Sports Fan Paradise

With Turkey Day rapidly approaching I thought that now would be a good time to express what I'm thankful for as a sports fan. I think I could use some positive reflection, considering I recently spent hours of my life dissecting, arguing and getting sick over a 4th-and-2 during a regular-season game. So here goes nothing ...

I'm thankful that I live in a city that has won 6 championships this decade. I am thankful that I am not a fan of a small-market baseball team that refuses to spend the money that it takes to win. I am thankful that my NBA team is very good when it comes to finagling the salary cap, and even more so that it didn't move to Oklahoma City. I am thankful that my NFL team just focuses on the next game, and lets us fans focus on the distractions. And I am also thankful that nobody in Boston gives me shit for only watching the Bruins during the playoffs.

I am thankful for the Red Zone Channel, Yahoo! StatTracker and how easy it is to bet on sports online. I am thankful for the countless hours I have been able to spend in Fenway Park, and for the liberal tailgating rules across the street from Gillette Stadium. I am thankful to Minnesota for giving us all of its best athletes, and to New York for taking the ones that we're done with. I am thankful to Los Angeles for reminding me that true sports fans don't leave early to beat the traffic, and to Las Vegas for reminding me that I need to keep writing because I'll never make it as a professional gambler.

I am thankful for mulligans and gimmes, beverage cart girls and the perfect afternoons spent with my buddies on the golf course. I am thankful that my Dad took me to Larry Bird's 10th Greatest Game, and for the highlight tapes of the other 9. I am thankful for the few years that I was old enough to watch pro wrestling but still young enough to think it was real, and thankful to my younger brother for letting me try all the finishing moves on him. I am also thankful that my girlfriend thinks it's sexy when I eat wings, drink beer and talk about sports. I don't understand it, but I'm not complaining either.

I am thankful to Bill Simmons, for truly being the revolutionary figure of the sports blogging movement, and for proving that you could make a living by covering sports from the fan's perspective. I am also thankful to Bill Simmons, for selling out and leaving room for other anti-establishment sports writers to someday take his place. And while we're on the subject, I am thankful to the guy who videotaped Erin Andrews naked in her hotel room. Does he deserve to go to jail? Probably. Am I upset that he did it and disgusted with myself for watching it? No. Sorry.

Finally, I am thankful to whoever is reading this. I'll be even more thankful if you leave a comment to prove that you exist, but just the idea of you keeps me writing, and for that I say thanks.

Read more of Mike Stiriti at the original "Sports Fan Paradise" blog.