Airing It Out – King YABO’s First Blog

Pounding headache, severe dehydration, and contact lenses that were plastered to my eyeballs.  What a way to start to start the morning. It’s fitting, really, with what I’m about to share on my sports fandom.  Yes, I was blessed with a great childhood and that has continued into adulthood, but what you’re about to read may make you question how I’m still alive to be writing this.  Let’s dive in.

I’ll start with a lay of the land.  Born in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, the first sports team I have memories of is the Chicago Cubs.  Fortunate enough to have parents who purchased the “Double Play” partial season ticket package every year, I spent many Friday afternoons at Wrigley Field.  And, really, I should have known I was doomed from the start.  Mark Prior, my favorite player and the guy I dressed up as two (2) times for Halloween at Westgate Elementary, was severely injured three (3) times at Wrigley.  A line drive off the elbow (which was caught by a diving Aramis Ramirez … an unreal play, really), a collision with 2nd baseman Marcus Giles running from first to second, and a major shoulder injury.  Take a wild fuckin’ guess at who was in attendance each time.  Yep.  This guy.  Driving back from those games was like driving back from a live execution in my mind.  How does this keep happening?  Why am I there every time?  Destiny?  Fate?  Who knows?  All I know is someone should have sat me down and said “kid, it ain’t gonna get much better.”

And it didn’t … because the next team I’ll hit on is the Bears.  Oh, god, where do I even begin?  I may save this one for its own post.  It’s only fair.  This team may genuinely kill me.  Fuckin’ hell.  Ben Johnson please save us?

Well maybe he chose to go to a college whose teams wouldn’t crush his soul, at least?  Nope!  Let’s head out to Iowa City, Iowa for a bit.  After having my older brother and two older cousins attend, I knew earlier than most where I would be headed to school.  The campus, the Pedestrian Mall, the bars, the sports teams – I was sold immediately.  Oh, yeah, and a solid business school … ranked #17 across the country for public schools, if memory serves true.  I guess I should mention the education piece.

Officially, I signed the paperwork and knew I was headed to Iowa City in August of 2015, the start of a historic season for the football team.  12-0.  Holy shit?  Week after week, dub after dub.  Is this real life?  Are we going to the playoff?  The Spartans of Michigan State stood in the way in the Big 10 Championship in Indianapolis.  Gus Johnson’s call for Tevaun Smith’s 85 yard TD reception is something I genuinely will never forget – you should go watch and listen; you’ll also see a sick dab, remember those?  Little did I know that Michigan State would go on arguably the greatest drive I have ever seen in my life.  9:31 left.  Iowa 13, MSU 9.  And 9 minutes, 4 seconds, 22 (!!!) plays, 82 yards, and a TD later, Michigan State was headed to the College Football Playoff.  Iowa was out.  I was broken.

And the Hawkeyes haven’t been that close to a championship since.  Oh, wait, they actually were!  Caitlin Clark!  She backpacked 11 other girls to not one, but two National Championships!  They must have won one of them, right? …..Right?  *insert Anakin Skywalker and Padme meme*

More on Iowa later.  Let’s hit on one more across the pond, as they say.  Manchester United.  The pinnacle of England, the European giant, the ….. shell of a club it once was.  As I write this, MUFC sit 14th in the English Premier League table.  14th.  7 points clear from relegation.  No, that is not a typo.  And yes, it is after Christmas and the New Year.  6 different permanent managers and 0 league titles later, I’d be shocked if Sir Alex Ferguson isn’t already dead for the next one.

Those 4 are the pillars in my life, for better or for worse.  And some may ask, “well, what about basketball?”  I think I’ll stay quiet on that for now.  I hope we have some readers in the Cleveland, Miami, and Los Angeles areas …… *proceeds to duck*

There will be more, as well.  NFL and NCAAF gambling picks, college basketball notes, and tidbits around the non-big 4 sports leagues, to list a few.

That was a lot.  I hope you’re still with me.  And, as Wydo mentioned in the welcome letter, this is 7 friends who wanted to take the group chat to the public domain and to build a community.  I hope you’ll join us.  My name is King YABO.