Spitztengle's profile

Name:	Rod Murray
Location:	Edmonton
Gender:	somewhere along the continuum
Member since:	January 25, 2006
Last visit:	November 24, 2010

Spitztengle has posted 24 links and 525 comments to SportsFilter and 1 link and 457 comments to the Locker Room.

Sports Bio

I guess it would only be appropriate to say that my fandom in the sports world is exemplified by my alter-ego "Superfan". It started out as a bit of a gag in high school when I showed up for the season opening pep rally wearing a toga, a fake mustache and sunglasses, and a long, black wig tucked under a modified Trojan/football helmet. A stolen garbage can lid with an "S" spray-painted on it stood for "Superfan". Not a soul in the whole school knew who it really was. Ah, high school ... good times while they lasted. From there, my first road trip to the Grey Cup in 1990 was marked by the purchase of an Edmonton jersey with #1 as the number. No, the name on the back didn't say Moon (as in Warren Moon). The name on the back was (and still is) SUPERFAN. Today, EVERYONE in section U (and a whole bunch of other Double E regulars) know me as Superfan! I do get loud at the games. A proud season ticket holder since Commonwealth Stadium opened, as a sports fan, I identify as a CFL fan first. Of course, I also ref in the neighborhood of 150 basketball games per season. I couldn't do that without being a huge fan of the game. Heck, I'm a huge fan of every game. Some quick highlights and favorite memories (in no particular order): 1. Jimmy Connors in one of his last appearances at the US Open. The guy's grit had me pumpin' my fist in the air so hard I hit my hand on the ceiling! 2. Yes, I have cried witnessing the finishes of several Ironman races on television. So moved by the likes of Paula Newby-Fraser and Mark Allen I took up the darn sport myself. 3. Ben Johnson's win at the '88 Seoul Games. I ran more than a final few metres with my fist raised in the air after that victory! I called the winning time beforehand too! 4. Showtime! The LA Lakers were my favorite team. Magic, Kareem, Worthy, et al ... legends. My fave though? Byron Scott. "Shoot 'em up and sleep in the streets," Pat Riley told him. My motto! 5. Backup QB Cody Ledbetter hits the other Flutie (Darren) with his back to the goalpost in the endzone, right at the final gun, for a win over the Calgary Stampeders in the Labor Day rematch. I yelled so hard at that game I actually passed out on my feet earlier in the game.

All that said, I do have a critical side to my fandom. I am a PhD (ABD) from the University of Alberta whose area is critical cultural studies (elsewhere referred to as: sociology of sport, physical cultural studies, sport history, sport philosophy, wankademic BS, mental masturbation, etc.). I "read" sport qua culture. My dissertation title is New Racism in Contemporary Canadian Sport. My MA thesis is The Good Official ... Interrupted, using Violet Palmer and Dee Kantner's breakthrough into the NBA as a central case study.

I've also got a bit of an athletic background of my own. I did race triathlon for several years (1990-1996). But a far greater part of my involvement in elite sport comes as a basketball referee. I retired from active duty in 2007, but in the years prior, I worked as a crew chief on the collegiate floor. My highlight was a men's national final in 2000.

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