Guest Blogger - Sports Enthusiast - P. Brady Fish

Our first guest blogger is here!  Let me introduce to you a sports fanatic, P. Brady Fish!  His writing is unique and clever. Below is some information about him and his 'clever' responses to our blog questions.  I love his Jimmer question too, go on read it, you won't be disappointed! 

Tell us about yourself. 

I grew up in the State of Washington from the young age of 5 years old. This is where my roots for the Seattle Mariners and hatred of the New York Yankee began.


[Excerpt from January column Cricket, Anyone?:] “In 1995 I was eleven years old. I was in the incarnating years of cementing my sports loyalties. With baseball, it was an especially important year for me. It was the year I took my first taste of New York Yankee hatred. The season also marks my introduction to the rivalry between the Yanks and Soxs; introduced to me by my father. That hatred would become further cemented a few years later when New York dismissed Seattle from the AL Championship Series in consecutive seasons…”

Although from Washington, I am not a Seahawks fan, and never claimed the Sonics. But I did however, mourn their loss when they were preyed upon like Liam Nieson’s daughter in Taken.

Moved to Utah 4-5 years ago. Married two years this coming May. Currently a full time student at UVU majoring in English w/emphasis in creative writing. Work for UVU’s Marketing and Communications. Recently entered in to a small business venture with a good friend. And I write; trying to put out a column a week.

1. How long have you been interested in sports?

I am in my 15th year, of truly following sports. Something about sports is so captivating to me. I love the day we live in, with so many tremendous electronic sources delivering information immediately. I remember in the late summer of 2002 my buddy was hounding me to do a fantasy sports league with him. Playing in fantasy sports leagues was almost on the cusp of exploding, but not quite yet, and at the time it was kind of a dorky thing to participate in. I reluctantly signed up and it was the best thing that could have ever happened. It was if the passion I felt for the sports world, finally had found it’s outlet—or rather it’s all-you-can-eat buffet. Anything I could consume pertaining to sport, I did. I have not looked back since.

2. Tell me about your background in sports? What did you play growing up? When did you start?

Like most kids, I participated in the little leagues your parents signed you up for. Soccer, basketball and baseball. There was no pop-warner where I grew up—as far as I knew. I played for a very competitive club baseball team as a starting pitcher. When our club reached a certain age, the majority of our games switched from Fridays and Saturdays, to Saturday and Sunday games. I could not play in the Sunday games, lost my pitching spot, was moved to the outfield and eventually saw less playing time. It put a bitter taste in my mouth, along with some performance anxiety I suppose. Never tried out for any other sports after that—even though, looking back, I wish I had.

3. What do you like to blog about the most? Any sport in particular?

When it comes to picking a column topic, I try to pick things that are current or relevant, but not topics that EVERYBODY is writing about in the blogosphere. Movies are a big passion of mine and you can find characters references or quotes in my writing. I would say baseball is the easiest to write about. There are so many stats and advanced metrics you can use/find to make a point. But really I try to cover all sports, because I love anything sports related. Admittedly, the only sport I do not have a comfortable grasp on is hockey. Perhaps someday I’ll spend a season on top of it and then nothing will be out of reach.

4. What athlete/team inspires you?

There is not one particular player or team that inspires me. I like the idea, that in sports, any person can amaze you and achieve greatness. It is the unexpected that compels me. It is the “where were you” moments in sports. Like Donovan’s goal against Algeria. It is the unseen power when the moment or period of time unites complete strangers. Just YouTube “the world’s reaction to Donovan’s goal” and you’ll see what I mean. It is the goose bumps, and the sports stories behind them, which light the fire inside me.

5. What team/athlete do you admire? And why?

Michael Vick. I have written about him a few times. I love his story, the comeback, everything. Check out my November 2010 column (the only one I wrote that month).

6. If you could interview any athlete who would it be and why?

I don’t know about interviewing them, but meeting them, sure. If I were to interview a sports athlete, there would be nothing special about it what so ever. It was be an interview they had done a thousand times. I would like to meet an athlete and see what they are like. Ask them random ass questions or normal questions you would ask any average human being. Take Jimmer Fredette for example:

I ask him, “Jimmer, what is like taking those shots from 30-feet deep?” I’ll get the same blah blah blah answer he has given six times that day.

But if I ask him, “Jimmer, if Charles (Abuou, his room/team mate for the last 3 ½ years) were to arm wrestle his brother, who would win?” Then I get an answer that gives me insight to the relationship Jimmer has with his friend. I see how he interacts in the types of horseplay and hypothetical situations you and I get in to with our friends. Then I am given contrast and understanding, instead of the answer to a question I already know.

7. Any advice for your readers?

Haha, no advice. More of a plea really. I would love to write a mailbag—solely on the pretensions that I am extremely lazy. Mailbags write themselves. It is much easier to answer someone’s question than it is to think of something and write from scratch. Plus it would make me feel like more than three people are reading my columns. Ha!

If you want to read his sports blog, 'Hang in there Sports'

 then go HERE

and check out his tweets HERE.