Sports are something that unless you know me well enough, you'd probably assume I wasn't into - (Long-haired hippies not usually being associated with sports). However I am, and always have been. Football ("Soccer") has always been my sport. I used to love playing, and still do when given half the chance. But mainly I'm a watcher: I'm a massive Arsenal FC supporter (and have been since I was 10 - the 94/95 season - we finished 12th that year!, and lost the Cup-Winners Cup final to Real Zaragoza with "Nayem from the half-way line"). Last season wasn't great - first time outside the Premiership top 2 in 9 years. But we had a real shot at the Champions League. My fiance Gemma is a Norwich City fan, and they have become my second team. I was so gutted when they went down on the last day of the season, when a win against Fulham would've kept them up. They did ok in the Championship last year, but were slightly too inconsistent to make the play-offs. It was a case of "There's always next year for both teams". Internationally I support (both the "Republic of" and "Northern") Ireland. I used to like Italy (in the Roberto Baggio years - USA '94), then Holland (in England '96, France '98 and Holland/Belgium 2000). But not really anymore, as the generation of players changed, and I no longer really follow them. I always liked Brazil too, as they have always played brilliant football and I was lucky enough to see them play, (in World Cup 98 against Denmark in the Quarter-finals).
But I've also had interest in many other sports as well as soccer. I like Basketball and followed it particularly back when Channel 4 covered it in the 90's. I had a Chicago Bulls jersey with Jordan 23 on it - as I loved the man! I don't really follow it much anymore, but I quite like the Orlando Magic and the Boston Celtics. I also like Ice Hockey, mainly of the back of the EA Sports NHL games. I went to a lot of the Belfast Giants matches in their first few seasons. In the US I like the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, and used to have a jersey - yes I know they're pretty rubbish! In American Football I'd take the Raiders, but I don't follow it really. I used to watch Formula One a lot in early 90's but haven't taken much interest in it since Arton Senna died in 1994. I also like Motorbike racing. I like Extreme sports too and like watching the X-games etc. I have a Haro Shredder BMX and a Zero Skateboard, but I've never exactly done a lot of damage on either. One thing I've always wanted to do was surf. I've been bodyboarding loads of times, but surfing is something i'd love to be able to do, and hopefully i'll be able to sometime. I also watch rugby now and again; when Ireland are playing. More recently I have taken an interest in Gaelic Football, which is the national sport of Ireland.
I used to play Badminton for my local church (not that I'm into that sort of thing). I got 3 runner-up medals in in-house tournaments, and played in the team that won our division, and then captained the team the following year. I don't really believe that Pool is a sport, but I do enjoy playing it, and have recently got back into it.
Below are some sporting pictures with more info and also links to sporting websites. Enjoy. |
