I’ve always loved sports. The love affair began in the late-seventies when I was only eight years old. Back then, there was a TV show called Wide World of Sports. Some of you may even remember it. It was an iconic weekly sports anthology program that aired on the ABC network. It didn’t take long before host Jim McKay’s epic lead in on those memorable Saturday afternoon broadcasts became permanently ingrained in my youthful, sports-obsessed brain. “Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sport…the thrill of victory…and the agony of defeat…the human drama of athletic competition.”

Yep, my brain loved sports, but my body wouldn’t cooperate. Whether tossing a football or a frisbee, playing baseball or badminton, skating or swimming—I tried my hand at everything. The reality was that I just wasn’t very good at any of it. As much as I longed to be an All-Pro wide receiver in the NFL someday, prudence took over, and I became a dentist instead. Through all the subsequent years of drilling, filling, and billing, I never lost my hunger for the human drama of athletic competition.

So, after a lucrative career as an orthodontist, I’ve retired to the not-so-lucrative world of sports writing. You might say it’s a homecoming of sorts—combining my passion for writing with my love of the game. Thus far in my new career, I’ve already found myself in some ridiculously improbable situations. From the awesomeness of sitting courtside with Dickie V at the SEC Basketball tournament to the utter misery of the losing locker rooms after an NCAA Final Four, from interviewing NFL superstars at the peak of their profession to chatting with minor league dreamers just looking to eke out a decent living, from press conferences with Nick Saban and Mike Krzyzewski to being stared down by Marvin Lewis after another Bengals debacle, from the Greatest Spectacle in Racing of the Indy 500 to the Greatest Two Minutes in Sports at the Kentucky Derby—I’m soaking it all in as I literally live out my dream.

Being able to go behind the ropes—for free, no less—gives one not just a sense of privilege, but of a sacred responsibility to report back to those on the other side of the curtain. Access to these events and the athletes who participate in them instills a sense of intimacy between the reporter and the reported that’s hard to describe. Watching Rafa Nadal tipping his limo driver after a hard-fought tennis match or walking with Chip McDaniel’s parents as their son makes the cut in his professional golfing debut is poignantly surreal. Roy Williams crying, Rick Pitino lying, or John Calipari sighing peels back the often-fragile outer veneers of these larger-than-life personalities. We quickly learn that there’s always a human-interest story buried somewhere within every whitewashed tomb. Through it all, hopefully we’ll all eagerly agree that sports are much, much more than the scores or the stats posted at the end of a long-forgotten box score.

You’ll certainly be getting all those scores and stats, but through my stories, you’ll be getting something much more valuable. You see, I’m going to be taking you along for the ride—giving you a perspective couched in a half century of love and respect for the game. As a recent guest on a podcast with the legendary Kentucky sports guru Oscar Combs, it dawned on me that you can’t fake either history or experience as a sports fan. I’ve got both on my side, and I’m planning on sharing it with you in my musings and writings.

In this inaugural Sports View America print edition, I want to introduce you to a couple of talented writers who’ll be chiming in regularly with their unique viewpoints of the sporting world. Together, with the rest of our ever-growing staff, we’ll do our best to bring you intriguing stories full of original content and creativity. Check out Jeff Pendleton’s feature story this month on the whimsical nature of the ‘ABA’ or his thoughts on the iconic home of the Kentucky Basketball Wildcats—Rupp Arena. If you’re an auto racing fan, you’ll delight in Grant Sorrell’s detailed analysis of this year’s upcoming NASCAR events.

Whether Super Bowl or Citrus Bowl, World Series or Wimbledon, The Masters or Monday Night Football, I’ll be there “bringing it” for Sports View America—giving you a front row seat at every athletic venue, as well as diving into the heart, mind, and soul of the competitors within them. You’ll hear the roar of the crowd, feel the swish of the net, and taste every morsel of that tailgate brisket along the way. In the end, I guarantee—whether bird’s-eye view or bullseye through the heart—you’ll feel first-hand the hauntingly familiar thrill of victory and the brutally torturous agony of defeat. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. For everyone taking the time to read, thanks so much for hopping on board.

Dr. John Huang is the lead writer for Sports View America. This blog posting appeared in the inaugural edition of the outlet’s print publication. If you enjoy his writing, you can read more at www.huangswhinings.com or follow him on Twitter @KYHuangs.

Check out his most recent UK Sports coverage at http://www.themanchesterenterprise.com/category/uk-live-breathe-blue/