Who Are You And What Do You Do?

[C-Bow]

I've been meaning to do something like this for a hot minute, but figured this could serve as an alternate thread to get away from the doom and gloom of the week.

This site's been around for well over a decade at this point. I've been involved since 2005 with a 2-year hiatus in there somewhere, but I've come to only know you guys by your usernames and handles, not the actual people.

I'd like to change that.

So, who are you and what do you do?

Name (optional if you prefer to keep your anonymity):
Profession:
Alma Mater:
Degree:
BRAA Member (if so, since when?):
Hobbies:
Favorite Sports Memory (can be MT related or not):


I'll start!

Name: Casey Bowman
Profession: Sales Manager in the Telecommunications Industry by day, Sports Writer by night.
Alma Mater: Middle Tennessee, Spring 09'
Degree: Journalism major with double minors in Interdisciplinary Writing and Athletic Coaching
BRAA Member?: No. It would be a violation of the Rivals 'Code of Conduct'. Perhaps one day.
Hobbies: I'm an avid golfer and still a pretty avid video gamer (I'm a mid 80's baby don't judge me). Sadly, I don't have much time for either these days as I have a 17-month old monster running around the house that keeps me busy. I settle for Reddit now. I also picked up running about a year and a half ago. It's helped me drop about 40 pounds. Just started up again training for my second 5k run on Thanksgiving.
Favorite Sports Memory: I'll keep mine non-MT and roll with something different. I'll go with James Harrison's 100-yard INT in the 2008 Superbowl, accompanied by Santonio Holmes' remarkable toe-touch catch to clinch the title for the Steelers. Some of you know I'm a die-hard Steeler fan, so that one's easy for me. I'm also a big time Cubs fan - so I'm hoping to add to the memories this year!!

 

[Raiderclyde]

Name: Clyde McClaran
Profession: Bank Examinations Training Director
Alma Mater: Middle Tennessee, Louisiana State University (graduate degree)
Degree: BBA 1992, 2011 Banking
BRAA Member (if so, since when?): Not currently.
Hobbies: Church Activities, Blue Raider Athletics,
Favorite Sports Memory (can be MT related or not): Perfect 11-0 regular football season for the Blue Raiders. 1985 OVC Champions and #1 in 1-AA.

 

[MidTnBlues]

Name (optional if you prefer to keep your anonymity): Brian Williams
Profession: I do cost avoidance for Medicaid.
Alma Mater: MTSU
Degree: Business Ed
BRAA Member (if so, since when?): yes. First year
Hobbies: I play bass.
Favorite Sports Memory (can be MT related or not): It is really hard deciding on one but my favorite has to be watching Joe Montana rip apart the Broncos with my grand dad when I was a kid. I was a niners fan as long as I can remember. Football is not my sport this year.

 

[RandallThomason]

Name: Randall Thomason
Profession: CPA
Alma Mater: MTSU (B.S. 2005, MAcc. 2013)
BRAA Member (if so, since when?): Not currently but dual-sport season ticket holder along with wife and son
Hobbies: Golf, History
Favorite Sports Memory (can be MT related or not): Favorite MT memory is 2004 home basketball win over WKU; Favorite non-MT memory is the 1995 World Series

 

[BlueRaider0x0]

Name: Adam
Profession: Air traffic controller in Memphis
Alma Mater: Middle Tennessee
Degree: BS in Aerospace (2008)
BRAA Member: I had to cancel a few years back but plan on joining again in Jan.
Hobbies: Watching movies and listening to music
Favorite Sports Memory: Music City Miracle, the block vs. Vandy, the NOB, and beating Ga Tech.

 

[MTsumner92]

Name: Mike Hughes
Profession: Registered Investment Advisor for Shoemaker Financial. Brentwood.
Alma Mater: MTSU B.B.A. with emphasis in Marketing. Kappa Sigma Fraternity
BRAA Member (if so, since when?): Used to be back in the Melbourne days. We had Sumner County-wide meetings at my house or an eating place.
Hobbies: MT Sports, Golf, Kids, Coaching baseball
Favorite Sports Memory (can be MT related or not): I have two. I was in the Corner Pub in Green Hills when we blocked the last second field goal vs. Vandy. This place was FULL of vandy fans. I HOWLED while running around the bar tables. I cannot believe I didn't get brutally escorted out of there. The second was the miraculous pass by Flutie vs. Miami(Fla.) I saw the impossible. Close third was being in the stands for the Music City Miracle. I saw the impossible twice.

 

[RaiderDoug]

Name (optional if you prefer to keep your anonymity): RaiderDoug
Profession: Insurance Adjuster
Alma Mater: UTK '01 MTSU '05
Degree: BS in Finance/Insurance minor
BRAA Member (if so, since when?): I keep meaning to join, but I never do.
Hobbies: Traveling, Sports, Movies/Video Games, Motorcycles
Favorite Sports Memory (can be MT related or not): This will make me really popular here, but I'd have to say rushing the field at UTK vs Florida 1998 ahead of Music City Miracle. Favorite MT memory is the Beyah hail mary catch that beat FAU.

 

[MTBig Blue]

Name: Stuart Myatt
Profession: Independent Pharmacy Regional Sales Rep for Acosta Sales & Marketing
Alma Mater: St. Leo University: B.A. Sports Business 2009
BRAA Member: Was last year (my first year) but didn't renew this year.
Hobbies: Working out, traveling, MTSU sporting events.
Favorite Sports Moment: Has to be the first time MT beat Vandy. Close 2nd would be Sid Bream's slide in the '92 NLCS for the Atlanta Braves.

 

[TeKEraider]

Name: Brad Hopkins
Profession: Territory Manager
Alma Mater: MTSU
Degree: Aerospace Admin
BRAA Member (if so, since when?):yes Silver Raider 7 years.
Hobbies: golf, diving, MT Sports, herding children
Favorite Sports Memory (can be MT related or not): My Grandfather took me to Atlanta in 91 the weekend the Braves went from 1 game back into first place for the first time in my life completing the worst to first run. We would win and then have to wait for the Giants to play the Dodgers. They were giving out orange and black "Beat LA" signs and orange and black tomahawks. Whole town was consumed. It was crazy. NOB was a close second.

 

[D-winns]

Name (optional if you prefer to keep your anonymity): Bob Littlejohn
Profession: Retired Mechanical Engineer, TVA
Alma Mater: MT 1975
Degree: Industrial Technology and Management
BRAA Member (if so, since when?): Since the move to D1
Hobbies: Volunteer Coach Middle School Football, Golf, and Hunting
Favorite Sports Memory (can be MT related or not): The Alabama Goal Line Stand against Penn State in the 1979 Sugar Bowl, MT block of Vandy FG for the WIN!

 

[Hop45]

Name (optional if you prefer to keep your anonymity): Steve
Profession: Physical Therapist
Alma Mater: Schreiner College (TX) 1993/Belmont University 2000
Degree: Exercise Science/Physical Therapy
BRAA Member (if so, since when?): 10 yrs
Hobbies: baseball, golf, reading, anything sports
Favorite Sports Memory (can be MT related or not): Pitching vs University of TX with my idol Nolan Ryan watching from the Longhorn bullpen

MT Related: Beyah Hail Mary or Vandy blocked FG

 

[Blueraider_Mike]

Name: Mike Moore
Profession: Sales, Healthcare Software
Alma Mater: BBA 88' MTSU, MBA Univ of Houston 98'
Degree: Business
BRAA Member (if so, since when?): Not right now, just moved back to Boro in June
Hobbies: Endurance sports (Triathlon), Snow Skiing
Favorite Sports Memory (can be MT related or not): Helping rip down the goal posts in Fall of 1985 after an improbable victory in that magical 11-0 season.

 

[ToddMalone]

Name (optional if you prefer to keep your anonymity): Todd Malone

Profession: insurance - health and wealth. For health, I mostly help people and businesses replace their group insurance plans with more affordable and more flexible individual plans. If you're still doing health insurance the pre-Obamacare way, call me. For wealth, I mostly help people who are leaving the workforce and want to be sure they don't outlive their money, but I recently began helping the younger folks set up wealth building plans (WITHOUT using 401ks and other typical IRA vehicles).

Alma Mater: MTSU

Degree: Business Finance

BRAA Member (if so, since when?): 2004 to 2010. May return to old form in next year or two.

Hobbies: Stand-up paddleboarding, sailing, promoting individual liberty, and fighting off the low-information crowd of collectivists who appear to have taken over the American landscape like the kudzu plant, choking out all other forms of life.

Favorite Sports Memory (can be MT related or not): MTSU's incredible come-from-behind victory against New Mexico State. 2001. MT was down 35-11 start of 4th quarter. They scored 28 points in the fourth to win. QB was West Counts. MT packed a 1-2 punch at the RB position with Dwone Hicks and Reshard Lee. What a great day. (that was also the same year MT beat Idaho 70-58 at Floyd. At the time, I think that was the most points ever to be scored in a 1-A football game)

 

[Predarat]

Name : Jeremy Baker
Profession: Date Analyst/System Coordinator
Alma Mater: Middle Tennessee
Degree: Bachelor Business Administration/Information Systems 2001
BRAA Member (if so, since when?): On and off since graduation depending on employment status due to outsourcing of jobs and importing of cheap foreign labour displacing American Workers
Hobbies: Sports, mostly football and hockey games, to a lesser extent baseball and basketball. Severe Weather.
Favorite Sports Memory (can be MT related or not):
MT related: Back to Back field storming moments with win vs FrankieWys Terps and the Middle Miracle vs FAU, win vs Marshal. NIT home games, filling and rocking TheMurph.
Non MT: Music City Miracle, first Preds playoff series win vs Ducks, KC Royals winning 1985 World Series, Back to Back championship seasons for the Wichita Thunder hockey team and all the brawls that came along with it, last minute drive by Rich Gannon and 54 yard FG kick by Pete Stoyonovich for the Chiefs to beat the Broncos in the 90s.

 

[C-Bow]

Name : Jeremy Baker

Hobbies: Sports, mostly football and hockey games, to a lesser extent baseball and basketball. Severe Weather.

Severe weather? Do tell..

 

[C-Bow]

Hobbies: Endurance sports (Triathlon), Snow Skiing

Triathlons?? How long do you typically train for one of those? When did you start competing in these? Not gonna lie, that's awesome!

 

[C-Bow]

Favorite Sports Memory (can be MT related or not): Pitching vs University of TX with my idol Nolan Ryan watching from the Longhorn bullpen

My whole life growing up revolved around baseball. I was pretty good and could play any position, but pitching was my first love. I had the "Nolan Ryan Pitching Bible" on my nightstand for years when I was a kid. I emulated everything he did from his windup to his grips.

 

[MidTnBlues]

I emulated everything he did from his windup to his grips.

What about his head locks?

 

[Predarat]

Severe weather? Do tell..

I help with or handle some weather accounts on Twitter (Handle @TnStormInfo @MaurySevereWx help with @BadKarmaChasing)and Facebook (Help with Tennessee Storm Chasers, Bad Karma Storm Chasing). Mainly alerting people of severe weather coming looking at forecasts and radars and relaying the information. Sometimes its exciting when storms are happening, other times it can be boring, weeks or months of copy and pasting forecasts while nothing is going on weather wise. As of now I am trying to get my Maury County twitter account approved by the National Weather Service, so that is my main concentration. The past year I have been getting back into Storm Chasing a bit, went on a few local chases, did not get anything significant, but it was a pretty light season.

 

[TeKEraider]

No offense but I'd prefer you be bored.

 

[Predarat]

No offense at all, its much better that way. Those storms can get damn horrible.

 

[Hop45]

My whole life growing up revolved around baseball. I was pretty good and could play any position, but pitching was my first love. I had the "Nolan Ryan Pitching Bible" on my nightstand for years when I was a kid. I emulated everything he did from his windup to his grips.

It was great. Played against his son in high school and met him at a basketball game my senior year. Sophomore year in college, his son went to TX (before transferring to TCU) and he was there for the Fall scrimmage we played against them every year. I went to a small school. My uncle shot video of him in boots and blue jeans throwing off their bullpen mound working with their pitchers during the game. We actually played them in the Spring my Senior year and I got the start on the mound. Stephen Larkin, Peter Gardere, Brooks Kieschnick are a few players I remember from then. Ihurt my shoulder the series prior to the TX game, but didn't tell anybody. I wasn't missing out on that opportunity. It went about as expected for a slow throwing righty with a bum shoulder. Gave up 4 runs in 2 innings before getting yanked!

 

[C-Bow]

What about his head locks?

Most definitely. And the uppercuts!

 

[blueraiderJT]

Name: John Thomas

Profession: Owner/President of Blue Tractor Design Company - A local graphic design & digital marketing company based in the Nashville area established in 2003 and has 6 employees. We design & develop web based software, apps, websites, games, social based marketing programs, and our own proprietary software as well. We also specialize in campaign based design, print, logo/id design, motion graphics, etc.

www.bluetractor.com

Alma Mater: Middle Tennessee, 1997

Degree: B.F.A. with a emphasis in Graphic Design and a minor in Graphic Communications

Hobbies: Kayaking, Walking, 3-D illustration, Painting, Sculpting, Traveling, Designing and Developing Mobile Games for myself

Favorite Sports Memory: MT - 2008 Maryland upset & the 2012 Georgia Tech upset. I attended both games and got to see my team beat the odds and get the win.

 

[Raiderclyde]

Favorite Sports Memory (can be MT related or not): MTSU's incredible come-from-behind victory against New Mexico State. 2001. MT was down 35-11 start of 4th quarter. They scored 28 points in the fourth to win. QB was West Counts. MT packed a 1-2 punch at the RB position with Dwone Hicks and Reshard Lee. What a great day. (that was also the same year MT beat Idaho 70-58 at Floyd. At the time, I think that was the most points ever to be scored in a 1-A football game)[/QUOTE]

Would say NMSU game was the most thrilling Blue Raider Football memory. Wasn't quite my favorite memory (there are a few games that rank higher). We were totally out of that game and it was largely because of K.C. Enzminger (their QB) got mildly injured and Buck Pierce, who was a freshman, took over the game. Dwone Hicks and Reshard Lee were very key at RB. Also we made a big defensive stop on 3rd and 7 with about 4:02 or so left, think the score was 32-35 at that point. MT ended up winning 39-35! Announced crowd was 11,327, but about 2,000 saw the final end. As I recall, Enzminger did return for NMSU's final drive, but was very gimpy and fumbled the snap with about 50 seconds left to end it for them. That game helped us win the co-championship in the Sun Belt (was won the next week against Arkansas State, I think 54-6).

Indiana State in 1-AA Playoffs 1984 would rank near the top with a 42-41 triple OT victory, remember hearing the game on radio very well with Dick Palmer (and I think John Egly as I recall). Later, I obtained a Betamax tape that had the 2nd half of that game. Tape was stored in a Silver Video case amongst other videocassettes that I bought as a box full of tapes at a yard sale near campus in 1993. Unfortunately, don't have that one anymore; machine play head stretched the tape and chewed it up. Any of the Vanderbilt wins are honorable mentions as well.

Wish I was old enough to remember the APSU-MT game of 1965 (24-20 win), needed 10 points in the last quarter to win--that was the perfect 10 win season under Coach Murphy. APSU was also undefeated that year, to that point in the season. The 50th anniversary of the game (Clarksville) would be October 30. For those who were there, it was a great memory--hear/tell.

 

[sWiley]

Name (optional if you prefer to keep your anonymity): Stephen Wiley
Profession: Cardiac Intensive Care RN @ Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus Ohio
Alma Mater: MTSU (undergrad) / Current APSU-RODP student
Degree: Bachelors of Science in Nursing / Currently pursuing Masters of Science in Nursing, Family Nurse Practitioner concentration (Fall 2016 graduation)
BRAA Member (if so, since when?): No
Hobbies: Bedroom music producer since 2001, avid Dota 2 player and follower of pro scene, 3 cats & a dog
Favorite Sports Memory (can be MT related or not): Andy McCollum being fired / Vanderbilt FG block

 

[Blueraider_Mike]

Triathlons?? How long do you typically train for one of those? When did you start competing in these? Not gonna lie, that's awesome!

Well it depends, for an Ironman I might average 13-15 hours a week, for the shorter events 6-7 hours a week. Its an addiction. Now I am older, I don't race to PR, just to stay healthy.

 

[MTSUSkyman]

Name (optional if you prefer to keep your anonymity):
Profession: IT Corporate Sales/ Freelance Audio Engineer
Alma Mater: MT (2003), APSU (2010), Mizzou (In Progress)
Degree: B.S. Recording Industry, M.A. Communications, Ed.S. Online Educator (Grad in May)
BRAA Member (if so, since when?): Not this year... no additional comments.
Hobbies: Triathlons, Cycling, Soccer, Cardinal Baseball, Hanging out with my kids, Ogling my wife.
Favorite Sports Memory (can be MT related or not): N.O. Bowl. Jeremiah Weaver's blocked kick at Vandy

 

[MTCasey]

Name (optional if you prefer to keep your anonymity):
Profession: Admissions Counselor
Alma Mater: MT (2008, 2015)
Degree: B.S. Mass Communication (Journalism), M.Ed. Higher Education Administration
BRAA Member (if so, since when?): Since 2010
Hobbies: Reading, rec league softball, fantasy football, organization, eating, spending time with my wife and dog
Favorite Sports Memory (can be MT related or not): MT related- covering my first soccer match for Sidelines freshman year; the entire NO Bowl, especially Suber's INT and Carmichael's TD; Kerry Hammonds' GW shot over Marshall Henderson and Ole Miss (really the entire 2011-12 and 2012-13 MBKB seasons).

Non MT-related- Seeing my favorite team and player (White Sox and Frank Thomas) in person for the first time at Greer Stadium in 1996; Josh Harrelson putting UK on his back against Ohio State in the 2012 Sweet 16; being second row from the glass at my first Preds game during the inaugural season of 98-99 (a 4-2 win over Colorado on Halloween night).

 

[ttuman4702]

Name: Scott Trevathan
Profession: Retired. Taught high school math for forty years
Alma Mater: Tennessee Tech
Degree: BS, 1972, Masters, 1974.
BRAA Member: No
Hobbies: I play senior league softball, do woodworking, and gardening.
Favorite Sports Memory: TTU hosting UT in the NIT. Went to the 1968 World Series to see the Tigers and the Cardinals. I grew up in Detroit and was a crazy Tiger fan. They lost the game I went to, but won the series.

 

[JohnDavidBlue]

Name (optional if you prefer to keep your anonymity): I prefer to keep my anonymity
Profession: Automaton / Developer
Alma Mater: Big Blue
Degree: Took me six years but I got it! I spent as much time as a Kroger Produce clerk as I did a student.
BRAA Member (if so, since when?): Have been at random intervals
Hobbies: Running, Daddying, Coding, Hacking, Monitoring your traffic when I can. You should probably change your password.
Favorite Sports Memory (can be MT related or not): 2000 - finishing the year out against Louisiana-Lafayette and getting a winning season.

 

[C-Bow]

Hobbies: Hacking, Monitoring your traffic when I can. You should probably change your password.

 

[MTActor]

Name (optional if you prefer to keep your anonymity): Ryan Chittaphong
Profession: Director of Marketing for Stella Adler Studio of Acting in NYC, co-owner of Glamsmash Productions and a proud company member of the Story Pirates.
Alma Mater: Middle Tennessee, Class of 2007
Degree: Bachelor of Science in Theatre Performance
BRAA Member (if so, since when?): No
Hobbies: Improv Comedy, Golf, Theatre, and Making Movies
Favorite Sports Memory (can be MT related or not): Going to MTSU's first ever bowl game in Motor City. We lost pretty bad, but it still felt really good to have gone bowling and I met so many great people on that trip.