Allow Myself To Introduce . . . Myself.

Hello. I’m an unfamiliar face around these parts, and you may see me a bit more often soon, so I figured I’d introduce myself. And excuse me for quoting Austin Powers . . . it just seemed so right.

My name is Tyler. Much like most of you, my upbringing revolved around sports, mainly St. Louis area sports. Unlike many of you, the Blues are not my top sports love. Yet, while my favorite sport is football (Go Broncos!) and my favorite sports franchise is a baseball team (Go Cardinals!), my biggest sports passion is the Blues. If I had to explain it to you, I’d probably faint. Oh, and I root for the Fighting Illini, too. Don’t hurt yourself over there.

I’ve known Blue Note Zone co-founder Jeff since college, and we’ve remained good friends over the years. Like Jeff, I hail from east of the Mississippi. Unlike Jeff, I grew up in the middle of nowhere . . . in some circles, I’m considered just north of the St. Louis area despite sharing an area code with the rest of the Metro East. Go figure. Just about any time either of us has an extra ticket to a Blues game (and admittely, 99 times out of 100 it’s Jeff with the extra ticket), we can count on the other to take the extra ticket.

I’ve been a Blues fan since I can remember. I was about a month and a half past my 5th birthday when the Monday Night Miracle happened. Dad and Mom used to go to 5 to 10 Blues games a year up in the old St. Louis Arena mezzanines back in the 1970′s. Dad loved the Plagers, Mom was a big fan of Garry Unger. Most of my upbringing was spent watching the one who (with all due respect to Federko, Barc Plager, CuJo, Pronger, Chopper and others) I consider the greatest Blue of all time – Brett Hull. Despite the lockout, I’ve tried to make it to at least one Blues game per year, whether or not I can afford it (usually I’ve succeeded). Sure, it’s fun to watch on TV, but nothing beats the thrill of watching hockey live. I’ve found no professional sport whose action is more exciting to watch live than ice hockey. It’s enthralling.

Many of you have probably encountered more than one Blues fan site around the Internet. My regular Blues hangout is the irreplaceable (although some would call it irascible) St. Louis Game Time. I comment there regularly as “Donut King”. Loud? Yes. Crude? Often. Fun? Oh, for sure. Then again, our ideas of fun may differ, and that’s quite alright. The magazine they produce before each home game has never failed to impress me, even when they had to rush to the deadline (usually back-to-back home nights). They do magnificent work. But to not admit the paper and the site are often beyond PG-13 would be a pretty big mistake.

What will I bring to this corner of the web? Other than a part-time voice, I really don’t know. One thing I DO know is that I’m not heavy on statistical analysis. It’s never been my bag, but who knows, that may change one day.

It’s an exciting time to be a Blues fan. You look at the standings and think I’m crazy, but really, it is. It’s funny what firing a coach can do to rustle a fanbase, even when everyone and their mother saw it coming. Despite being lukewarm to the firing of Andy Murray, I stand behind my team’s Coach (of) Payne and what he may bring to the second half edition of your St. Louis Blues. And the future of this franchise looks pretty darn good, if I don’t say so myself. Just look at the WJHC . . . there’s at least 4 Blues prospects coming home with medals, possibly 5. Not every team has that kind of pipeline, and it makes me salivate.

I look forward to serving you, the Blues fan, in future editions. Now if you’ll excuse me . . . I have to grab a bullhorn. Oh, here it is . . .

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!