It’s about time that I push out a sports-themed Nostalgia Blast, because sports has definitely taken up a massive share of my time and headspace the past 19 years. I chronicled my time as an athlete in an earlier post, so here I will be diving into my experience as a fan. Rather than touch … Continue reading Nostalgia Blast: My life as a sports fan as told in 15 momentous moments
A month ago, my good friend Harrison introduced me to a “mod” for my Madden NFL football video game that would allow me to play a fan-created version of NCAA Football 20. Thankfully, it worked. Seeing and playing with the full rosters and team likenesses of around 30 college football teams was breathtaking. Sadly, the … Continue reading Big Ten, Pac-12 Postpone Fall Sports
Confetti. Newspapers. Tears, kisses and raised fists. The sight of a sports championship victory is one of the sweetest sights that sports have to offer (one sadly robbed from us by COVID-19 the past couple of months). Year after year, the crowning of a champion also marks the culmination of a season-long narrative. These teams … Continue reading The 10 Greatest, Most Hollywood-Worthy Sports Stories of the 21st Century
Today marked the last day of classes for my freshman year. It was definitely an interesting one, and a lot happened: in the world, in my classes, and in the dorm game room. Today, I just wanted to compile some of my best clips from my first year with the Daily Northwestern. I most closely … Continue reading The Best from Year 1 at the Daily
A quick scan of my Goodreads profile will reveal a clear trend — I read a lot of sports books. That should come as no surprise, as I hope to be a sports journalist and have goals of writing books in the future. Reading about sports was as formative to my fan experience as watching … Continue reading Sports Pantheon: My Favorite Sports Books
The first college basketball game I attended was a pretty epic one. The battle between the George Washington Colonels and the Charlotte 49ers on March 4, 2006, had tournament implications, culminated in a GW buzzer beater, and was celebrated by a court storm of rabid fans. Then a five-year-old preschooler, I recall a couple things: … Continue reading A Season Inside: A Winter with Northwestern Basketball
I've seen a lot of great games as a sports fan. I picked my top ten favorites earlier this week in a column, and choosing those brought many smiles to my face. Today's ranking wasn't so cheerful of a chore. Today, I'm selecting the ten greatest games that I never saw. The catch -- they … Continue reading The Ten Greatest Games I Wish I Had Seen
A couple of Saturdays ago, I tuned in to one of the greatest rivalries in sports, the Iron Bowl, an annual battle between Auburn and Alabama (often for SEC supremacy). The game didn’t let me down, as each quarter was packed to the brim with exciting moments and breathtaking plays I’d never seen before … Continue reading The Ten Greatest Sports Games I’ve Ever Seen
One of my favorite inventions of the modern magazine has been the heat index. On the top, the hottest item in the category, while the bottom is reserved for the coolest of the cold. And it works with just about anything, sports or otherwise. With one month of college in the books, I'm going to gauge the … Continue reading First Month of College Heat Index
Hey guys! I’ve written a lot of series over the years, and their names have ranged the spectrum from cringy (Professor Sports) to clever (Varsity Letter) to fitting (Nostalgia Blast). Today, as I kick of the college era of Johnriker.com, I’m resurrecting one of my favorite formats/names, the Read Option. Quick history lesson -- my … Continue reading Read Option: On the ‘Cats, Cubs, Ravens and Cowboys
Riker's Block 