By Carrie Medders
It’s more than a little intimidating to guest author a blog by, for and about writers when I am in no way, shape or form a writer. However, as most of you already know, Tasha is very hard to resist, and in a moment of weakness (coupled with antibiotics and codeine cough syrup), I agreed to help my old friend out today. In fact, looking back on it, I think I may have actually volunteered! Stupid codeine. Well, without further ado…let’s embark on this little journey, shall we?
I’ve actually been told on numerous occasions that I write well, but I’ve never considered myself a writer. I only author things for me, for my friends, and occasionally for my own crazy anti-blog…and well, my Christmas letters are legendary. So, what’s a non-writer to discuss on this writer’s blog? I can provide no advice, no interesting writing anecdotes, no pithy banter about how I develop characters…although my own personal character may be pithy enough on its own.
I debated sharing with you with my personal theories on those who drive Toyotas and why most of them should be removed from the road immediately, but alas, my lovely friend Tasha drives one so my theories were quickly disproved. I wondered if you’d be interested in my addiction to sports and how it is that I came to have it (not to mention my myriad of other addictions). But then I figured that most of you probably just want Tasha back and whatever I jot down here is only a brief placeholder until the real writer returns next week, and it really doesn’t matter what my topic of conversation is.
The fact of the matter is though, I AM addicted to sports…have been as long as I can remember. Heck, I even have a degree in the management of it! Yes, that’s how deep the addiction goes. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t watch bowling, nor do I have any interest in NASCAR (sorry mom!), but on the road of mainstream sports (football, basketball, baseball, hockey…and maybe even a little golf), I’m your girl. College, pros…I’m all in. A couple of weeks ago, I spent 5 of 7 days/nights at various sporting events, and more time watching other events on TV.
I go to the games. I watch the games on TV. I listen to the games. I read about the games. I’ve even started Tivoing the games so they can be watched later. I have clothing showing my love for various teams. I have partial season tickets. I had my 40th birthday at an NHL game this year. Let’s face it…I work so I can pay to watch other people play…it’s as simple as that. And frankly, I love it! I’m not as crazy as some people who know every stat about every player…that just hurts my head. But I know more than enough to hold my own with the other addicts, er, fans.
I didn’t just happen upon this addiction on my own. I learned it from the best…my mother. She, like me, is a watcher. Neither of us has ever played…well, not much anyway. I think we’ve both done our fair share of hitting a ball with a racquet, but as a general rule, we watch. And we are entertained. And we are addicted. It is because of her that I’m a Yankee fan. It’s because of her that I know that cheering during a hockey fight is not only okay, but expected. It’s because of her that I fill out the Final Four bracket every year and play against no one but myself. It’s probably even because of her that I once picked the full Sweet 16 accurately.
It’s not that my father doesn’t like sports; it’s just that he’s not an addict. He watches the Final Four; he just doesn’t tear up when they play “One Moment in Time” when it’s over. He’ll cheer for my Arizona State Sun Devils with me, but he doesn’t understand why I could never work at the University of Arizona. He doesn’t understand why I still get misty when Walter Payton is mentioned. The mother knows. The mother gets misty too.
So there it is. The confession of a sports addict. I guess we all have our ways of playing and entertaining ourselves. Some are players, some are watchers. Which one are you? Are you a little of both with a dash of something else thrown in? Based on previous posts, I know not many participants on this blog are much into sports, but you probably have your own addictions…your own ways of being entertained. Whatever you happen to be addicted to…whether you’re a player or a watcher, I wish you the best.
Thanks for reading and letting me share a little of my crazy life with you. Gotta run…I think there’s a game about to start…
Carrie Medders is a domestic goddess, friend extraordinaire, and really needs you to FedEx her some Chik-Fil-A…..
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OK, so I don’t need to tell you that I’m neither player nor watcher. You know that all too well!
: )
But I love you and I’m so glad you’re here! Thanks for saving me for another week. At this rate, I may never come back………
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Go Devils!!! 
by BeatUofA
on April 11th, 2008 at 2:30 am
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Only sport I watch consistently is UNC basketball, and I really don’t want to talk about that right now. The wound is still too fresh.
One small correction: you can’t get much more mainstream than NASCAR right now. It is, as we are constantly reminded here in Nawth Ca’lina, the fastest growing sport in the nation. And, while I have long regarded it as just “rednecks turning left for four hours,” fans have tried to explain to me the nuances and intricacies of the sport. I’ll take their word that it’s more complicated than it looks, but right now I just don’t have time for another obsession.
Glad to see you here, Carrie.
And T: congratulations again.
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Carrie, LOVE your post! I was rooting for XU (Xavier) in the Elite Eight, but it was not meant to be. #%%&*$*%$!!!!
Those college kids play their hearts out which is why it’s my favorite (and really only) sport to watch.
“rednecks turning left for four hours?” Dusty, I nearly fell out of my chair when I read that just now. If you came up with that, you’ve SOOOOOO got to copyright that and sell it on a t-shirt. Too funny!!!
Tasha–Yay you!!!!
by Laura
on April 11th, 2008 at 6:37 am
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Carrie,
Nice post. By the way, and I’m taking a leap of faith here, sorry about the Preds last night. I’m rooting for them until they beat the evil Wings Empire, then, sorry, I’ll be rooting against them and their littlepunk, Tootoo.
If my leap is in the right direction, then you should understand the above completely.
OH, and if the New England Patriots are dubbed the Pats, and the Tampa Bay Bucaneers are called the Bucs, what would that make the Tennessee Titans?
That’s all the sports humor I can think of today.
Living in a household of women, I’ve tried to share sports with my daughters. The oldest I taught golf, the middle shares my passion for hockey and I coached the third in soccer for years.
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Oh, and Dusty, my daughter, being a stutdent at Mizzou (sworn enemy of KU) wishes your UNC would have shown up to play.
Not that it would have made a difference, but I had UNC winning my Bracket
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Dusty…completely appreciate the fresh wound. My team was out much earlier than yours (WVU)…and I had picked Georgetown to win the whole thing, so my bracket was hosed early on. And yes, NASCAR is definitely more mainstream than it once was…but I don’t have to like it. I do have a Daytona 500 hat sitting on a shelf in my office though as a good friend partook of that ritual this year.
Laura…well, I was bitter with Xavier since they took out my Mountaineers, but I feel your pain. Ya really can’t beat the fun of March Madness…unless your team is involved in playoff hockey. 
And Will, sorry to say, but your leap was in the wrong direction. I live in San Jose…so therefore, we despise both Preds and Wings and especially Ducks. Right now, we’re just hoping to extinguish those dirty pesky Flames. Go Sharks!!
BeatUofA, I’m not sure who you are, but I love you nonetheless! Go Devils!!
Nice to be here today…thanks Tasha! And congrats on “THE END”!
by Carrie
on April 11th, 2008 at 8:08 am
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Okay, here goes. My dog is named for Ernie Banks aka Mr. Cub. When my son chose Ohio State I knew that as a Wisconsin grad, we’d be bond over hating Michigan. And this past March 4? I spent the day watching ESPN and wiping my eyes at the thought of Brett Favre’s retirement.
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Ah Judy…yes, Brett retiring was not unexpected, but heart wrenching nonetheless…and I’m a long time Chicago Bears fan! What a great player and a great person. Don’t even get me started about November 7, 1992…when Magic left the game…OY! That was a bad day…
by Carrie
on April 11th, 2008 at 8:19 am
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Okay, Carrie, I’ll root for the Sharks until they put Mike Keenan out of the playoffs. The addition of Brian Campbell might just give the Sharks the edge.
Somehow, with my team now making tee times, the playoffs have lost a bit of their luster. I can concentrate on finishing my damn novel.
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And actually, I think that was 1991…
by Carrie
on April 11th, 2008 at 8:20 am
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Oh yes Will. We are well aware of what the addition of Soupy has done for us. Just hope he will sign when it’s time! And just who is your team? I do agree with you about that tutu punk in Nashville. Eeeeevil. Why don’t you just call yourself Pronger and put on a Duck jersey?
by Carrie
on April 11th, 2008 at 8:45 am
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Wow,Carrie, we don’t know each other, but now I know there’s someone else in the world who understands the high level of bad drivers driving Toyotas! Every time (okay, almost every time) I’m behind a dillweed on the road, they’re driving a Toyota. Drives me nuts! (Okay, I realize with the rational part of my brain, that the reason is simply that the number of dillweeds is high and the number of Toyotas is high, so the intersect of these plot points does not show a conspiracy to ruin my day, but still…!)
I used to be sort of addicted to basketball, but the advent of ridiculously long pants (they’re not shorts), took most of the fun out of the game for me. I used to get courtside seats whenever the Pacers came to Cleveland, just to watch Steve Stepanovich’s legs running up and down the court, flexing for shots, etc.
I also used to be a huge track and field geek (Steve Prefontaine’s legs, Dwight Stones’ legs, even Frank Shorter’s legs - and all of Bruce Jenner!), and swimmers and divers…let’s not go there, ’cause I won’t get anything done for the rest of the day!
by Kate Hathway
on April 11th, 2008 at 8:51 am
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Carrie, I hat to tell you, but I’m a huge Pronger fan. I live in St. Louis and mourned the day they traded him.
LOL That’s only half right. Regardless of his questionable antics, he’s still an elite defenseman. But I’m completely over him and I’m thinking that being in Hollywood Land is bad for his character.
Actually, my icon in hockey is Al MacInnis. A complete role model in sports.
You’ve just jinxed Brian Campbell by calling him Soupy. The Blues had a winger with a brilliant future named Jimmy “Soupy” Campbell. Fame fortune, alcohol and drugs got to him and he dropped off the face of the ice.
Just 2 weeks ago called in some chips and got my middle daughter (now in journalism at Mizzou) and I taken to the Blues Press Box. We got to chat with Al MacInnis, John Davidson, Bobby Plager, Bernie Federko and Kelly Chase. And a number of broadcasters and Blues execs. I know these are not exactly houshold names, but they are significant in the world of Blues hockey.
Awesome night.
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Oh Will…I thought I liked you. But Pronger? Really? DIRTY.
Sounds like a great night for you and your daughter!! Very fun!
by Carrie
on April 11th, 2008 at 10:57 am
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Kate, I thought I was the only one! It really is weird isn’t it? Tasha, as a Toyota driver, can you give us any insight? I realize, you are personally an exception to the bad Toyota driver rule, but maybe there’s something you know that we don’t.
by Carrie
on April 11th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
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See, now, I don’t notice the Toyota thing so much as the SUV Bad Driver thing…….
: )
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Well, that’s because when you drive an SUV you are entitled to owning the whole road…not just your lane. You get a certificate for that when you make the purchase.
by Carrie
on April 11th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
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Hey Carrie!!!
From another sports chick… I’m into just about everything but soccer and pro basketball. Everything else is fair game, including Nascar, and Formula One, and IRL… oh, to drive a car that fast… I’m drooling at the thought.
I just made all my money back on my brackets, times 4. I’m a happy camper.
But lay off the Nashville insults, you and Will, or I’m gonna have to beat your butts. We’re going to the Preds game Monday night, and I’m dying for a big win : )
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JT, I was at both Sharks games this week…one great, one…not so much. Can’t say I’m cheering for your team, but wouldn’t mind seeing the deadwings go down either. Playoff hockey live and in-person is the best though! Will you be sporting a jersey?
by Carrie
on April 11th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
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Carrie what a treat to read your blog and as someone who is mildly familiar with your addiction, I want to say - I am so proud of your progress What do they say, admitting you have a problem is the first step???
I am definitely a watcher. I love sports, football especially (my cheesehead says California cheese) and Santa has taken me to Lambeau field to watch the Packers beat up on the Vikings (by the way the best Christmas EVER!)
More importantly, I am married to an avid watcher. My husband has his favorite teams, but quite honestly he will watch almost any good match up and he especially loves going to games in historic, classic venues. You would have thought I won wife of the year when I sent he and his friend to watch UNC vs. Duke play at Cameron Indoor Stadium … I earned big wife points for that Valentine’s Day gift. For our anniversary, a surprise trip to see his L.A. Rams (yes he is in denial that Georgia took them to St. Louis) play in the new Arizona Cardinals stadium. And of course, last year sending him and his parents (all are big NHL hockey fans) to the 5th and final game of the Stanley Cup. He is a L.A. Kings fan, so watching the Anaheim Ducks win was painful but he loved being there for the sport, for the spirit of the event and of course because he is a hockey fan - who would not want to see the Stanley Cup Finals… right Carrie ???
by Marianne
on April 11th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
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Marianne…while yes, seeing the Stanley Cup Finals would be freaking awesome if it were the Sharks playing in it, the thought of those stinking Ducks even touching the cup makes me want to gag. I still can’t believe your hubby was there for that torture!
And I’m pretty sure your baby is going to come out of the womb in a Packers jersey…
by Carrie
on April 11th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
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JT, Like I said, I’m rooting for the Preds until they beat the Wings. I mean Hasek and Chelios are almost my age, and in hockey that is old as dirt.
I’m almost ready to give you Paul Kariya back.
I mean who names their sports arena the “Gay lord” Entertainment Center?
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Will, I almost fell out of my chair laughing just now…
by Carrie
on April 11th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
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I JUST realized I accidentally added a space. Sorry, JT 
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It’s actually called the Sommet Center. Stay up to date, Will. Boys got sold…
; )
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