I really need a catchy greeting. Something that probably won’t get me laughed at or canceled.

I used to do a “hey there, Liger Legionnaires.” However, I don’t really have a devoted fanbase, like a professional sports team, a big-time streamer or a popular band.

One time, I gauged an audience on whether they enjoyed my column work or not. I either got crickets or several “what’s the Liger Den?” comments.

So, I used to save my column work for the really quiet times of the year — which was usually in late July. It was when the summer events died down, but before I had to get prepared for the upcoming high school football season.

Now, ya’ll are stuck with me on Friday. It used to be on Wednesdays, but when Michael Eckers offered to write historical columns for the Daily Freeman-Journal, it was wise to place him there.

For those of you who want to keep track, we have Country Roads (with Arvid Huisman) on Mondays and Our Neighborhood on Wednesdays.

So, if you have some suggestions on a possible greeting, shoot me an email. Maybe I don’t have to have one, at all.

Anywho, you’re going to get a — you guessed it — sports-centric column. What can I say? I’m a sports person, at heart.

I’d like to talk about soccer (futbol for the international types). It’s more so how I got into it, who I root for, how I stumbled into various things and met some great people along the way. I’ll even talk about the Webster City soccer teams a little bit, for some local flair.

Before I do, though, I want to give some props to several area student-athletes.

Let’s get right into it.

FIRST AND FOREMOST: I want to extend a “good luck” to the Webster City student-athletes CJ Hisler, Keegan Hisler, Jaxon Cherry, Jayden Weinzetl, Luke Estlund and Aiden Hrnicek, and South Hamilton student-athletes Tanna Thompson, Sydnee Flaugh, Ashlyn Erickson and Kate Barkema, who are taking part in the 113th annual Drake Relays this weekend.

It’s a fairly experienced group that is representing the DFJ area down at Drake Stadium.

While the Drake Relays are more so a prestigious exhibition that features the big, suburban schools (at least on the high school side of things), it’s still a big deal to get some time on the Blue Oval. The one that matters most is the last big meet, which takes place on the same track at the tail end of May.

I’m looking forward to seeing the same group, and possibly a few more area athletes, when I make the annual pilgrimage to the Iowa High School Track and Field Championships.

LIGER AND (ASSOCIATION) FOOTBALL: The other day, I drove out to the practice fields just beyond Lynx Field. I didn’t have any pictures to place on the front page, while David was getting geared up for the Parade of Bands.

I have known for a while that youth soccer has practices on the other side of the fence. I figured that it’d be easy (and fun) to grab pictures of some kids learning how to play soccer.

I popped in at the right time, snapped a quick photograph, hustled back to the office and finished that day’s paper.

Let’s sidetrack for a moment. Right now, I’m the news editor, sports editor and paginator. I’m not only covering events, writing and taking pictures, I’m tasked with placing stories and photos onto the page itself.

At least, for the first several pages. Thankfully, I have Rex or Nick on the syndicated page/classifieds while Eric Pratt and Chris Johnson take care of my sports page.

It’s the work of three people. So, please, be gentle with me and my Fort Dodge teammates.

Back to soccer. I’m sure some parents were like, “who’s this random dude with a camera?”

Hi, that’s me. I’m not as distinctive as Dave or Patrick.

I got into soccer (football for the internationally-minded folks) back in 2006, when I took residence in the dorms at Iowa Central Community College. There, I was paired with several soccer players.

The next semester, we had an English player join our dorm — who we nicknamed “Rambo.” He was a Liverpool FC fan, and he infected me with cheering for “The Reds.”

It was weird, because he would sing Manchester United’s song (“Glory, Glory, Man United”) more often than “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” I don’t think he was a true Liverpool supporter, says older and wiser me.

That spring, Liverpool made a run at the UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) Champions League Final. There was Steven Gerrard, Jaime Carragher, Dirk Kuyt and Xabi Alonso. Alonso was my favorite player at that time.

Even though they fell to eventual champion, AC Milan, by a 2-1 decision, I was a full blown Liverpool fan.

Over the years, my fandom waxes and wanes. It depends on a few factors.

One, how much soccer am I exposed to? Two, am I conversing with soccer minded individuals on a consistent basis? Three, how is Liverpool doing?

When I was in the Texas Panhandle, I was exposed to a ton of soccer. This was thanks to a swelling Hispanic population, a college newspaper needing someone to cover the West Texas A&M soccer teams and notable sports writers needing someone to cover local soccer matches.

It was a foot in the door, so I took the opportunity. Through these experiences, I got to meet some awesome people.

First off, Butch Lauffer and Chad Webb (who coached the WT men and women, respectively) were amazing to work with. They loved the exposure that I gave them, and Butch was the man who really brought the beautiful game to West Texas.

This was due to WT dropping football for a year in the early 90s, which prompted Lauffer to start up the men’s soccer program.

Through soccer, I got to know some exceptional athletes — most notably, Leslie Briggs. She was from Dallas who initially went to play for the University of North Carolina. Not fitting in well at UNC, who was a national powerhouse, she transferred to WT and was a goal-scoring machine.

She was great in the quote department, and is an all-around splendid person. She moved back to the Metroplex after college, and she could have gone professional if the women’s side of the game was built up the way it is now.

I also need to give a shoutout to Courtney “Clutch” Dippel. She was one heck of a goalkeeper for the Lady Buffs.

Through soccer, I got to meet Randy Waldrum, who won a national championship as the head coach for the Notre Dame women’s soccer program. Waldrum is now head coach at the University of Pittsburgh.

In the past, he coached the Trinidad & Tobago national women’s team, and is currently the head coach for the Nigerian women’s national team. He’s super accomplished, and every now and then, I interact with him on Twitter.

I can’t like him too much, because he roots for Man U. But, we can both agree that we don’t like Manchester City. Still, he’s a great guy.

Then, there’s the coaches, particularly in Dumas. There was Thad Goodling (who now coaches at Joshua High School), Sammy Solis (current boys’ head coach at DHS), and one of my favorite people, Raphael McHenry.

Goodling’s final year in Dumas was a memorable one, and one I got to be a part of. The Demons, spearheaded by Ulises Garcia, Jonas Rivero, Juan Avitia and Cristian Diaz Flores, appeared in the regional quarterfinals. Goodling has since enjoyed plenty of success at Joshua, constantly developing all-district selections and playoff teams.

It helped that Goodling was a Liverpool fan, too. One time, I gave him a Liverpool scarf, which he promptly gave me two Dumas scarves.

Sammy has continued that tradition, guiding the Demons into the postseason since Goodling’s departure.

McHenry was a former referee, who got his coaching certification and got hired to guide the Dumas girls’ soccer program. His love for the game is contagious, and I’ve spent many times hanging out at his house and watching Major League Soccer — particularly, FC Dallas.

When the president of the local women’s soccer league — another good friend of mine — stepped down, it was McHenry and I who stepped in to keep the league running. I have since left (because of the career), but McHenry has helped grow the game in the North Plains.

He also pushed the Demonettes, who were not the greatest on the pitch, to new heights — guiding them to a regional quarterfinals appearance several years back.

As a Liverpool fan, I joined the official supporter’s club for a year and accumulated a bunch of Liverpool merchandise. I was quick to grab a Mo Salah jersey when he got big.

I also adopted FC Dallas during that time, even making a suicide run to Frisco on July 4 to watch them rally past eventual champion Atlanta United with a 3-2 victory.

Before attending the match, I got to converse with members of El Matador (one of the two supporters groups). El Matador was extremely welcoming, and fun to party with — right alongside the Terminus Legion (Atlanta’s major fan group).

When I moved back to Iowa, Calhoun County had youth soccer clubs, but no high school teams. I even wrote about that possibility a few years back.

However, South Central Calhoun’s other spring sports would be gutted if soccer was made official by the school board. Track has a proud tradition at SCC, so I can’t see anyone really rocking the boat.

In that time, Liverpool won the Champions League title and captured their first Premier League crown.

Today, I’m in Webster City, where I have two soccer teams to keep tabs on. I believe that the Lynx have something special brewing on the boys’ side under Craig Signorin (who is, surprise, a Liverpool FC supporter), and the girls will continue to grow under the eye of Chad Vogelbacher.

I’m excited to exchange scarves with Signorin in the future, and see the growth of the game here in Hamilton County. It’s the world’s game, and we’re becoming a part of that shrinking world.

Okay, that’s enough words. Until next time!