Hyundai Fanthropolgy Contest

I love college football and if you're reading this I bet you do too. Well so does Hyundai. They especially love college football fans. They love their loyalty, they love their commitment and they love their passion. It's that passion which fills stadiums across America every Saturday and creates the setting for some of the most thrilling moments of our lives.

Now the folks at Hyundai want to do their part to fill up those stadiums by sending you and a friend to the regular season or bowl game (this year) of your choice - airfare and hotel included. The best part? Entering couldn't be easier. All it takes is simply adding a comment at the end of this post. That's right, just do something you've done it a thousand times before - and this time you could walk away with a trip you'll never forget.

The topic is simple:

Why are you - are we - such loyal and committed fans?

I'll start it off. I'm a rabid West Virginia Mountaineer fan - have been as long as I can remember. My story is a little different from most, however. While I grew up in West Virginia I didn't actually attend WVU (I wanted to be an architect, they didn't have an architecture school - just my luck). But as I left to go to college and as I've moved away since, I've never once lost that sense of connection with the team that represents my home state. Every Saturday (or Wednesday or Thursday or Friday) I'm parked in front of my TV - or in my seat in the stadium - ready to cheer on the Mountaineers. Heck, I once sat in an internet cafe in Venice paying by the minute to listen to a game. It's my team, it's my home and it's my pride in being a West Virginian.

As I've gotten older everything in my life has changed around me. I have a beautiful wife and two wonderful kids, a job and a mortgage. All things that enrich my life immensely but as we all know, also come with their own set of demands. But when that musket fires and the game starts I'm a kid again. I'm on my feet cheering as Tavon Austin streaks up the sideline and pumping my fist when the defense gets that big stop. Maybe I'm by myself in the basement with only the dog to cast me a curious glance, but when I hear that crowd roar I know I'm not alone. I'm a little closer to home.

That's mine, but I know you all have your own fan stories and that is exactly what we want to hear. Use the comments section below to tell us what is special about your fandom. We'll read every word and select one of you as a finalist.

Quick point of clarification here: only one entry per person will be eligible for the contest - even across the different blogs of the SBN network. For instance if you comment here at the Musket and then jump over to Barking Carnival 20 minutes later and leave another comment, the earlier comment is the only one eligible for the contest.

The exception to this chronological order rule is if a reader first leaves a short, responsive comment; for instance responding to another entry with "Great post" and then subsequently posts their own more extended take on the subject later. It is SBN's sole discretion as to whether any comment other than someone's earliest chronological comment can be their entry.

Now that we have the rules out of the way let's get to the fun part. By Monday, 11/12, we'll choose one of you with whom to chat further. That exchange will in turn be used to create a post that will run on our front page here at the Smoking Musket on Monday 11/19. A panel of judges will then select a winner. If it's you then we engage in a second exchange where I beg you to use that second ticket on me. OK, maybe I made that last part up.

And that's all it takes. Nothing formal, just talking about this game we all love. You do it with your pals every day at work (don't lie, I see you minimizing that email screen when your boss walks by), now I'm just asking you to do it here. One of the things I enjoy most is meeting new Mountaineer fans and hearing their stories. We've all cheered and agonized over the same games but often in very different ways.

I look forward to reading your comments and can't wait to have a fun chat with one of you. Have a great week and show us why you're #1!

By commenting below, you are subject to and accept the terms and conditions of the Hyundai Fanthropology Sweepstakes.