As
a sports blogger I think it’s only fair that I share my sporting allegiances
with my readers. I’d like to think that I’m impartial in my sporting analysis, but
I’ve no doubt I will be accused of bias at times. Anyway, here are where my
allegiances lie in football, AFL & tennis.
Football
Norwich
City are my hometown team, although from an early age I followed Nottingham
Forest, so I count both of them as my teams. I’m not a particularly dedicated
fan of either team, but have stuck with them through numerous relegations and
promotions and will continue to do so.
Out
of the bigger teams in the Premiership I have a slight preference for
Manchester United, having lived in the city during my university years and worked
at Old Trafford on match days. I’ve had a (possibly irrational) hatred of
Arsenal for longer than I care to remember, and am not embarrassed to admit
that their defeats give me a perverse pleasure.
AFL
Since
being introduced to the AFL in 2006 I’ve been a St Kilda fan, and consider them
a not insignificant part of my life. I attend every match they play in
Melbourne, regularly go to club functions, and have also been to interstate
matches.
Collingwood
were my least favourite team before arriving in Australia, and after experiencing
the ‘Magpie Army’ first hand on numerous occasions my hatred for them has only
increased.
Tennis
Andy
Murray’s shot making and dry sense of humour have warmed me to him over the
years, after initially only supporting him in hope that he’d break Britain’s long
wait for a male Grand Slam champion. I love Rafael Nadal’s never-say-die
attitude and the fact that he plays every point as if it’s his last. I also like the
fact that he’s ever humble in both victory & defeat and will always give
credit to his opponents when they outplay him.
Despite the brilliance of his shot-making & all-round
play, there’s an air of arrogance about Federer which has made me never able to
warm to him. As for Djokovic, I can appreciate his sustained excellence, but
his play rarely excites me.