About the Jackass Author

Usually an introductory post comes at the beginning of a new blog; in this case, I'm a bit late to the party (as if that's new).

So, for those of you that don't know, I'm Kevin; my friends, by and large, call me "kj". I'm a thirty-seven-year-old web developer and have lived in Minneapolis since 1997; I grew up in the St. Louis area. I'm generally considered tall—around six-foot-five—and... well, there's no sugar-coating this: fat. (Heh. "Sugar-coating".)

Soccer wasn't my first sporting love; I fell in love with hockey when I was ten. I didn't play any ice hockey until I moved to Minnesota as an adult, though I did play some inline hockey while I was in high school and college. I've dabbled in playing various other sports: I still bowl in the fall/winter and play softball in the summer; I've also played rec volleyball, basketball, Aussie Rules football, and even roller derby (no, seriously). Recently, I started playing with some friends in a rec soccer league; it's not pretty.

Growing up in St. Louis when I did, I thought "professional soccer" referred to indoor soccer; I remember watching the Steamers on TV, and did go to one St. Louis Storm game. The 1994 World Cup definitely caught my attention about the outdoor game, and I remember waking up at strange times to watch the 1998 and 2002 versions, though I don't think I fully grasped the importance at the time. I went to one MLS game at old Soldier Field in 2000, which was fun; I remember seeing Section 8 (though I didn't know their name at the time) and thinking that looked like a lot of fun.

In 2004, I got laid off from my job a couple of weeks before Christmas; it would be almost six months until I had a full-time job again. I suddenly had a lot of free time on my hands, and ended up watching the Premier League for the first time. The level of play was amazing, of course, but what drew me in even further was listening to the crowds—the singing and chanting was fantastic. I eventually latched onto a team (Norwich City... no, seriously), found a fan message board, etc.

When the 2005 domestic season started to roll around, I decided to try and find a fan board for the local Minnesota Thunder. That lead me to meet the Dark Clouds, the Thunder supporters; meeting those jackasses (said with the most respect possible) changed my life. I jumped in head first to supporting the Thunder—who have since folded and been replaced with Minnesota Stars FC—and haven't looked back.

Since then, I've been to fifteen away Minnesota games (thirteen league, two Open Cup), three MLS Cups, and eight USMNT games:

• September 2005, Columbus: qualifier v Mexico
• September 2008, Bridgeview: qualifier v Trinidad and Tobago
• February 2009, Columbus: qualifier v Mexico
• June 2009, Chicago: qualifier v Honduras
• August 2009, Mexico City: qualifier v Mexico
• March 2010, Amsterdam: friendly v Netherlands
• October 2010, Chicago: friendly v Poland
• June 2011, Kansas City: Gold Cup v Guadeloupe

Ok, I think that's enough about me. I'll probably post about my USMNT "caps" to fill some space until I get number nine in San Pedro Sula in February.