I was never good with sports names and stats. In Trivial Pursuit, I dreaded the orange Sports and Leisure category and answered every question with Max Schmeling knowing that I was bound to get it right at least once. I always did better at the blue Arts & Entertainment category. In 6th grade I feigned an interest in the NFL to fit in with my classmates but I could never remember the right names or all the statistics. Since I was better at drawing, I would get in their good graces by drawing the Chicago Bears’ mascot as a ferocious grizzly wearing a football jersey.

However, if you were to ask me to link Hayley Mills and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar through movie co-stars, I could do it in a flash. Or if you wanted me to chart the movement of the members of Slint since the band broke up, I could do a decent job.

My friend Susan has a theory regarding this. Sports nerds and movie/music nerds are basically the same breed. They both have the need to memorize superfluous facts and figures and dazzle one another with their expertise. CDs are essentially a different form of trading cards - you make mix tapes/CDs and swap with friends. DVDs and videos are the equivalent of collecting copies of the milestone games to watch and relive later with your buddies.

Some of my friends recall fondly when their father first took them to a football/baseball/basketball game. I warmly remember when my dad took me to see the Dark Crystal at the Carillon Square movie theater. I remember singing Juice Newton’s Queen of Hearts in the car on the way to a family camping trip when I was six. I remember listening to the radio for hours with a tape queued up just to record Duran Duran’s Wild Boys.

I quote Madeline Kahn from Clue like some men would rattle off the Emmitt Smith’s all-time rushing record. I take pleasure in discovering new artists like some people latch on to their favorite rookie pitcher.

Yes, I’m an Arts & Entertainment nerd. Go Blue!