Did I ever make it clear that I don't like the snow?

Well, here ya go - I don't like the snow. In fact, it's safe to say I hate the snow.

So you can imagine I'm not in the greatest of moods right now, considering the amount of snow we just got. The shoveling enough was cause to scream. (By the way, did I ever make it clear that I really, really hate really, really wet snow?)

As far as finding people who share my feelings, it's not going so well. Just about everyone here loves skiing and snowboarding and snowshoeing. All those people now are in a state of snow euphoria I couldn't imagine, or ever want to.

But it's hard to find what I like to refer to as "real sports fans."

No offense, but when I categorize sports, skiing and snowboarding and the such fall into outdoor sports. Sports such as football, basketball and soccer? Those are in the real sports category, according to me.

One of those real sports is basketball, and while I'm still struggling to find a few people to passionately watch Detroit Pistons games with me, I do have the privilege of covering Incline's varsity sports.

I was at Wednesday's boys basketball game, billed as the early Northern 3A game of the year, against Yerington High School.

I get shivers all the time when I'm watching football or basketball, and a huge play happens. The same went for Wednesday.

I got chills when Dylan Hale sank a 3-pointer as time expired in the first half. It felt good to hear the raucous jeers from the Yerington crowd late in the second half, when they felt a pair of out-of-bounds plays should have been called the other way. And when the final buzzer went off, I felt the joy coming from the Incline sideline, as well as the pain from the Yerington kids.

Just about any sports fan will tell you that he or she gets chills when they watch their favorite sport. For me, it's that buzzer-beating 3-pointer that gets me talking, not landing a perfect 1260.

I guess I'm a different breed who's slowing accepting the majority out here. I'm slowly learning the lingo and reasoning as to why the snow is held so dear to many out here. And I'm learning to respect it.

But I also have my own reasons, which is why I'll be watching the NFL playoffs and the NCAA championship game today and tomorrow, rather than hitting up the fresh snow at a resort around the basin.

For me, the shiver I get from a last second touchdown is all the cold I need.