Interview with Eric

Earliest Sports Memory:

Watching Pete Rose tie Ty Cobb's record for all-time hits (or the total thought to be the record at the time) by singling off of the Cubs' Reggie Patterson in 1985. Thankfully, I don't remember 1984.

Personal Sports History:

Was the worst athlete in Niles High School history to earn six varsity letters, and by far the slowest cross-country runner to ever be voted team MVP. I've also caught a foul ball at a Single A pro baseball game and a home run by Brian McRae in batting practice before Mets-Cubs at Wrigley Field. I can also carry six pint glasses at once.

Most Painful Sports Memory:

1st-place tie:

A) 1/4/97 - Jaguars 30, Broncos 27 - AFC Divisional Playoffs. What I believe was a better Broncos team than the one that would win the next two Super Bowls were stunned by Mark Brunell, Natrone Means and the upstart Jaguars. Even the events of the following two seasons couldn't mask the hurt of this one.

B) 2003 NLCS - Cubs lead the Marlins 3 games to 1 and hold a 3-0 lead in the 8th inning. Then, it all unraveled and got blamed on a poor guy who just wanted a souvenir. I won't say his name because it wasn't his fault, but i hated baseball for a long, long time after that.

Most Exhilarating Sports Memory:

The fall of 1997. Michigan football improbably runs the table and wins the Rose Bowl and a national title. The Broncos, still stung from the previous year's collapse, win road playoff games at Arrowhead and Three Rivers Stadium and then defeat Brett Favre in his prime to win the first Super Bowl in franchise history. Fairy tale stuff.