events with my live tweets, commentary and more from those who play, follow and watch the action. But we begin this Summer of Sports with a brief reflection on this long fascination I've had with sports, my love affair with it and this relationship now two decades old.

As I begin writing the first drafts of this post on Sunday, May 3rd, it's in the aftermath of the most epic sports day we've had in a long time. We saw a fight that everyone anticipated for six years that would be the fight of the new century that turned out to be a runaway for Floyd Mayweather over Manny Pacquiao. We had an epic Game 7 in the NBA Playoffs that came down to the last minute that saw a bonafide star deliver in the clutch that knocked out the defending champs. We joined with fans in Louisville for the annual rite of spring known as the Kentucky Derby, America's greatest horse race. We also had day 3 of the NFL Draft, game 2 of Yankees-Red Sox at Fenway, an NHL Stanley Cup playoff game and day 4 of the World Golf Championships-Match Play in San Francisco. For those also interested, there was also NASCAR at Talladega, Supercross racing, European Champions Cup rugby union, world championships in regular & sled hockey, table tennis and snooker; and England taking on the West Indies in test cricket. And for this Olympic sports fan, down in the Bahamas, the U.S. beat Usain Bolt and Jamaica in the men's 4x100m relay at the IAAF World Relays.

   That Super Sports Saturday saw an unprecedented array of big events that rivaled any Super Saturday at the Olympics (generally the middle Saturday at the summer fortnight), and also gave my family reason to redo the interior of our house for our fight viewing party with my extended family. May 2nd, 2015 proved once again my love for sports that I've had since I was a kid, and proved my passion for the entire spectrum.

There's something about sports that makes this one of the few things that are closest to a religion to me as anything else. Since the 90's back when I was in elementary school, I've been fascinated by it and ever since, I feel like it's part of my lifeblood. I collect programs, lanyards, pins and anything of interest that's related to sports. These days, other than for MTV shows, music or other things, I typically have a sports channel on my TV much of the time. And it's a family trait that's been passed down from my late grandpa to my dad to myself and sometimes extended to our entire family as well. There's nothing like seeing great competition between superb athletes or competitors. There's always a competitive fire that fuels me within when seeing it on screen or that rare instance that I'm there.

   But unlike other sports fans who might be tied down to one or a handful of sports, I am the epitome of someone who is interested in the entire sporting landscape. Sure, my two biggest sporting passions are basketball and the Olympics. But I am also one who watches football, baseball, hockey, golf, boxing, and even sports we don't hear of here but others love elsewhere. I'm one of those sports fans who actually follows countless numbers of sports that are out there that we here in America don't usually think of, at least to the mainstream folks. This is very much similar to how I approach my tastes in music and in certain aspects of TV programming, where I prefer a wide scope rather than just picking and choosing. To put it bluntly, there is so much more to the world of sports than just football, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer and a dozen other sports.

   As a passionate Olympic fan, I am used to that wide variety of sports that take place during the fortnight which grabs all my attention during those 17 days every two years. And I keep a tab on Olympic matters in the 18-24 months between Games and always make it a point to tune to any Olympic sports event when possible when it airs on TV. On a given weekend when sports is on broadcast television in addition to cable channels, I can go from one sport to another depending upon what's going on in a certain Saturday or Sunday. Thanks to having an iPad and a YouTube app, I can watch sports from all over the world ranging from ultimate frisbee and roller derby to AFL aussie rules and past events, and the list goes on. And I'm collecting more and more sports publications for both my reading pleasure and for reference in bringing you these posts.

There is that aforementioned, occasional chance I get of attending sports events live, and I've been able to a good number of them, though it's not as frequent as that of other sports fans. The first live sporting event I attended was on Halloween Eve 1993, when the Warriors played the Sonics in a preseason affair. That night, Chris Webber played his first home game, Chris Mullin suffered a hand injury that sidelined him for a small early portion of the season, and Sonics coach George Karl and my dad had a little conversation.

   Ever since, I've been to events in the four major sports, at college level and of course locally where I'm situated here in Milpitas, CA (outside of San Jose). Though the most recent one was back over a decade ago, I've been to a few baseball games (several A's and 1 Giants at old Candlestick) including the first one that took place just one before the '94 players strike - yes it feels a bit creepy to say that. I went to another Warriors game in 2006 - fittingly as I post this just before the 2015 NBA Finals it was LeBron James and his Cavs coming in to visit the Warriors, and then after that me and my cousins went to a local adult entertainment place afterwards (my first visit to a strip club). I've also been to two Sharks games, a Santa Clara college hoops game, and a few Milpitas High games with my cousin who played on the basketball team.

   And it's my sporting passion that also had something to do with finding a newfound love in what some consider the so-called "fifth major sport." I have to admit that before a few years ago, I wasn't really into MTV's The Challenge as much as I am into its sister show, The Real World. But watching the London Olympics and the great competition over the 17 days of the British fortnight in the summer of 2012 gave me a reason to give the show a try, and now a few seasons later The Challenge is now one of my favorite shows. In my primer on that show here, I likened its evolution to that of golf's Ryder Cup, going from a friendly competition between two MTV sister shows to an intense competition which has both big MTV fans like myself and those who are sports nuts glued to that show, including now-former head of Grantland Bill Simmons.

In all, sports is one of those handful of things that I consider closest to a religion than anything to me. I am into all sports, I'm an avid sports TV viewer and I follow it every day. A number of clothing I have in my closet are sports related. I have a strong sports book and video library to relive moments as they happened and for both reading and research. And there's always a passion that comes to me when I get to see competition at its best. And now during this down time in another passion of mine of the MTV Trifecta, it's time to devote the next few months to enjoying the biggest events and moments in sports, and the stories that come with it, right here and at DCNOW with this fan. Bring on the summer.

Be sure to follow my DC Social Network throughout the summer as I will be staying busy both here on DCBLOG and across my social media platforms as we follow the Summer of Sports.

- First, make sure to follow my secondary twitter account dedicated to live tweets, DCNOW at Twitter @DC408DxNow. There, you'll be front row center with yours truly to the big events, starting tomorrow with the NHL's Stanley Cup Final between Chicago and Tampa Bay. On Thursday, the NBA Finals tips off in Oakland with the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers battle for the title with a star matchup between LeBron James and Stephen Curry. On Super Soccer Saturday this weekend, it's the UEFA Champions League Final in Berlin between Barcelona and Juventus, followed by the 1st matches of the FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada. And horse racing's Triple Crown will be on the line as well on Saturday as American Pharoah looks to become the first to win all three legs at the Belmont Stakes in New York. Major golf & tennis, baseball and more will be live tweeted there too.

- DCBLOG will be devoting more and more of this site to covering the upcoming Summer of Sports. In my next Summer of Sports post, I'll be offering a look at the UEFA Champions League ahead of Saturday's final, plus a number of soccer posts throughout the Women's World Cup. Posts on the NBA, golf's majors, Wimbledon, the Stanley Cup, World Series of Poker and much more are planned here over the summer, so be sure to bookmark this site for extensive sports coverage.

- And if you're an MTV fan, after the WWC I'll be live tweeting season 4-B of Catfish, the revival of America's Best Dance Crew, a new season of Teen Mom 2, the VMA's and the fall's main event for me & some of my fellow MTV fans: Season 3 of Are You The One?. Also expect a DC FORUM post soon with fellow MTV/sports fans Andrew Kirk & Brian Cohen as we discuss recent seasons of the Trifecta, which I also cover extensively here.

- And don't forget to follow my primary Twitter handle @DC408Dxtr, my Instagram account also at the same handle, and at Tumblr at dc408dxtr.tumblr.com.

Thanks for checking out this first DCBLOG post during this Summer of Sports. And be sure to join me both here on the Blog and on DCNOW for full coverage of sports' biggest events, both in blog form and in the social world. Until then, thanks for reading, have fun and talk to you then.

- I AM DC