We've asked for your recollections of when you fell in love with sports. Was there a particular moment, a live event, something you saw on TV or heard on the radio that awakened your passion for baseball, football, basketball, whatever, or made you a fan of a certain team?

After our first day, we've had some terrific contributions ... every one is special and we want to thank you for being so generous with your memories.  Here is one from an Orioles fan in Huntington, West Virginia I think you'll all enjoy.  But, frankly, I think you'll like them all.

From Danny Williams in Huntington.

"I'm from Huntington, West Virginia, on the fringe of Reds country, but I'm a
lifelong Oriole because my favorite uncle, Duck, was a Baltimorean and a
real baseball man. Beginning about 1961 (I was 9), my grandfather and I
would ride the C and O to Union station and spend a couple of weeks with
Duck, and he and I would go out to Memorial where I absorbed the logic of
the infield fly rule and how to make a perfect box-score form with two
sheets of graph paper and some mucilage. We would often leave his good
reserved seats to sit in center field and watch Paul Blair's footwork. (See
him leaning forward like that? He knows Uhlaender's frustrated after making
that error, and so does Milt, so Milty's going to pitch a high fat one and
poor little Teddy's going to forget that he's a weakling who can't hit the
ball out, so Paul's going to run up a few steps and be ready, in case the
little wimp's lucky enough to even get it over Davey and Woody.)

"But the one magic game: August 10, 1966, a Wednesday morning, Duck came down
to his rec room where I was sleeping and said, 'Get up, Pal, let's go see
the Orioles.' Saturday would be my fourteenth birthday, and we were going to
see the Senators at Memorial, but I rubbed my eyes and told Duck it was only
Wednesday, the Orioles were in New York.

"'So get up, then. We've got to catch a train!'

"My first time in New York! Grand Central Station, the subway, Yankee
Stadium! Even though the Yankees stunk that year, this was a holy place. Our
seats were in right field, about ten rows up and maybe fifty feet in from
the foul line. Frank Robinson and Roger Maris worked right in front of us.

"We crunched them, 9-4. Sixteen hits. Slim young Boog Powell, who'd been
switched from outfield to first base over the off-season, bounced one right
into the seats in front of us for a ground-rule double. Curt Blefary hit a
homer pretty close, and so did Tom Tresh. Brooks Robinson, my favorite, made
an error, but he got three hits, too. In the seventh, after Boog hit a
three-run homer to pretty well seal the game, the Yankees brought in Number
16 as a reliever! I almost cried, like those stupid girls at a Beatles
concert. He walked the bases loaded, but got them out of the inning, didn't
come back for the eighth. Nothing much, but I saw Whitey Ford pitch in
Yankee Stadium!

"Uncle Duck caught all this on his special graph-paper box-score format, and
I grieve that it was among the many pages which had faded out before anyone
thought to photocopy his archive. All those little base-path maps making
perfect diamonds for each run, and the plus-sign/asterisk/circled-asterisk
hierarchy of Duck's own "Special Play" awards. And the abbreviated
obscenities I officially didn't understand, but written down with a grin and
a wink.

"Duck has been gone for many years, so I can't tell him that he gave me an
special place where I can always go. Thanks so much for the opportunity to
tell you."

From JLS.

"Jack Gibbons and I must be about the same age because it was that magical '66 season that hooked me on baseball. What a great year! Lots of memories with FRobby and Brooksie, Boog, and the great young arms. I remember the O's going to Minnesota for a big 5-game series and winning all 5 games.

"Super memories!"

From Steve.

"Even though I've lived in Maryland for the better part of 16 years, (26 years old) and my favorite sport is baseball hands down, I never really grew attached to the Orioles.  When they were winning in '96 and '97 I took a slight interest in them because they are the local team, but that's all. 

"I lived in Minnesota for about 4 years when I was younger, but those 4 years were enough for me to become a pretty fanatical Twins fan.  I really can't recall one specific thing that drew me to the Twins.  I suppose the only reason I love them so much is it got passed down to me from my Dad.  Watching Puckett for his entire career certainly had something to do with my love of the team I'm sure.  But they've really been the only team I've supported, enough that my Dad and I take a trip each summer to a different ballpark to see them play. (Pittsburgh last year for interleague, Kansas City this year)  Even through the tough times from 93-99 when they were pretty awful to say the least, I still followed them every single day through the box scores.  (would have been a lot easier back then with blogs and real-time stats and the like!)  Even though I do love Roch Kubatko's blog, I gotta admit I do surf to the Minneapolis Star Tribune's online sports section every single morning before I go to the Sun online sports section."

From Paul.

"I have always been a baseball fan, though fanatic would not be the word to describe my love of baseball, and more importantly, the Baltimore Orioles. I think the better word would have to be obsessed. Back in 1995, I was just 11 years old, watching the ALDS, the first year of the wild card team. The Yankees just happened to be that team, and my father had begun to build what is now my complete hatred for the evil empire. This is when baseball went from passion to obsession. 5th game, and the Mariners had climbed out of an 0-2 hole in the series. Bottom of the ninth, and with Ken Griffey Jr. standing on first base as the winning run, Edgar Martinez rips a double. Griffey rounds third, slides as the throw is getting to homeplate, and is called safe. A (celebration) in Seattle ensues, while my dad and I jump up and down, hooting and hollering. To me, that was the first of many great baseball moments these eyes have ever seen, and the cause for my immense passion and obsession with the game of baseball."

From Bobby Ballgame.

"Started following the Os in about 1956, but I can't remember a whole lot, except for the fact that I loved Billy Gardner and Al Pilarcik...

"First memory of being at a game was --- this is the truth --- right field bleachers for my 10th birthday present with about 5 of my friends, and Hoyt Wilhelm threw the no-no.

"We were just goofing off, not really paying attention to the on-field happenings because it was HOT and the bleachers were splintering, and, heck, we were just little boys. My friend, Joey, looked up at the scoreboard in the 7th inning and said, 'Hey, he has a no-hitter!' Then Joey took what popcorn was left in that orange cardboard megaphone and tossed it into the air and we all cheered and sort of payed attention for the last two innings.

"I'll never forget it."

From Fast Eddie.

"First of all, the game vs. Cleveland that Frank hit it out of the stadium was a doubleheader.. I know, because I was there. 12 years old, and on our way to the World's Fair in NY, my dad got us tickets to the game..Everyone in the stands knew it was a blast, but I'm not sure anyone thought it exited Memorial Stadium until the PA announcer(Rex Barney?) told us in game 2..
Some of my favorite memories though,were just listening to Chuck Thompson call the game back in the 60's and 70's on the radio. Let's call them the Glory Years.
Got to see game 3 in the '66 series vs. the Dodgers when Blair hit the solo shot to win 1-0, and Brooksie put on a fielding clinic vs. the Reds in '70..Thanks Dad.. It seems fitting that Father's Day was just 3 days ago..
Unfortunately, my own sons have endured a lot of losing lately..but we remain faithful because we are true O's fans."

From Liz.

"Growing up I was never a big fan of baseball.  I had two older brothers who were more interested in football and golf than baseball.  In my 20s I moved to Northern VA and made some dear friends who took me to my first MLB ballgame.  It was at Oriole Park and our seats were right next to the bullpen.  Elrod Hendricks was in the 'pen and every now and then he'd chat with one of the fans.  My friend told me to ask him about the health of Eric Davis, who at the time was battling cancer.  I did and Elrod said Davis was doing ok and thanked me for asking.  At the end of the game, I caught a ball one of the other bullpen coaches tossed over the fence to the fans and I got Elrod to sign it for me.  I've been an Orioles fan ever since.  I still have that ball."

From Rags.

"I'm sort of an opposite Paul, above. I've lived in Minnesota all my life, but fell in love with baseball and the Orioles around 1959. Best early memories are the run they made in 1960 and Gentile's two grand slams in Minnesota in 1961. Just last Friday I saw a game in Baltimore for the first time. Great park, lousy team these days, but I keep hoping for a change."