It occurred to me a week or so ago that I never really formally introduced any of the staff that is contributing content to KC Kingdom. They are the knights of this site’s round table and a big part of the community we’re working to build. With that in mind I thought it would be beneficial to provide some information about each of them.
Sluggerrr! (Photo Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports)
To facilitate this process I came up with eight incredibly unimaginative questions and posed them to the staff (and answered them myself). I’ll kick things off.
How did you become a fan of the team you’re covering?
I grew up a Twins and Cubs fan. The former due to my surroundings and the latter because the Cubs were on WGN a ton in the afternoons.
My ties to the Royals stated out as a small seedling when I was in Omaha attending Creighton. It became a full blown passion when I attended a game at Kauffman Stadium with my college girlfriend who was from Kansas City. I fell in love with the stadium, the team and the city in one fell swoop. I knew from that moment that KC was where I wanted to settle down and raise a family after college.
Where did you grow up and where do you currently live?
I grew up in Arden Hills, Minnesota – a northern suburb of the Twin Cities – and lived there until I left the nest and headed off to college. As planned, I moved to Kansas City in the fall of 2000 and have lived here ever since.
What is your college/educational background?
I attended Iowa State for a year and then transferred to Creighton University in Omaha. I spent four years at Creighton with a double major in English and Classical Civilizations.
What do you do for a living?
I wish I could tell people I’m a teacher, or lawyer, or architect or something along those lines as it would be self-explanatory and open up the floor for easy to answer follow up questions. Instead I get to say that I’m a Data Quality Analyst for Saint Luke’s Health System. That’s generally met with a blank stare. In a nutshell I do forms design and barcoding for a large chunk of our system’s hospitals and a whole host of other random duties I’ve picked up over the 12 years I’ve been there.
As far as FanSided is concerned, on top of leading this site wherever it is we’re going, I’m also a part of the network’s senior leadership group.
What is your family situation (wife, kids, etc.)?
That girlfriend that I went to my first Royals game with? Yeah, I married her. When we met I quickly learned she was a huge baseball fan, crazy intelligent, cute and liked to play video games. She’s also one of the select few that has ever truly understood my personality so it was a no brainer that I needed to propose. Thankfully she said yes and we’ve been married for 13 years now. We have two boys that are 8 and 5.
What do you like to do for fun (sports related or otherwise)?
Baseball is my favorite but I love playing pretty much every sport and I’m trying to get into the mode of running on a regular basis. I also like to play poker, Magic the Gathering, board games and video games. Now that my kids are older and into sports we spend a lot of time playing outside when the weather cooperates.
What is your favorite sports moment or memory?
I don’t have a specific memory but I fondly remember the 1984 baseball season as the point when I started to really become aware of what was going on in MLB. If I had to pinpoint something I will never forget, it was probably watching Kerry Wood’s 20 strikeout game in May of 1998. I was home sick from class on that day. For a Royals memory it would have to be attending the April 5th, 2004 Opening Day game when Carlos Beltran and Mendy Lopez (of all people!) hit home runs in the bottom of the ninth to give KC a 9-7 win.
What are your least favorite team(s) and why?
As a Royals and Twins fan I can’t stand the Yankees and White Sox. I think the reasons for both are pretty obvious. I also have long held a distaste for the St. Louis Cardinals but the Twins got the best of them in 1987 and the Royals took care of them in 1985 and I begrudgingly respect the way they’re run as an organization so they’re on a lower tier of dislike.
That wraps up my responses, stay tuned for more from our staff coming shortly.