A quick primer for those of you who are unfamiliar with where my loyalties lie…

College Basketball: the Jayhawks.  Do I enjoy playing the ‘sellout’ role a little too much for my KU friends?  Probably.  My first sports event ever, my father took me to Kemper Arena to watch the Final Four practice in 1988.  Before last year, that also happened to be the last time the Jayhawks won the title.  Very good memory.

MLB: The Royals, with a little love for the Dodgers since they’re in the National League.  The 1985 World Series I remember in bits and pieces; for better or worse my favorite Royals memory is still Hal McRae losing it, throwing a phone out of his office, then telling the cat he hit over the head ‘stick that in your pipe and smoke it!’  But they’re in first place right now so I’m enjoying it while it lasts.

NBA: the Lakers.  My first book report was on Magic Johnson.  If Michael Jackson was my first idol, Magic was 1A.  Magic was on that very, very short list of people who as I approached him I heard myself saying, “Please don’t be an a-hole, please don’t be an a-hole…”  So when I told him he was one of my childhood idols, you know what he did?  He shook my hand, thanked me, and said he was glad he made a positive influence on my life.  And by the time I met Magic, I was a grown man.  Note to all celebrities/public figures, THAT’S HOW IT’S DONE!  I digress…  As far as today’s Lakers go, they’ve definitely got a shot to bring another parade to downtown.  I was at the last one; crazy.  And we already have plans to be there again this June, if a freak of nature based out of Cleveland doesn’t get in our way.

College Football:  the Trojans, naturally.  Saturday evenings in the fall, you know where to find me.  As big of a sports fan as I am, it’s become a pleasant surprise that my first “LA Season Ticket Holder” experience would be with the football fans from SC.  My old man has expressed interest in coming out for a game at some point; it’d be great if these fools made it back to the Rose Bowl this year.  Probably wishful thinking though. 

NFL:  Chiefs.  The team I grew up with in the league I love the most.  Hosted many a Super Bowl party, but as of yet not for my own team.  I’ve watched the Arizona Cardinals, Cincinnati Bengals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Seattle Seahawks, St. Louis Rams, Carolina Panthers, Oakland Raiders, Denver Broncos, and San Diego Chargers in the big game.  But not my team yet.  And last season, don’t get me started.

Excuse me while I put ice on my knuckles…