The shot above features my log entries to start the 1997 season. That year featured a new wrinkle as I elected to include some wildlife observation as well. And while that feature was rather short lived, the logging habit has persisted for many years. It began back in 1985 and continues to this day with only a few lost years in the 90s.

1/19/1985 – How’s this for my stat keeping debut as me and Dad catch zero fish icefishing at Lake Bracken? That was actually hard to do.

As a lifelong sports fan and a participant for more than a few years back when I could do that sort of thing, stats have always held a fascination for this fisherman. In fact, there was a time when “Stat” was part of a nickname bestowed upon me by a handful of “friends.”

Although I hung up my sneakers after high school, I still ran with a number of the basketball crowd while attending Knox College. And freshman year, I found myself recruited by a baseball teammate to assist with stat keeping duties for the Siwash (since renamed Prairie Fire) men’s and women’s basketball teams. As a result, several of those basketball buddies honored me with the designation of “Stat Boy.” I suspected that they were poking fun at me at the time, a suspicion which has been confirmed over the years. Of course, all in good fun and still brings a laugh.

However, I have to believe that I am getting the last laugh as my propensity for stat keeping translates nicely into this whole outdoor blogging habit. As such, I think it’s high time that I take up the mantle of “Stat Man.” After all, I now have a cool blog that can be read by fellow outdoor (and stat) enthusiasts around the globe.

And now all eight or ten of you who actually read it know the rest of the story behind selecting the 1997 log shot to grace the blog banner.

Hope to keep the stats rolling in the latest log book. I’ll keep you posted.

Talk to you later.  Troy