Asking O's fans, "How did it all start for you?"

So should I take a day, or even a few hours, away from the usual fare on this blog each day to try something different? "You'll hear crickets," I said to myself when I had this thought last night. "Going to do it anyway," I answered back. Don't worry, I don't have these conversations out loud and only I know I am talking with myself. No reason for concern. So on to today's topic ... How did you become an Orioles fan? Tell me about your first game and/or the start of your fandom. What keeps you engaged with the game now? How important are the Orioles in your life? It's time to tell your story. For me, I can't even pinpoint the year I went to my first game. I think it was 1968 when I was 8. I know some of you know the exact date and probably the temperature, opponent and score from that first game and you probably have the ticket stub. I have none of that. I have just a memory. It is a great one. My brother took me to the game and to the right field bleachers to try to catch a Boog Powell batting practice homer. As I walked up the ramp at Memorial Stadium, I just remember seeing the ballpark unfold in front of me and all that green grass. It looked amazing. I was probably hooked on baseball right there, in that very moment, but I don't recall that either. Before long, I was often listening to Chuck Thompson and Bill O'Donnell and later attending games all the time. In 1971 at Kingsville Elementary School, my teacher, Mr. Deffinbaugh, brought a TV into the classroom and put on the World Series. None of the kids cared much to watch, but he and I did, discussing every play and every pitch. A bunch of us used to go to Memorial Stadium and we would get there even before the gates opened. As soon as they did, we rushed for the left field bleachers and awaited the chance to chase batting practice homers. I must have chased thousands over the years, never getting even one ball. I didn't care. Doubleheaders were my favorite. You mean I get to watch batting and then two baseball games? Wow, this is amazing, I thought. When I got to high school, my best friend Scott and I spent hours in the classroom looking at the teacher, but the whole time writing out the lineup we thought Earl Weaver would use that night. When I wasn't going to games, I spent countless hours playing baseball and spent countless hours having friends hit baseballs my way to try and get better as an outfielder. I didn't get better, but I loved every minute trying. At 14, I figured out that if I wasn't even close to being the best player on my team, I probably would not get drafted by the Orioles. If there was no time or chance to play baseball, or go to the game, I was playing the APBA baseball board game, trying to roll an 11 or 66 for a homer and later Strat-O-Matic. Had there been MLB Network then, my mother would have never gotten me out of the house. If you get the picture of a kid that loved baseball, and wished he was a better player, and that maybe one day he could play for the Orioles, that was me. I once made my Little League coach play me at third base because Brooks Robinson played there. Being left-handed made that a tricky proposition. But I've got the right job. Covering baseball and covering the Orioles makes it better yet. The hours can be long and Twitter has made this almost a 24/7 business. But that's OK. It's baseball. So what is your story about becoming an O's fan? "Hope you get some interesting responses, Steve, and don't hear crickets," I just said to myself.