INTRODUCTION: There’s a Ducks Fan in Cleveland?!?!

Hello Anaheim Calling readers, my name is Alex Siegman. I live 2,354 miles away from Honda Center and I’m going to write for you.

Why, you might be asking yourselves? I was born a year before the Mighty Ducks were formed in a state devoid of professional hockey. My dad was an Islanders fan and the Blue Jackets didn’t exist yet, so when I got an original white Ducks jersey from my Aunt and Uncle from San Diego for my 4^th birthday, my fandom started to take shape. I still remember not wanting to go to school the next day after that game 7 loss in ’03. With not a lot of accessibility to hockey leagues growing up, we played a lot of roller hockey in neighborhood streets and parking lots. It wasn’t until I got to Miami University that I actually got to experience ice hockey through various intramural leagues.

I don’t know how well Miami University is known on the west coast, but it’s a mid-sized, hockey crazy school buried in the southwest corner of Ohio boasting alumni such as Dan Boyle and Alec Martinez. Friends and I would get our spots in line at 6:00 am for the 7:30pm game later that night to see the likes of Chris Wideman and Riley Smith take on Carl Hagelin from Michigan. Being in such a hockey-centric environment, my love for the Ducks only grew. I can count on my fingers and toes how many Ducks games I haven’t watched over the past seven seasons, and it was still fairly consistent before that. Academically, I got my degree in Interactive Media Studies with a focus in Usability and User Experience. I currently work in downtown Cleveland as a UX analyst for an insurance company.

I’ve lurked on the Anaheim Calling blog for the past 5 or so years, following along with games or just killing time in class. Those Kyle, Eric, and sometimes even Chris ‘Richard’ Kober podcasts were the only thing that kept me going on all those drives back and forth from Cleveland to Miami. I’ve seen this community in all sorts of different states, and when it’s good, it’s good. Not only will I be writing for the blog, but JC has asked me to be the Anaheim Calling Social Media Coordinator. I will be running the blog’s Facebook, Twitter, and potentially other social media outlets. I look forward to these exciting opportunities and hopefully the chance to interact and engage with other Ducks fans as die hard as I am.

Check me out on Twitter @alexsiegman, although I might have to add an ‘AC’ to the front of that now…

Bonus picture of me teaching my puppy right from wrong