Chris Peterson Column: For me, home is where the sports are

Some of you might have noticed my name in the newspaper recently but if you didn’t, I’d like to reintroduce myself — I’m Chris Peterson and I am back writing about sports at the Havre Daily News.

Since leaving Havre, I received a bachelor’s degree in history and spent a few years working for corporate America, but my dream was always to get back to sports writing.

I wrote online and built up a decent following writing for some popular sports websites but, when the chance arose to cover sports for my hometown paper, I couldn’t pass it up and I couldn’t be happier to be home.

The idea of being a writer always appealed to me. I am not sure why, maybe it’s because when you’re writing you can’t be interrupted. You have the floor, as long as you’re able to keep the attention of the readers.

Writing has always given me such a great sense of satisfaction, but as much I love to write, I love sports exponentially more.

Honestly, my brain has stored so much useless sports knowledge that it must have to compensate in other areas, which is why doctors and dentists or at least their office workers hate me.

I’m the guy who shows up late or not at all, then calls back a day later to reschedule. I know it’s terrible, and every time I tell myself it won’t happen again, and it’s all because my cranium is filled with factoids and nuggets of information about the 1990s Chicago Bulls or the 2010 Green Bay Packers.

Sports are a part of my life; they always have been and always will be. Two separate times, I told employers I need Sunday’s off because of “religious” reasons.

I’ll admit it, that kind of maneuver is on shaky ground morally but it was better than missing my favorite team play every Sunday.

That’s the thing about sports, they make us do crazy things, but we love them, so we do.

Why else would anyone wear cheese on their head or dress up like a Viking? Why would anyone throw an octopus onto the ice or grow a playoff beard for good luck?

Sports are theater and the best reality show you can find because every time you watch there’s a chance you’ll see something special.

You can’t predict that moment or sometimes even understand it, but when it happens, you will know and never forget it.

I know I’ll never forget Michael Jordan’s jump shot to win the 1998 NBA Finals or the putt Jack Nicklaus made on 17 in the ’86 Masters with Verne Lundquist saying “Yes sir” in the background.

I’ll never forget finding out I was going to be a father and the Packers winning the Super Bowl days later. I know it sounds weird, and for some reason I can't explain, the two things felt connected. My fiancé told me she knew the Packers would win that Super Sunday ,and for some reason I knew she was right.

Those moments and their stories are the reason I love sports and why I chose writing about them as my profession. I want to tell the story of that moment, capture it, romanticize it, make it last forever.

Those are the kinds of moments that father’s share with their sons, as mine did with me and I will with mine.

Sports aren’t just something we do, they are part of who we are and Havre is a big sports town, the fans here are as passionate as they are loyal, which is why I love it and why it will be an honor to cover sports again for the Havre Daily News.

So, if you love sports, then expect to see a lot of me, waiting for that next big moment and enjoying every single second that goes by until it comes.