In the beginning, there was no television or intrawebs.  The sports fan enjoyed seeing sports in person, and the people rejoiced.  But somewhere along the way technology consumed the sports fan, and the scourge known as the "media expert" somehow became the voice of the sports fan's experience.  And the people were sad.

Sure, I'm as guilty as the next sports fan when it comes to being lazy and choosing the couch potato route instead of getting my pasty white butt out to the game, or race, or whatever sporting event.  Look, I live in a house constructed of balsa wood so you won't see me casting stones at other sports fans or fueling the flames of debate.

No, no, my fragile environment cannot withstand that.  My messages are very positive in nature.

Watching a sporting event in person is what being a sports fan is all about.  Let's never forget that.  Sure, watching the Super Bowl at home (or at a party) is a great thing, and quite honestly, getting a cold beer from my fridge is a helluva lot easier than standing in line doing the pee-pee dance whilst I wait for nacho stand Bobby Ricky to draft foamy beer into little plastic cups.

NCAA football and NFL games have a certain affinity for television, I won't deny that.  With high-def tv in my living room, I get to see in great detail the bewildered look on Eli Manning's face just as if he were next to my stereo trying to understand the lyrics to a Jane's Addiction song.  To some extent baseball works on tv too, but not quite as well as football.  The crack of a wooden bat resounding thru the park is still the stuff of great memories, and a trip to Wrigley Field should be a required experience for every sports fan.  You go to Wrigley and you get drunk on Old Style, that's just a law.  I have a buddy that likes to go kung-fu fighting over at the Cubby Bear after a Cubs game, but hey, that's a story for him to tell, not me.

Here are my two favorite sports to witness live and uncensored ....

MOTOCROSS

No, I'm not talking about the prissy stadium Supercross version of motocross, which is designed to be marketable and digestable for the masses on their flat screen.  I'm talking about the true outdoor nationals - real motocross.  Middle of the summer, with enough heat and humidity that some of the less vital organs in your body dry up and shut down without you even noticing.  Heat index so high that marathoners from Kenya would say, "That's just ridiculous!"  AMA motocross in the midwest is raced in these conditions.

And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Being a fan of motocross takes that type of dedication and attending a race is really not for the whiny or the weak.  I'll speak from experience here because over the years I've attended the Red Bud National MX event (near Buchanon, MI) maybe 11 or 12 times.  Forgive me for not remembering an exact count, but there has been alot of alcohol involved and many brain cells have perished taking their precious memories with them.

I only have a slight understanding of what it's like for the pro riders.  Two motos, each 30 minutes plus two laps while pushing the pace to your personal limit.  Not to mention that most of the privateer dudes have to qualify to make those main event motos by running laps in the early part of the day.

For anyone that has attempted to race motocross at any level (like me), you realize how tough this sport is.

HOCKEY

Straight up, I have never competed in this sport and to some extent the true intricacies of the game elude me, but I love watching hockey in person.  Always have, always will.  To put it plainly and simply, television just can't do this sport justice.  Not even close.  The speed of the players, the violence of the hits, and the crash of the boards are all lost on the television audience.  I remember a network trying to highlight the puck and put all sorts of special effects on the screen to liven the game for tv, but of course that just failed miserably.

Trust me, to truly be appreciated, the NHL must be seen in person.

I've seen a handful of Blackhawks games, and each experience has been tremendous to me.  And I even have to qualify that statement ~ all of my experiences have been at the United Center, I never did catch a Blackhawk game at Chicago Stadium.  By those that I've talked with, a Blackhawk game at Chicago Stadium back in the day was comparable to a religious experience, like an epiphany.

Getting drunk with my buddies and screaming "Snap his neck!" at the top of our lungs is certainly pleasant and all, but usually that's when we're in the nosebleed sections.  Let me say though, all joking aside, the top of the arena seats are where the very knowledgeable fans can be found.  Those are the dudes you enjoy listening to during the game, and their comments are things of poetic profane beauty.

But when I've had the great blessing to be in very choice seats for a Blackhawk game, oh man, the sport has really mesmerized me.  The skill of the players is incredible, and the vicious speed at which the game is played just made me truly appreciate the sport.

I'm not going to carry on like I understand some grand strategy in hockey or even that I fully comprehend the sport, because I don't.  Without a doubt I can say that each time I've attended a Blackhawks game it was well worth every penny that I spent at the United Center.

After all, in this day and age of capitalism gone wild that seems to be the really true measure of a sport's value.