Sports? Sports.

Sports affect my life in the way they would affect most "outcast culture" kids. Usually, we harbor some hatred for the organized sport but love the more individual ones, such as skateboarding, BMX, etc. I am no different. My 4 wheels and wood have served as my major form of transportation and self-expression (outside of music and writing) for longer than I can remember. The board is an extension of my being, and thus blurs the line between sport and art, causing (at least for the time being) some transcending experience of note. This, however, doesn't make me unique. This is not the exception in counter culture, it is the rule (for evidence, see Mike Vallely). It is also the rule that teams are bad. "Jocks" and "preps" are just another gang at school waiting to harass you for not being as cool as them, and that's usually a rule I adhere to.

There are, however, two glaring exceptions to that rule. The Kansas Jayhawks (basketball) and Kansas City Chiefs (football) have been staples in my existence and upbringing since I was old enough to understand what was happening in the games my father and I watched. The Jayhawks give me a sense of pride in that they're from where I from, and are generally an awesome team, giving true identity on the court to such players as Paul Pierce, Kirk Hinrich, and Danny Manning. Knowing those guys were from where I'm from made me feel like I had a connection to them. When they won, I won, and they won a lot. But it wasn't just that. It was the camaraderie at games and backyard barbecues. Feeling like you were a part of a family greater than your own, or just feeling like you're a part of your own family for another reason was enough to make me bleed blue and red as I screamed ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK every March at my TV as the finals drew near.

That feeling also led me to the Chiefs. The Chiefs haven't won a playoff game since 1997, so the winning part was sort of ruled out, but the feeling of brotherhood was there. 86,000 people wearing red shirts and screaming in an attempt to make the other team screw up was just something to be a part of. The Chiefs are representative of a community of people whose hearts and minds are all united for a few goals: Winning is obviously one of them, but if you go to the games, it feels like the least important. The other goals are family, community, and an overall good time (and beating the Raiders twice a year. The Chiefs could go 2-14 every season, but if their two wins were against the Raiders, it'd be a winning season).

This is a bad transition leading to a conclusion paragraph. The two essential purposes of sports are expression (individually) and family/community (obviously as a whole). Both give a sense of purpose and being that lead to a bigger part of me than I'd previously realized. Wow. That's... deep.

Thanks.