My name is Kelsey Kohlman and I am a student in Nancy Spencer's Sport and Globalization course at Bowling Green State University. I am from Swanton, Ohio and currently just started my junior year at BGSU. I am VERY passionate about ALL sports, and I enjoy watching/learning about unique sports that the area is not accustomed to. To name a few of my favorites, I am a HUGE fan of college football (Ohio State and BGSU of course!), along with the Detroit Tigers, and BGSU Women's basketball. Although I watched a few games here and there growing up, my passion for sports started to grow much more than the average young girl after Ohio State Football won the National Championship in 2002. I vividly remember how exciting the atmosphere was with all my family/friends the night that OSU "took the championship away" from Miami (although it was clearly pass interference!). Another reason that led me to become a Buckeye fanatic was that my aunt and uncle are OSU Alumni and always talked about what a great university/sport campus Ohio State was. For some reason, that January day in 2002 is what triggered my love for sports and ultimately had an impact on my career choice. As hard as it may be to believe, my family and I used to be DIE HARD Cleveland Indians fans during my childhood. So you may be wondering, how did I "switch" over to their division rivals? Well up until the 7th grade, I guess I wasnt aware of how the farm teams in baseball worked. I still remember that I would taunt my 6th grade teacher, who was a tiger fan, about their worst season in baseball, which was going on at the time in 2003. However, once I was informed that the successful Toledo Mud Hen players get promoted to the Detroit Tigers, I started to become infatuated with the Tigers organization. I used to go to Mud Hen games pretty often and loved seeing athletes actually make it through to the big leagues and actually have to work to become successful (unlike other pro sports). I became more of a fan when I found out that the manager Jim Leyland is from Perrysburg because I love local ties to sports, since many NW Ohioans dont recieve celebrity status. And to top it off, my cousin's best friend/roomate in college played for the Mud Hens in 06-07 and got promoted to the Tigers for a short stint. Lastly, I am a passionate BGSU fan because ,like anyone i hope, I love to see my school succeed. However, I am a particularly OBSESSED with the BGSU Women's Basketball program. I would eventually like to start volunteering somehow with this particular team during this season. My love of this team of course started with the Sweet 16 run during my junior year of highschool. Once again, I LOVE when local ties to sports gets notoriety in the national spotlight, and I believe that publicity jump-started the "Curt Miller Era." From that point on, I check the womens basketball tab weekly and love to read as much as I can find about the current team. Although this year may be seen as a rebuilding process, I am anxious to see what Coach Miller can pull together!
I hope I didnt ramble on too much about my favorite sport teams, I could probably go on for a while! In highschool I did not play any sports (I have CP). However, I was actively involved in the girls volleyball and basketball teams all 4 years. I kept the official book for both teams and also helped with any other game day activities that the coaching staff needed. Perhaps this is why I LOVE taking/analyzing statistics and games (which is something I want to do in the future). I had a lot of fun being the "student manager" in high school because the players (my best friends) and coaches (mentors) made me feel like a part of the team by going to team meals, sleepovers, etc. High school game days and team bonding activities are something that I sometimes miss because of the great atmosphere!
Another random tidbit of information about me is I have sister that goes to BGSU that is also a Junior. I graduated high school with her and have been in the same grade with her since 1999, but we are not twins. We are actually 14 months apart, but I skipped the 2nd grade because I was learning concepts at a fast pace when I was younger. I was increasingly going to the higher grade classroom across the hall for more and more subjects, so the decision was eventually made to promote me. Needless to say, the decision worked out good (I think ha).
If I could go to any global sporting event, I would like to go to a Summer Olympic Games. This would be killing many birds with one stone because I could see many different competitive sports at once on a global stage. In addition to watching the actual competitions, I would like to see athlete/spectator demeanors from different countries and how their attitudes compare to the present day American athlete/fan. I am excited to take this course and am anxious to see what interesting things I learn about international sports. I love your (Dr. Spencer) enthusiasm and the way you teach your class. Right now this is the class that I look forward to the most this semester, which it will probably stay that way! :)
In addition, I am excited to start this blog and continue with it throughout the semester, as I have never done one before. Hopefully, this wasn't too boring to read, and I want to thank you for making it through this long article of rambling. :)
