Introductions are always a bit difficult and trite.  After all, how many clever and new responses can you possibly come up with to the same old questions?  “Oh, what do you do for a living?”  “What’s your story?”  “Are you more Maradona or Pele?”

Ok, so maybe that last type of get-to-know-you question only happens in the parties in my head, but maybe you, the reader, share the same delusions as me.  Hey, maybe I’ve even met you there before, so I can just cut out the fluff and get right to the meat of it. 

My name is Ian, and I’m a die-hard Quakes fan.  I am absolutely thrilled that I get to write about an all-consuming passion of mine that takes up an amount of my time, emotions, and mental space that is a bit perverse.  What I hope to do is put some of that energy to good use, and provide stories, interviews, analysis, and reflection that can become a collective space for Quakes fans wherever they may be.  A lofty ambition I know, but it’s best to dream big and find a way to make it happen.  That is the story of the Quakes after all. 

I’m an ordinary fan and believe that while we, as American soccer fans, may spend a lot of time bemoaning the state of our beloved sport in this country, we have a beautiful opportunity to experience the sport in a direct and grassroots way right now.  After the great comeback against the Galaxy in 2003 (the subject of my first blog), it was as if us in the stands and the players on the field were one.  That intimacy is to be treasured while it still exists and preserved as much as possible.  We also can’t ignore the efforts of San Jose fans to bring back the team from the dead no matter how bleak the outlook seemed sometimes.  My ideal soccer world is one in which the Quakes ethic of teamwork, humility, determination, and passion is present in the stands as well as on the field. 

I aim to provide interviews with players and staff, especially those who usually don’t get interviewed, reports and analysis of all the games, transactions, and news, as well as stories and personal reflections on all things Quakes.  Feedback is definitely important to me.  Want something you don’t see here?  Let me know.  Want more of one type of story and less of another?  I’d like to know that too.  Love something I’ve written?  Well, we all need a little ego boost sometimes, don’t we?  In all seriousness though, in the church of Quakedom, I am your humble servant.  Ask and ye shall receive.

So if you don’t catch me in the stands raising my scarf and doing the bouncy, then you can find me here.  Hey, you never know, I might be that guy sitting next to you on the light rail, dreaming of the next match, humming Quake tunes until the next destination.

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