An Ode to August 16th: A little birthday love, a little sports, some Elvis and me.

“Well, it’s one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready. Now go, cat, go.”

Lyric from: Blue Suede Shoes from the album Elvis

Written By: Carl Perkins

Performed by: Elvis Presley

Titans WR Kevin Dyson tackled at the 1 yard line by Rams Linebacker Mike Jones, Photo AP

I have always shared a somewhat morbid kinship with Elvis Presley. Our connection indeed reinforces the relationship between life and death.

Exactly one year to the day of my birth, Elvis-one of the biggest stars in music ever and the King of Rock and Roll-was pronounced dead at Baptist Hospital in Memphis, TN, the same hospital in which I was born.

Add that to the fact that my mother has been singing and playing piano in church since she was 10 years old along with the fact that my father was awarded a music scholarship to college and, it would seem that I was destined to become a music lover. It is almost as if I had no choice in the matter.

The beginning of my love affair with sports, however, is far less choreographed and slightly more scattered.

It’s hard to know when I first became interested in basketball but, my mother loves to tell the story of the time that she took me to a basketball game at the school where she taught in West Memphis, AR. As a four year old I apparently spent the entire game yelling “get the rebound boys”, a phrase I had picked up from listening to my brother as he watched the sport on TV.

However humble its roots, my interest was no doubt cemented by the rich tradition of Memphis Tigers' basketball in my hometown via the likes of Keith Lee, Elliot Perry, Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway and more recently, Derrick Rose.

My father had lived in Chicago for a few years as a child and so my earliest awareness of baseball was fostered by his, sometimes unrequited, love for the Chicago Cubs. Growing up, Ernie Banks had been his favorite player and, he was beyond thrilled when I got to meet “Mr. Cub” when he played in a golf tournament I coordinated for work.

After graduating from college I found a new reason to pay attention the sport and a new team for which to root. Albeit a bit shallow, I had decided to love the New York Yankees because I loved Derek Jeter because I had learned that his father, Dr. Charles Jeter, and I shared the same alma mater. The elder Jeter had played shortstop for my beloved Fisk University.

There is nothing shallow, though, about the circumstances by which I fell in love with football. We were first introduced in 1999 and, we’ve been inseparable ever since.

Before ’99 I had never watched a football game-professional or amateur, not on TV nor in person. So I wasn’t exactly jumping for joy when a friend of mine told me that he had scored tickets to the Tennessee Titans season opener as a birthday gift to me.

Right from the opening kickoff, I was hooked. It was love at first sight.

I was a novice then so most of what happened that day during that game to start the season was a blur to me. Nevertheless, I remember the way that season ended with poignant clarity.

A magical playoff run that began with the “Music City Miracle” against the Buffalo Bills ended one yard shy of a chance to defeat the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV.

From that point on I was singularly focused on learning everything I could about this game I loved so dearly. I had to understand everything that happened on the field, all the rules of the game, the purpose of each position and the details around every opportunity to score points.

Pretty soon my dedication to closing my knowledge gap in football drove my desire to close that gap in the other sports as well. And the rest, as they say, is history. Or at the very least, it’s the history of the making of this blog.

Elvis once famously said, “I’m so lucky to be in the position to give. It’s really a gift to give.”

And so on this day, my 36^th birthday, I am sincerely grateful for this opportunity to give through my words by way of this blog.

It’s truly the best birthday gift ever.