I grew up just outside of Manchester, England where the sport of choice is soccer (or football, as we call it there), soccer, soccer and more soccer. While there is a mild interest in cricket, rugby and Formula One racing, the city’s ultimate obsession is with Manchester’s two fiercely rivaled teams, United and City, whose fans literally bleed red or blue. A born and bred United supporter, I often compare them to the Lakers with their overflowing trophy case and celebrity players like David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo, with City was the underdog Clippers who never quite live up to expectation (although thousands of City fans would probably fight me over that!)

I moved to America on the eve of the XXXIII Super Bowl just in time to see John Elway play his final game and lead the Broncos to victory over the Falcons. While I have to admit that I really didn’t understand much of what was going on, or even how to bet on the squares properly, I was instantly hooked. I spent the next two years living in Charlotte, NC, where my social life revolved around NFL Sundays in sports bars (although I never could bring myself to cheer for the Panthers, sorry), going to Hornets basketball games and figuring out what the hell was the deal with college football (“The Miami of Ohio Red Hawks, wtf? I’m pretty sure Miami is in Florida.”). After a lot of dedicated hours/weeks/months watching, plenty of brainpower and a few drunken tailgating parties at East Carolina, I finally got totally addicted to that too.

Eleven years later, I live in Santa Monica, CA, where I cheer loudly and cry quietly over all the Boston professional teams – Patriots, Celtics, Sox and Bruins – thanks to my neighborhood Boston bar, Sonny McLean’s, which has elevated my fandom to new heights. Now a fully-fledged sports junkie, I watch anything and everything – NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, NCAA, even horse racing and golf. I love that I am still learning new things every day, I’ve gotta admit that as an English chick, it’s pretty fun talking crap to the guys during a game and actually knowing that I’m right!

In my ‘spare’ time when I’m not glued to the game, I am a professional journalist covering entertainment, celebrity, lifestyle and fitness stories for magazines and websites such as In Touch Weekly, Self, TV Guide and BettyConfidential.com. My ultimate ambition is to combine my passion and career and become a sports writer, so I am excited to have the opportunity to work with Bleacherreport.com.