Down and distance, goals and behinds: An introduction

Welcome. I've been off blogging for a year or so. Mainly because I would write about anything and everything. Sport, current affairs, videogaming and food. A shotgun approach to casual writing was a sure-fire way to be overwhelmed by it, so a year or so later, I'm feeling about settled enough to start up something a bit more focused.

This blog will, in the main, be concerned with Football. Contextually that'll mean American and Australian Football and more accurately, the AFL and the NFL. I'll throw in some cricket, soccer and the rugbies if possible (probably not). I'd be keen to get a few others with perspectives on other codes to write a piece or two.

I was never really interested in American Football until I worked with a bunch of Americans who took the time to instruct me in the games nuances. The nature of the play immediately appealed to the tactics nerd within, feeling like a tactical tabletop wargame that I used to play as a teenager. Picking up a Madden game and learning about the game that way was also a massive help. I picked the Buffalo Bills as the team I support because of their proximity to where my fiancée studied during a 6-month studying period she 'endured' at Brock University, on the Canadian side of the Niagara region. She was certainly not fond of the Buffalo region, but proximity dictates in this case. I believe a recurring theme of this blog will be highlighting their mediocrity and the pain that they cause their fanbase. I definitely hope to be disappointed in person some day at Ralph Wilson stadium.

In Australian football, I was raised a staunch Carlton supporter by my devotee uncle. As a toddler and until my early teens he acted as my surrogate father and did an admirable job carting me down to Princes Park, seeing the likes of Silvagni, Koutoufides, Ratten, Kernahan and even Earl Spalding play. I'm not so much of a one-eyed supporter now but still love the Blues nonetheless.

Living where I do, I've also hitched my wagon onto the infant Giants as my second team, or more accurately, my team if the Blues aren't playing. So I hope to be able to review the Blues and Bills individually, the big games overall and the off-season events such as the draft. I might even be able to recruit some people to provide perspective on the sports for which I have none.

Regards,
TG