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puckinginsane · 6 years ago

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Baby, It’s Cold Outside

Tyler Seguin Christmas one shot

When my boss told me I would have to be in Minneapolis for 3 days of meetings just a few days before Christmas I thought he was joking. I literally laughed right in his face until I actually saw his face and noticed he wasn’t laughing along. No, this was serious. We actually had to travel to Minnesota during the busiest travel days of the year to take in some meetings. He wasn’t happy about it either but there was nothing we could do to get out of it. Sales managers from around the country had been called in for these sets of emergency meetings. Nobody was happy but we sucked it up and made the best of it.

The company put us all up in cabins to feel like it was more like a vacation than a sales trip but it just turned out to be more frustrating than anything. The wifi was spotty, the bed was uncomfortable, and the water pressure in the shower sucked. I tried my best to stay positive but it wasn’t easy. I am so glad to finally be leaving this place and going home for the holidays. I can’t wait to see my family. It seems like as each year goes by I see them less and less but at least we always have Christmas together. I look forward to it. I love my family.

I have been getting weather advisory alerts on my phone all morning about a blizzard coming so I’m worried that my flight is going to be delayed or worse. I have to check out and get to the airport before it’s too late. When I get into the lodge I notice there is nobody else around. This can’t be a good thing. It’s Christmas Eve and there’s no one to be seen. I walk to the front desk and wait for the clerk to come out of the office to help me. Just as I check out I start getting more alerts on my phone. I step away from the front desk to check them. My flight is cancelled. All of the flights are cancelled.

No, no, no this cannot be happening. I can’t be stranded here. I walk back to the front desk. “I don’t suppose you have any open cabins,” I say to the clerk, knowing full well the answer is going to be no.

“No sorry, miss, we are all booked up. It is the holidays after all,” he replies.

“I know. I figured I’d try.” I grab my suitcase and walk over to one of the couches and sit down. There has got to be a way for me to get out of here. I look around on my phone to see if there is any other way to get out of Minnesota. The whole state is shut down. There is no way out at this point. I’m going to have to call my mom and let her know I won’t be home for Christmas. The phone rings a few times before my mom answers. “Hey, mom, it looks like I’m going to be stuck here in Minneapolis.”

“Oh no, sweetie, is everything ok?” she asks.

“It looks like a blizzard shut down the entire state. I haven’t been outside so I don’t know how bad it is.”

“Yeah, I’m watching on the weather channel right now. It does not look good.”

“This is what I get for taking an extra day to relax. Now I’ll never leave,” I complain.

“Do you have a place to stay?” she asks.

“No. And I don’t think I’ll be able to find a place either. All of the cabins here are booked. I guess I’ll just have to wait it out here in the lodge.”

“I’m sorry, that has to be rough. We will see you once you get home. Stay warm and stay safe.”

“Thanks, mom, I’ll keep you updated. Love you.”

“I love you too, sweetie.” My mom and I hang up and I stand up and walk to the window and push the curtains aside to see just how bad this blizzard is. The snow is coming down really hard and it looks pretty windy. There seems to already be a significant amount of snow accumulated on the ground. It did not look like this a few hours ago. I get a few more notifications on my phone. A state of emergency is in effect as well as a curfew. It just keeps getting worse. If I’m going to possibly find a place that has an opening, even if it’s a crappy motel, I am going to have to leave now.

I pick up my suitcase and start making my way across the lobby. “I don’t care what they say, I’m getting out of here,” I mutter to myself.

“I wouldn’t go out there if I were you,” I hear someone say to me as I walk passed them. I turn around to say something to them about minding their own business but when I see who it is my heart practically jumps in my throat. It’s Tyler Seguin from the Dallas Stars. I have such a big crush on him. I forgot that they had a game here last night. “It’s really bad out there.”

“I’m not getting stuck in this lodge. I need to see if I can find a place to stay.” I continue to walk towards the doors.

Tyler stands up and follows after me. “It’s pretty dangerous out there.”

I turn my head to look at him as I continue to walk. “I appreciate your concern but I’m leaving.”

He shakes his head at me. “You’re so stubborn.”

I roll my eyes and ignore his last comment as I open the doors and step outside. I’m immediately hit in the face with the brisk air and snow hitting my face. I push on through to where my rental car is parked. It’s hard to even tell where the car begins and ends. Everything looks like a blanket of white. I begin trying to dig my car out with my hands but as I dig in the snow more snow just fills in. It’s no use. I am really stuck here. Even if I did manage to dig my car out it’s not like I would really be able to get anywhere quickly. It looks like they have stopped trying to plow the roads. Everything is shut down.

I turn around to walk back into the lodge and Tyler is standing in the doorway leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed over his chest with a smile on his face. He chuckles as I walk passed him. “Well that was entertaining,” he says as he follows behind me as I walk to one of the couches. I sit down and he sits down on the couch across from me. Is this really happening right now? The one time I have Tyler Seguin all to myself and I am in such a bad mood. “It looks like we’re stranded together.”

“Yeah, it looks that way,” I say as I start sending texts to my friends letting them know my situation.

“What were you here for?” he asks.

“I was here for work. I was supposed to leave yesterday but I stayed an extra day to relax. I guess that was a mistake.”

“Same here. I stayed an extra day to get some last minute Christmas shopping done before going back home. My whole family is at my house right now and I’m here.”

“I can’t believe we are the only two idiots that got stranded.”

“I’m not an idiot. Speak for yourself.” He smiles a cheesy grin. “I’m Tyler, by the way.”

“I’m Amy.” I don’t know if I should tell him I know who he is. It could make things awkward. We are doing fine without him knowing I am a big fan of his.

“It’s nice to meet you, Amy. This isn’t how you thought you would spend your Christmas Eve I’m sure.”

“No definitely not.”

“What were your plans?” he asks as he leans his elbow on the armrest and rests his head on the palm of his hand and looks at me for my answer.

“I was going to go to my aunt’s house where my whole family always gathers. I haven’t seen them all year. I was really looking forward to seeing them.”

“That sucks. I don’t see my family much either. I was looking forward to some home cooked meals and spending a few days with them.”

The wind is so fast outside that you can hear the gusts outside the window. “It’s really coming down out there,” I say. I don’t know what else to talk about.

“I wonder if we’ll lose power. We may have to use body heat for warmth.” He smiles a big, toothy smile.

“Or sit by the fire,” I say as I point to the roaring fireplace across the room.

“Yeah but that’s not as fun.”

I can’t believe he’s flirting with me. Maybe he’s just overly friendly. I know he’s a pretty outgoing guy. I feel my cheeks getting warm from blushing but I try to play it cool. I shake my head as I fight a smile. “You’re terrible.”

He laughs. “So, Amy, where are you from?”

“New Jersey. You?” If I’m going to pretend I don’t know who he is I might as well go all in.

“Originally from the Toronto area. Living in Dallas now.”

“Oh a Canadian, eh?” I tease.

“Wow. You just did that.”

“I did.”

“I’ll remember that.”

I just smile. I’m thankful to be stranded with him. He’s making this enjoyable, well, as enjoyable as it can be. He’s kept my mind off the fact that I won’t be seeing my family at all this year. I can’t stop thinking about the fact that it’s Tyler Seguin and I am so calm about it. He seems really comfortable around me which makes me feel comfortable to be myself around him. I keep checking the satellite on my phone to see if there are any signs of this letting up but it looks like it’s going to be going on for a while.

There are no TVs in the lodge. There is a huge fireplace at the back of the room with chairs and couches scattered throughout. There is a coffee and hot chocolate bar off to the side of the front desk but not much for food, just little snacks. The lodge has high ceilings and it looks like an over sized, fancier version of a log cabin. They pride themselves on giving you an outdoor experience with a touch of luxury. I don’t even want to know how much staying here cost my company.

I look up from my phone to see Tyler watching me. I wonder how long he’s been staring. I have been so focused on what’s been going on on my phone that I hadn’t looked up in at least 5 minutes. I feel myself blushing again. He makes me so nervous although I think I have been doing a good job of hiding it. “Hi,” I say with half of a smile.

“Are you telling your boyfriend you’re stuck with some guy? Don’t tell him about the body heat thing.”

“I don’t have a boyfriend.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

“It’s fine. I know it’s hard to believe that all of this is single but it’s true.”

He laughs. “You’re funny.”

“Thanks.” I’m so embarrassed but I’m trying so hard not to look away. My cheeks and ears feel like they’re on fire. It’s probably obvious to him that I’m a blushing, nervous mess. I work in sales so usually I am self confident but this is Tyler Seguin. He makes me feel like a puddle of mush when he looks at me and now he’s complimenting me. I don’t know what to do with myself. I’ve had a crush on him for years and I’m just trying to keep myself together.

“You’re welcome.” He sits back on the couch and scratches the side of his face before crossing his arms over his chest. “It would be nice if they had a TV in here.”

“I have my laptop but I was having problems with the wifi. I’m sure the weather isn’t helping.” I don’t want to turn my laptop on anyway. Tyler is my desktop image and it would ruin everything if he saw that.

“We will just have to find other ways to entertain ourselves.”

I don’t even know what to say to that. He looks pleased with himself, like he knows exactly what he’s doing to me. He’s saying these things on purpose. I can’t even imagine how pink my cheeks are now. I get a text from my brother and open it. He sent me a selfie saying he wishes I were there. My brother and I are always sending selfies back and forth to one another. I want to take one and send it but Tyler is watching me. I know he likes taking selfies so I should just take one and not worry what he thinks. I hold my phone out in front of me and take a smiling selfie and send it off to my brother. I put my phone down on my lap and Tyler is smiling at me with his eyebrows raised. “My brother and I send selfies back and forth to each other,” I explain.

“That was cute,” he replies.

“I, uh, wow, thanks,” I nervously say as I look down at my lap. If it were possible to turn purple I’m sure that’s what color my cheeks would be at this point. Tyler Seguin just said I was cute. It’s a Christmas miracle.

“Why do I make you so nervous?” he asks, “your cheeks are so red.”

Like he doesn’t know the answer to that question. He has to know he’s attractive. I can’t be the first girl to melt into a puddle on the floor in front of him no matter how hard I try to fight it. “It’s hot in here. I need some fresh air.”

I stand up and walk outside. I take a deep breath and look up into the sky and let the snowflakes hit my face. My cheeks cool off with the touch of each individual snowflake touching my skin. It’s refreshing. Thump. I feel a snowball hit me square in the middle of my back. I turn around to see Tyler standing about 15 feet away with the biggest smile on his face. He starts cracking up as soon as we make eye contact. “I can’t believe I actually hit you!” he exclaims.

“Oh, you’re so gonna get it!” I yell as I start to run towards him. He starts to run away but I manage to catch up to him. I could pick up some snow and throw it back at him but instead I leap off of the ground and tackle him into a snowbank.

He opens his mouth wide, shocked that I just had the balls to tackle him. I’m a little surprised myself. “It’s like that now, is it?” he asks. I stand up and hold my hands out to pull him up. He holds onto my hands but instead of standing up he pulls me down and pushes me into the snow. “This isn’t over.”

“Cold! So cold!” I screech as the snow hits the skin on my back because my shirt rode up a little bit. He leans down towards me and his face is just inches from mine. Holy shit, is he going to kiss me? It seems like he’s going to kiss me. What the hell do I do if he kisses me? Will I even be able to kiss him back? I look at his lips and then into his eyes and back down at his lips. He smirks a little before closing his eyes, I close mine too anticipating his kiss. Instead of a kiss I get a handful of snow in my face. I wipe the snow as he laughs at me.

“You so thought I was going to kiss you,” he teases.

“You’re such a jerk!” I shout. That is so wrong on so many levels. I really was hoping he was going to kiss me. Now I just feel like a fool.

He continues to laugh at me. He holds his hands out. “Come on, for real, I’ll help you up. It’s too cold to be in the snow for this long.”

I grab a handful of snow and at the same time with my other hand I grab the waistband of his jeans. I pull them out just slightly and shove the snow down his pants. “Holy shit!” he shrieks as he grabs at the snow I left there and pulls it out. “I can’t believe you just did that.”

“You have no idea who you’re messing with,” I reply. I’m pretty proud of myself for coming up with that and following up. I just put my hand down Tyler Seguin’s pants. Oh my god.

Tyler holds his hands out for me one more time and this time I take them and he pulls me up and off of my butt. I brush myself off. I am soaked and so is he. We walk back inside dripping with melting snow. “We should sit by the fire to dry off,” he suggests.

“Yeah,” I agree.

We walk over to the couch that sits in front of the fireplace and sit down next to each other. The heat of the fire feels so good on my freezing cold skin. Now it’s just a matter of drying off. I still can’t believe I had the balls to put my hand down Tyler’s pants and he doesn’t seem to be mad about it. He still wants to sit next to me so that’s a good sign. He looks at me and shakes his head. “I can’t believe you did that. That took guts,” he says.

“Yeah I kinda can’t believe I did that either to be honest.”

“It was impressive.”

“That’s one way to describe it, I guess.”

“I deserved it.”

“Oh yeah, you definitely did.”

The crackling of the fire can be heard as both of us sit in silence as we continue to warm up and dry off. I was so mad I was going to be missing Christmas with my family but I get to spend it with Tyler instead. Not a bad trade off at all. We are sitting so close that our legs are touching. He hasn’t moved over and I am sure as hell not moving. I still can’t believe he was so close to my face. What if I went for it and kissed him thinking that’s what he was going to do? I would have made a fool of myself. Thankfully I usually wait for the guy to make the first move or I would have embarrassed myself even more than I already did. He knows I wanted him to kiss me. I closed my eyes like an idiot.

“I’m sorry I made you think I was going to kiss you. That wasn’t right,” he says after a few minutes of silence.

“It’s ok. I wouldn’t have known what to do with myself anyway,” I reply.

“Oh you mean you wouldn’t have stuck your hand down my pants? I guess it’s good that I didn’t then.” He looks at me and smirks. He’s such a flirt. I can’t handle it. “Oh, there goes those pink cheeks again.”

“Look who’s talking. Yours are just as pink,” I retort.

He looks away. I think I actually made him embarrassed. I get another selfie text from my brother. “You should send him one with the both of us in it,” Tyler says as he peeks over my shoulder.

“Hey! Nosey.” I put my hand over my screen.

He puts his arm around my shoulders. “Come on. You take one then I’ll take one on mine.”

“Ok.” I put the camera on and hold it out in front of us. He leans his head against mine and we both smile. I take the picture and send it to my brother.

“My turn.” He takes his phone out of his pocket and holds it out in front of us. Once again he leans his head against mine and takes the picture. “I don’t have a brother to send it to. I’ll just post it on Instagram. Is that ok?”

“Yeah, sure, it’s fine with me.” I have to act like it’s no big deal but I know that it is. He has hundreds of thousands of people who follow him and they’re all going to see it. This is crazy. He still has his arm around me as he types with his other hand on his phone. I’m starting to feel a bit too comfortable sitting here with him like this. I have to get up and walk around or something. I’m about to fall asleep. It’s been a stressful few days and I haven’t gotten much sleep. “I think I’m going to walk around the room or something. I’m starting to get sleepy.”

“You could use me as a pillow if you want. I don’t mind.”

“Are you serious?” I ask. There’s no way I can take him up on his offer.

“Yeah. Why not?” he replies.

“I don’t know,” I warily say.

“I’ll make up your mind for you.” He puts his hand on the side of my head and pulls it down onto his shoulder. “Sleep. I’ll wake you if anything exciting happens.”

How am I supposed to fall asleep when I have my head on Tyler Seguin’s shoulder? Why is he being so nice to me? I should stop questioning it and just take time to enjoy it. I take a deep breath. This just feels nice. I want to be stubborn and not sleep but my eyes are growing heavier and heavier and it’s beginning to be almost impossible to keep them open. I close my eyes and feel his head resting on mine before I fall asleep.

I feel Tyler shifting next to me and I wake up. I groan a little bit as I open my eyes. I don’t know how long I’ve been sleeping but I need to stand up and walk around. “How long was I sleeping?” I ask.

“I’m not sure. I fell asleep too. Sorry I woke you up. My arm was falling asleep.”

“It’s ok. I have to get up. My butt hurts.”

He laughs. “No comment.”

“That’s a first.”

“I figured I’d spare you this time.”

I stand up and stretch. “Why start now?”

“Smart ass.”

“I’m going to walk around a bit. Sitting in one place is killing me.”

The lodge isn’t entirely big but it’s enough where I can walk around and get the blood flowing through my legs again. I notice Tyler going over to the coffee bar to make himself some coffee. I take my phone out of my pocket and notice it has gotten pretty late. I guess I slept longer than I thought I did. It’s almost midnight already. Soon it’ll be Christmas day and it doesn’t look like the snow has let up at all. It just keeps accumulating and accumulating.

I look over at Tyler who is sitting back on the couch in front of the fireplace with his coffee cup in his hand. He is sitting there just looking into the fireplace. He’s so cute. It’s just a few minutes away from Christmas and I feel like I need to find something to give to Tyler as a present, even if it’s just a joke. I think it would be so cute if I went over there with a present for him. I’m sure it would cheer both of us up and he would get a big kick out of it. There’s just not much around here to go with. I wish I had something in my suitcase but I didn’t have time to do any kind of shopping while I was here. There has got to be something I can find to give him.

I don’t want him to see me sneaking around and looking for stuff so I have to keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn’t see what I’m doing. It looks like he’s deep in thought over there by the fireplace so I don’t think I have to worry about him. I walk past a few tables with vases with fresh flowers in them. I guess I could give him some flowers. I don’t see anything else in this place that I could give him so it’s going to have to be flowers. I grab one of the vases off of the table and pick out a single flower from it before putting it back down on the table. For some reason this is so amusing to me. I’m about to give Tyler Seguin a flower for Christmas.

I walk over to Tyler holding the flower behind my back. I sit down next to him and he looks at me. “It’s officially Christmas,” I say, “I got you something.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.” I pull the flower out from behind my back and he starts laughing as soon as he sees it. He takes it from me. “Sorry, it’s all I could find.”

“It’s perfect. Thank you.” He smells the flower before putting it down on the little table next to his arm of the couch. “Wow it actually smells really good.”

“I picked it just for you.”

“You are just the best.”

“I try.”

“I got you something too,” he says as he starts reaching into his pocket.

“You did?” I ask, surprised.

“Yeah,” he replies with a smile. He takes his hand out of his pocket and holds it over my head and I look up to see that he’s holding mistletoe. I look him in the eyes with my mouth hanging open. “Looks like you got some mistletoe over your head. Do you know what that means?”

I shake my head yes. “Yeah. I know.”

He scrunches his nose up. “I guess I have to kiss you now.”

“Those are the rules.”

He puts his hand on the back of my head and leans in to kiss me. His lips are soft and it’s a sweet kiss. He kisses my lips a few times before I get the courage up to kiss him back and I feel him smile before he starts kissing me some more. It’s slow and sweet and so amazing. I don’t think either of us want to stop. I kiss his bottom lip a few times before we slowly pull away from each other. “Merry Christmas, Amy.”

“Merry Christmas, Tyler.”

#fan fiction #hockey fan fiction #tyler seguin #puckingwrites

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junker-town · 7 years ago

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When exactly did you become a fan of your college football team?

Here are a bunch of fun stories. Give us yours!

SB Nation has a cool series right now: each of our team sites discussing the origins of fandom. I wanted to share a few of the best from our college team blogs, though there are many other good ones. (To join in and enter a contest, find your school's blog.)

College fandom often goes deeper than the pro kind, whether due to regional history or alumni status or family ties, and a lot of these stories stand out as pretty unique.

Like becoming a Texas fan because your mom was into Russell Crowe's rock band:

Mom decided to visit Austin in 2001 to see TOFOG and re-connect with a friend from graduate school.

I was looking at at a handful of schools at that time — Montana, Montana State, CU-Boulder, a liberal arts college in Minneapolis, and Indiana as a back up. I wasn’t really sold on any of them and basically eliminated the school in Minnesota because I made the smart choice of visiting it in December.

Mom and her friend decided I should visit Austin, so I did in October of 2001.

Or finding UCLA by way of the New York Yankees:

In the late 70s, it was all about the Yanks, no matter how much you Dodger fans hated it. My guys on those Yankee teams were catcher Thurman Munson and first baseman Chris Chambliss, who kickstarted the Yankee dynasty of that era with a walk-off home run in the 1976 American League Championship Series to send the Yankees to the World Series.

It would be years later that I came to know that Chambliss had played his college baseball at UCLA.

My next step towards the Bruins probably didn’t come until the late '80s when Troy Aikman faced off against Rodney Peete.

Or finding Penn State because the Browns pulled a Browns:

On Nov. 9, 1993, the Browns made a shocking move by releasing Bernie Kosar, a hometown hero whom every kid (and many adults) in my region idolized. He was the ultimate underdog, a slow-footed quarterback with awkward mechanics. Kosar was able to use his understanding of the game to become one of the NFL’s top quarterbacks throughout the late ‘80s and into the ‘90s.

I was too heartbroken to cheer for the Browns for the remainder of the season. I followed Kosar to the Cowboys and cheered as he filled in to lead them to an NFC Championship victory by filling in for an injured Troy Aikman and took the field for the final play in Super Bowl XXVIII.

I was determined not to cheer for the Browns again until Art Modell had sold the team and Bill Belichick was long gone from Cleveland, and decided to pay more attention to college football and my adopted team of Penn State.

Well, let’s just say my timing couldn’t have been better. As you know, the Nittany Lions went undefeated behind one of the most electrifying offenses in the history of college football, led by the likes of Kerry Collins, Ki-Jana Carter, Kyle Brady and Bobby Engram.

Or becoming a Sooner immediately after immigrating from India:

When my family made the move from India decades ago, we first settled in the great town of Norman, Oklahoma, where my uncle’s family who’d sponsored ours for immigration had been living. My uncle, a professor and administrator at OU through the 1980s and ‘90s, gets most of the credit for teaching me about American sports, and my two older U.S.-born cousins get the rest. Truth be told, the first football game I remember was Notre Dame taking on West Virginia. My attention was fixated on the Irish’s helmets.

Forgive me, for I was only six and had never before seen the crazy game of football. (I will mention, however, I was a pretty damn good cricketer.)

My fickle infatuation didn’t last long, and the colors of the Crimson & Cream took over. I remember my cousin, Vijay, would fill me in on all things OU daily, and I’d eat up that knowledge. About a month into my indoctrination, I knew all about Coach Switzer, the wishbone, Mookie Blaylock and the Kansas Jayhawks, who had robbed the Sooners of the 1988 basketball crown and were the epitome of evil.

Or getting the full brunt of Oklahoma State pain right up front:

On October 30, 2004, I cried like the nine-year-old I was. Since the first home game I’d attended nearly a year before, I'd developed a passion for Oklahoma State. What happened on October 30, 2004?

Adrian Peterson happened.

It was another classic Bedlam. Back-and-forth, and neither team could stop the other. Peterson had 249 yards on 33 carries, and rattled off an 80-yard touchdown run that all of us remember.

A Vernand Morency touchdown with 11 minutes left cut the second-ranked OU lead to 38-35. The momentum swung toward OSU, and it felt like if the Cowboys could just score one more time, they’d steal a Bedlam win.

With ten seconds left, OSU set up Jason Ricks for a 49-yard field goal from the left hash.

Good snap. Good hold. Wide right.

From our seats, I thought it went in. I went ballistic. I then looked at my dad and saw the horror on his face.

Or becoming a Louisville fan at an even younger age:

I can't tell you when precisely when I "decided" to become a Louisville fan. All I know is there are tapes of me asking which team is "the good guys" very soon after the time I learned to talk. All I know is there are videos of me in a U of L basketball uniform performing mock starting lineups at an age where psychologists say I couldn't form conscious memories. All I know is that for as long as I can recall, Cardinal sports have been something that I've cared about far more than I care about most things.

Or being literally born into fandom:

Following a discharge as a Major, this family put in roots in South Jordan, Utah. Partially due to the chance to go to BYU sports.

Early in the 3rd quarter, Steve Young threw a dart to Mike Eddo for a 24-yard TD, and a Lee Johnson PAT put BYU up 42-7 against the Bowling Green Falcons.

It was around this moment when I pulled my best Lee Johnson imitation — in my mother’s uterus. That’s right. My mom not only went to a football game while she was 9 months pregnant, she also went into labor.

Or finding rivalry while in the middle of making your college decision:

In February of 2008, I visited the University of Oregon for the first time. By the time I completed the tour, I knew this place was special. I just felt like I was at home, especially because I am a runner, and how could I turn down a town with running at its core?

On the way back up to the airport, we stopped at Oregon State for a visit. As soon as I heard they didn't offer a journalism program, I popped the trunk and pulled out my Ducks sweatshirt I’d just acquired and tossed it on while still on campus.

I also visited Washington State and loved the campus. What crossed it off the list was when someone on the campus tour asked what people do for fun in Pullman. Well, they can't be honest and say drink heavily, so they pointed us to Moscow, Idaho, where I think there was a Walmart and maybe an IHOP.

(Our Washington State fans are over here.)

Or having one of those geographically disparate piles of fandoms that mark a person as being from a time, rather than a place:

I got into sports when I was five, and I was five in 1995, and the Gators were great at football then. I would be up early for school every morning, and started reading the sports pages of the Orlando Sentinel daily and watching SportsCenter almost as often, falling for the Gators and Atlanta Braves and Green Bay Packers and Orlando Magic because they were all prominent and potent.

I was a bandwagoner, but we who are fans all are bandwagoners at least once, whether we jump on the back of the wagon, or are placed on it by parents, or amble up onto it as children who would have no use for the word “bandwagon” in the first place.

Or the greatest fandom explanation of them all: picking a lifelong allegiance just to troll your friends:

I followed the best players and tuned into whatever the prime games on ESPN and ABC were. That is until I got sick of my friend and his borderline obsession with [Iowa State QB] Seneca Wallace. I’m not embellishing when I tell you that at the peak of this love affair, he owned three Seneca Wallace jerseys and had them in a rotation. To top that, when Wallace made it to the league, my friend would trade him to whichever team he used to play me in Madden.

So, I did what all of us would do to their friend… I started rooting for his favorite player’s rival, just to bust his huevos.

Now, I didn’t know anything about Iowa to start. I thought their jerseys were some of the cleanest in college football. But that was about it. As I started watching more intently, it didn’t take long for me to get hooked.

I was raised a fourth-generation Georgia Tech fan in Atlanta. My first sports memory is a Clemson fan roaring in my face when I was three. The first sports thing I cared about was the Yellow Jackets' 1990 national title season. I assumed things would stay good forever, so I became a Falcons and Hawks fan too. Things didn't stay good.

I went to Kennesaw State, a little north of Atlanta, but mostly rooted for Tech until KSU's 2010 announcement that we were starting an FCS team. I'd never identified with Tech's fans, because I'm not smart and because Jackets aren't used to embracing sidewalk alumni, so transferring all my emotions was easier than it sounds.

Otherwise, in my job covering college football full-time since that season, I think I just root for whatever would make the most people happy at the time. Clemson winning a good title game made people pretty happy.

Tip on over to your school’s blog to share your own story.

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therightnewsnetwork · 8 years ago

Text

Ft. Lauderdale: Too Close To Home

By: Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / Right Side Patriots on American Political Radio http://tunein.com/radio/American-Political-Radio-s273246/

“Evil and disgusting.” -Florida Governor Rick Scott on CNN late last Friday afternoon

This past Friday, January 6, 2017, at about 1pm EST, Islamic terrorism home, and hit hard, when South Florida’s Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport came under siege.

Living in a Ft. Lauderdale suburb, I, like many of my fellow locals, sat glued to our televisions as the horrific events unfolded. Events that saw New Jersey-born, American citizen, and Iraq War combat veteran 26-year old Esteban Santiago-Ruiz, mow down in a mere 70 to 80 seconds 13 people waiting for their suitcases at Terminal 2’s Delta Airlines baggage claim area, and doing so in a cold-blooded yet clearly calculated and methodical way. Aiming directly for the head, Santiago murdered five innocent bystanders* and seriously injured eight others, most being tourists heading to Ft. Lauderdale based Caribbean cruise vacations.

And as per the Broward County Sheriff’s Department, 37 other people also sustained non life-threatening injuries during both the evacuation process itself and the panic that ensued after the shooting and amid fear that there might be a second shooter — which thankfully there was not.

See video of first shots fired here (view discretion advised): http://www.tmz.com/2017/01/08/ft-lauderdale-shooting-first-shots-video/ See raw footage of the shooting aftermath here (viewer discretion advised): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H78NzZGoMgE

Captured without protest after he emptied the two cartridges he carried (roughly 15 rounds) into randomly chosen victims (the Walther 9mm semi-automatic handgun Santiago used was in his checked bag which as per federal rules can be declared and checked under the plane but not carried on). Santiago when taken into custody told the F.B.I. that the “voices in his head” were telling him to fight for ISIS, “voices” that the liberal do-gooders are now using to help set the stage for either a PTSD or an insanity defense. And this stage-setting gives the media much needed fodder to help twist facts into lies — lies they hope the gullible amongst us will swallow as they once again help to cover for and deflect away from the truth about this young man and his ties to Islamic terrorism of the domestic kind.

And remember that no matter what the media and the talking heads say, it must be understand that this attack was indeed a planned and carefully orchestrated deliberate act of terrorism perpetrated by an Islamic follower. And little if any credence must be given to Santiago’s family and friends who, as expected, are claiming that Santiago’s now exposed ‘troubled behavior’ began almost immediately after he returned from a tour of duty in Iraq, a sure sign that a PTSD defense for his actions will be the one the defense uses — the same defense used by the lawyers who defended the killer of American hero Kris Kyle.

But could this what most likely will be a PTSD blame game defense be an Obama and media fabricated construct designed to further take away our veteran’s rights and credibility. I would NOT put it passed them as Obama would love nothing better than to leave office by further defaming our military, especially since Santiago was already known by the Army for his ’troubled behavior’ and whose family claims the army did not do enough to help their ‘supposedly’ mentally ill relative.

Also known to both the Anchorage F.B.I. and to the Anchorage police, what is amazing is why then if Santiago (who had a minor criminal record) exhibited ‘troubled behavior’ to both, including telling the Anchorage F.B.I. that he had “terrorist thoughts” and was “influenced by ISIS” but was given mere lip-service to and dismissed. Was he not put on the ‘NO-Fly’ list, and why did the Anchorage police return a handgun to Santiago (some are now saying it’s the very gun he used in the airport massacre) that had been ‘temporarily’ taken away from him on November 7, 2016, when he underwent a police-ordered mental evaluation where he was deemed not mentally ill.

He was not deemed mentally ill, which is an important fact to remember as this gives more credence to the truth that Estaban Santiago-Ruiz was indeed a domestic terrorist of the homegrown sort.

This also means that if the Anchorage police had been more diligent in their jobs, if the F.B.I. had been more diligent in theirs, if the ‘red flags’ present for all to see had not basically been ignored, maybe then five innocent people would be alive today.

Now let’s delve into a few key truths about this homegrown terrorist. This Islamist hiding in plain sight. And while the media and this still-sitting administration is trying to get us to believe that Estaban Santiago-Ruiz either has PTSD or is completely mad…the fact is that this very man has admitted that he did the shooting and that it was pre-planned to cause as much carnage as possible. And yet the media refuses to admit, were told to ignore, or were ‘ordered’ to dare not speak of Santiago’s strong and yet undeniable Islamic ties.

And these ties include that:

Santiago received a General Discharge from the Army Reserves on August 16, 2016 for ‘Unsatisfactory Performance’ but the question remains in regards to what exactly.

While living in Alaska, Santiago lived a mere 1.4 miles away from Alaska’s only mosque, which according to some he frequently visited.

Out of all the flight connections he could have taken from Alaska to South Florida, Santiago chose to go through Delta Airlines on a one-way ticket knowing that his flight change would be in Minneapolis…a city with a large muslim community…a muslim community full of known extremists…leaving one to wonder did he meet with any of them during his layover.

A one-way ticket under the circumstances is a tip-off that Santiago did not expect to return but to die in the cause of jihad.

Santiago posted pictures of himself on Twitter complete with his sporting an Islamic style beard and with his neck wrapped in a Palestinian keffiyeh (the garment favored by PLO leader Yassir Arafat) while holding up his right index finger in the now easily recognized Islamic loyalty declaration common to members of ISIS…a finger salute that refers to the tawhid…the belief in the oneness of God that is a key component of Islam.

In 2007, three years before being deployed to Iraq, Santiago opened a Myspace account under the muslim name ‘Aashiq Hammad’ which alone should prove he is not a mentally disturbed veteran.

Under the above said name ‘Aashiq Hammad,’ Santiago recorded songs in Arabic including “La ilaha illAllah” which not only translates to “There is no God but Allah,” but is the first half of the Shahadah, the muslim declaration of faith and is the Islamic conversion prayer…meaning Estaban Santiago-Ruiz converted to Islam most likely while in Iraq.

At the same time he was recording Islamic songs, Santiago was also posting on a little known explosives and weapons internet site including on a thread about how to bulk and mass-download jihadi videos using the email address ‘[email protected]’ which was then linked to the above stated Myspace URL with the name ‘Aashiq Hammad’

On the site ‘Everipedia’ https://www.everipedia.com/esteban-santiago/ (a site not unlike Wikipedia) Santiago is listed as a Sunni muslim with Salafi beliefs (Salafi is an orthodox Sunni muslim sect advocating a return to the early Islam of the qur’an and sunna).

Santiago’s planning of this attack was too calculated and well planned for someone with mental illness, meaning if indeed mentally ill, he must have had help. Also, it is quite unnerving that as per terrorist expert Michael S. Smith ll, ISIS terrorist channels knew Esteban Santiago’s name before the news media reported it here.

Bottom line…Estaban Santiago-Ruiz…a man with obvious Islamic ties…was acting as a lone wolf fitting to a tee the profile of one who perpetrates and commits terrorist acts of war common to those who either belong to or who have sworn allegiance to ISIS.

So now that we know Santiago’s Islamic ties we can see how this event will be manipulated in order to render those ties unimportant, and how this case will then be twisted into Chris Kyle revisited albeit with more victims.

Want proof of that…let’s start with the fact that while the criminal complaint has already been filed by Miami U.S. Attorney Wifredo Ferrer, a complaint accusing Santiago of an act of violence at an international airport that resulted in death, in addition to it containing two firearms offenses, with the main offense carrying with it a maximum punishment of death or life in prison…I find it very interesting that certain officials in both Florida and Alaska are ruling out terrorism as a motive. And this includes Alaska U.S. Attorney Karen Loeffler, who is making excuses for giving Santiago his November taken away gun back by claiming that with no formal adjudication of mental illness being issued that the police’s hands were tied.

Now add in that Marlin Ritzman, the F.B.I.’s special agent in charge, told reporters in Anchorage that there was no indication that Santiago worked with any other individuals when he planned and carried out the airport attack, thus being completely clueless to the fact that Santiago’s Islamic ties were as clear as the nose on his face. In fact, any ties no matter how small should have been an immediate ‘red flag.’

And cluelessness also extends to Ritzman’s Florida counterpart George Piro, who said that the “indications are that he came here to carry out this horrific attack” but that “We have not identified any triggers” and that “It appears the shooter was acting alone, but, again, it’s early in the investigation.”

Yes, it is early in the investigation but not too early to see that the Islamic-condoning Obama administration…and haven’t they been a wee bit too silent concerning this incident…coupled with media manipulation seems to be the order of the day as they attempt to twist an obvious act of Islamic terrorism into one of PTSD (remember Santiago was not deemed mentally ill, therefore, an insanity defense would be much harder to prove than one of PTSD)…and that not only is a slap in the face to those returning troops and vets who truly suffer its ravages but to our military as a whole as well.

So as we now await what the administration and the media wants us to believe is the motive behind the Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport shooting… and as we locals come to grips with the fact that Islamic terrorism has come to our South Florida paradise…just know that the gun-control loons will be out in full force as they willingly ignore the fact that just one person with a gun at the baggage claim area could have prevented the extent of the carnage, and maybe even save we taxpayers the expense of a trial for an Islamist who oh so proudly has already admitted his guilt.

But then again incidents like this are a hallmark of the Obama presidency (remember Ft. Hood, the Boston Massacre, Orlando, San Bernardino, and many others) and must be a part of his failed legacy for Barack HUSSEIN Obama and his traitorous ways built incidents like and now he and his ilk must take ownership of it.

____________________________________________

* To date as I write this article, three of the five victims have been identified as Terry Andres, 62, a Norfolk Naval Shipyard employee from Virginia Beach; Olga Woltering, a great-grandmother from Georgia; and Michael Oehme, of Council Bluffs, Iowa…all murdered right before their spouses eyes. May they Rest in Peace…and may Islamic bastard Estaban Santiago-Ruiz rot in hell forever.

http://thepatriotfactor.blogspot.com/2017/01/op-ed-bit-too-close-to-home-bydiane_9.html

The post Ft. Lauderdale: Too Close To Home appeared first on Tea Party Tribune.

from http://www.therightnewsnetwork.com/ft-lauderdale-too-close-to-home/

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patriotnewsblogger-blog · 8 years ago

Text

Ft. Lauderdale: Too Close To Home

New Post has been published on http://www.therightnewsnetwork.com/ft-lauderdale-too-close-to-home/

Ft. Lauderdale: Too Close To Home

By: Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / Right Side Patriots on American Political Radio http://tunein.com/radio/American-Political-Radio-s273246/

“Evil and disgusting.” -Florida Governor Rick Scott on CNN late last Friday afternoon

This past Friday, January 6, 2017, at about 1pm EST, Islamic terrorism home, and hit hard, when South Florida’s Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport came under siege.

He was not deemed mentally ill, which is an important fact to remember as this gives more credence to the truth that Estaban Santiago-Ruiz was indeed a domestic terrorist of the homegrown sort.

And these ties include that:

Santiago received a General Discharge from the Army Reserves on August 16, 2016 for ‘Unsatisfactory Performance’ but the question remains in regards to what exactly.

While living in Alaska, Santiago lived a mere 1.4 miles away from Alaska’s only mosque, which according to some he frequently visited.

A one-way ticket under the circumstances is a tip-off that Santiago did not expect to return but to die in the cause of jihad.

In 2007, three years before being deployed to Iraq, Santiago opened a Myspace account under the muslim name ‘Aashiq Hammad’ which alone should prove he is not a mentally disturbed veteran.

____________________________________________

http://thepatriotfactor.blogspot.com/2017/01/op-ed-bit-too-close-to-home-bydiane_9.html

The post Ft. Lauderdale: Too Close To Home appeared first on Tea Party Tribune.

http://www.therightnewsnetwork.com/ft-lauderdale-too-close-to-home/ %cats%

#conservative #republican #tea party

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