Happy Anniversary, Treesoup!!

When I celebrated my first anniversary...I did the prequisite "flashback" blog entry about why I was here....who helped me along the way...and what the future holds.  So I like it when others reach that milestone and decide to chime in with other takes.

So, my man Treesoup is celebrating his Year 1 culmination with a shout out...on his The Packerz Zone blog.  Soup, to me, is best known for his The WildCat Blog.  When this whole blogging thing got going....he was one of the few people that had a college hoop blog.  Well, being a college hoop nut myself, I kept him on speed dial. 

Having said that....he is a UKKK fan...which chaps me.  Having lived in Wildcat Country for about 7 years now, I will say that Kentucky fans are loyal, passionate, myopic and tunnel visioned fans I've ever met.  I mean, they love their Big Blue....and don't mind telling you as such.  The problem, in my eyes, is local dominance.  Kentucky has no real rival.  The SEC sends someone out there for a couple years to the top....whether it is LSU [Shaq era], Arkansas [Nolan Richardson era], Florida [Billy D's era], etc.  Locally, Indiana is a pretty nice rival....as is Louisville.  But there really isn't a war as such.  Most L'ville fans live IN L'ville....so the rest of the state doesn't get into heated debate.

All that is weird to me...since I am a North Carolina Tar Heel fan.  In Charlotte.   There is ALWAYS a local war.  My best friend was an NC State fan.  I've dated two different girls who bled Dook blue.  And my mom's work is run by people who went to Wake Forest.  When I was in school....you wanted to miss the bus whenever your team lost.  Because all the Dook, Wake and State people would ride your tail!!!  During Duke-Carolina week, you wanted to kill every Duke fan with all the smack that went on during the week.  Hey...I am 30 now and I STILL feel that way!

But I digress.  The point is that Treesoup isn't like that.  He's a different kind of Kentucky fan.  He's smart.  When Carolina beat Kentucky last December...he congratulated me.  When I went into work....all those Kentucky fans spouted "yeah...well, Carolina was supposed to win.  No big deal!!!!"  But this year, when Kentucky will be favored over my rebuilding Heels, if we lose I will hear "BOOOYAA!!!!!  Take that!!!!!"  Of course, my response will be "I will take that......take that banner hanging in the rafters."

That's why I like Treesoup.  He's a fan....a real fan.  Fans love their teams to a fault....but acknowledge that their teams have fault.  He studies his teams as well as the entire landscape.  He doesn't spout "we're #1" when he knows that he isn't.  But, he does when they are.  He is not only one of the top bloggers I read [and that is in all honesty], he's a guy that I can chat with on the side as well....which is a rarity. 

So congrats on your anniversary....and thanks for these kind words you mentioned about me: 

· The Sportz Assassin : This guy, Quite Frankly, should have his own show. I bow down to this guy because every time I click over to his blog, I leave with the feeling that I’m a pre-schooler. If there’s one guy that could stump the schwab (ESPN Show for you guys who know what I’m talking about because I’m pretty sure I spelt it wrong), it’s the Sportz Assassin. From all things sports, you can bet top dollar that this guy will provide a point of view that a) you’ve never heard before and/or b) convince you that you’re wrong and he’s right. Great guy, and great blogs, I enjoy reading the Sportz Assassin.