Introduction to the blog

Welcome to Sports Nuts the blog! I'm Daniel Kerwin, and I'll be running this show.

This blog has been inspired by a radio show of the same name that I hosted while at Macalester College, and more generally by a love of playing, watching and writing about sports. As of this post I am one week into my professional career as a sports reporter for a daily newspaper, so this blog will be an extension of my thoughts and feelings on the world of sports, and hopefully we can get some good discussion going too.

In this world we have people whose involvement with sports fits along a wide spectrum, ranging from people who love sports with a passion, to people who are casually involved, all the way down to people who pay little or no attention to them. This blog is designed for all of them - this might seem a big ask, but I'll do my best.

As someone who has had a lifelong obsession with sports, I've often found myself pondering troubling questions. What do sports do to benefit mankind? Are they simply a waste of time compared to other aspects of life that actually serve a purpose to the betterment of society? Do sports exist simply so that we don't get bored?

I could list several other similar questions, but they all boil down to the same general question: in the grand scheme of things, why do sports matter?

Answering that question will be the mission of this blog, with every post always gravitating around this central question. In the process I will aim to both be as informative and entertaining as possible.

In my short lifetime already I have lived in six different countries, observing the different sporting cultures in each, and will try to maintain a strong international focus in my writing. My sporting experience ranges from a childhood in Australia following Aussie Rules Football (brought full circle by playing Aussie Rules for a team in Minnesota), to being a staunch supporter of the "Groovy" Yokohama Baystars in Japan's professional baseball league, to playing varsity golf for an NCAA Division III college, but I know there will be people reading this with expertise on sports and sporting cultures that I have never encountered, so please don't hesitate to post comments, questions and suggestions so we can build a solid base of knowledge of sports the world over through this blog.

My first post will be coming shortly, it will be based on my experience at the United States Gaelic Athletic Association Finals in Chicago last week (where I basically spent three full days immersed in all the best parts of Irish culture), so stay tuned!

Here's the whistle (tweeeeeeeeeet!), so let's start the game!

- DK