I am the odb

So sports fans, here we go. Over the course of time I will certainly be on task to discuss the world of Florida sports. I was born in Miami, moved to Tallahassee for several years, literally being neighbors with Mike Martin, and for the past 7 years, attended the University of Florida. I have been a Dolphins fan for life and my girlfriend of going on three years is a die hard Jags fan. So anything and everything can be covered here. But today, its time to go with a Florida original. That's right, its jai alai season.

For those who aren't quite aware of it, jai alai is at this point in time, a Florida sport. Once popular throughout the country, the frontons have been whittled down to just a few, all of them located within the great sunshine state. Which, while sad for the sport, means that the best jai alai in the world is being played within only a few hours of us. The consensus best front and back court players in the world both play in Miami, while quality jai alai is being played in Dania, Ft. Pierce, Orlando, Ocala and Hamilton.

This past week marked the beginning of the Ocala jai alai season and honestly, it was a sad site. Ocala recently added poker as its main attraction and now just plays the minimum jai alai (100 total competitions) to keep the poker legal. While the players still are skilled and try their hardest, there are not even enough players to field a full game of doubles. They are forced to play shortened games to accomadate for the lack of a full roster. It makes me sad to see Florida's unique sport begin to deteriorate just because the new owner is more of a poker fan than a jai alai fan.

If you live somewhere in Florida, check out your local fronton and check it out. If you are a fan of great sports and athletic achievement, or even just gambling, it will be a trip you will enjoy and remember forever. And hopefully, you'll catch it before more like minded owners downgrade the Merry Festival(the literal translation of jai alai) to a mere sideshow to poker.