I'm The Trojan

So here's the deal. Carman and I have been working at rival college radio stations for awhile now and wanted to collaborate on a show. We agreed on a sports talk radio show focusing on CFB, NFL, and MLB. We'll also have a "other" time slot for everything else we feel needs to be given attention. Carman had the brilliant idea of trading off broadcast sites every week so we'll be at both campus and broadcasting simultaneously on both streams. Expect special guests with strong biases and even stronger personalities. Oh, and we'll play music if we feel like it.

• I hail from the swamps of Louisiana where I was raised for my 17 years. Pops started me off playing soccer (goalie), t-ball (utility fielder) and basketball ("post"/4-man) during the school year and swimming (back-stroke) during the summers. I soon dropped soccer for football in 5th grade where I terrorized QB's as a natural DE and one of the catholic school league's finest pass-rusher.

• After winning the 8th grade city 'ship in basketball and runner-up in football I graduated to Catholic High School (notable alumni: Travis Minor, Warrick Dunn, Major Applewhite). While I didn't set any records, I played two years of baseball honing my skills at catcher and saw moderate time on gridiron as a DE. I really made my mark as the kick-off team's "Wedge-buster". I basically hurled my then 6-foot, 165 lb frame at 3 or more linemen hoping to penetrate the "V" formation most return squads employed. I should really dig up that highlight tape...

• Junior year I quit sports because of problems at home and I read, wrote and watched a ton of films. Senior year my family moved to The Woodlands, Texas and I was coaxed by a desperate and newly hired baseball coach to come play ball for him. There was a catch... I would be the only senior on a team that had never made it to the playoffs. Well, that year we made it to the playoffs and I found my way onto the all-conference team.
  

• It's about now that I should mention my allegiance (up to that point) to the LSU Fightin' Tigers of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. One of my sisters went there, I lived less than a mile from campus, my dad hosted seasonal LSU Baseball radio specials... how could I not be a fan? I've witnessed many memorable events at various LSU fields and courts (will save for a later blog post) and knew more about Tiger Baseball than any other kid in my age group growing up. Even after my transfer into Texas, I still bled purple and gold.

• So then I went at USC to study film....

• After the '03 "split" CFB National Championship and my enrollment at USC in '05 none of my hometown friends talked to me for a few months and I felt very alone. Some called me a "turncoat', others "hypocrite" but what could I say? While sports was a very big part of my upbringing, my parents stressed education the most. So when I had the option to study at USC, I jumped.

• Freshman year did a lot to purge the Tiger bias from my system with Reggie Bush setting records left and right (oh, and he won this heisman thing) but I still couldn't shake my allegiance. It took until the end of sophomore year for myself to realize how truly blessed I was as a Trojan. The football team won the Rose Bowl... basketball made it to the Sweet-16... A WATER POLO NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!!!! I finally felt like I was at home. LSU will always be my favorite SEC team, but c'mon... who would you rather have as your coach: Carroll or Miles? Floyd or Brady? I'm going with the Trojans all the way.

• I don't have any favorite MLB teams but I do love The Saints. It's easy to tell I'm more of a college sports guy, though. If you want the best pro sports analysis on college radio, you're going to have to look elsewhere like to UCLA student Carman Tse. Luckily he's also on the show...