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| Geography
I was born in 1968, in
Edmonton, Alberta, the first child and first son of Patricia
Frances and Norbert Adolf Glapski. My dad was born in Bornstedt,
Germany and my mom was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Dad emigrated
from West Germany to Canada in his twenties, after escaping from
East Germany. He moved to Winnipeg due to work where he met my
mom. When I was young, we moved around quite a bit. From my
birthplace of Edmonton, we lived in Saskatoon, Canada,
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and Vancouver, Canada. From there, we
moved back to Alberta. We lived in some townhouse near Southgate
before moving into Highlands. We officially moved to the place
where my parents still live on January 15, 1978. I remember the
date because that was the date the Cowboys beat the Broncos in the
Super Bowl. I never got to see that game. I got to see the Cowboys
get killed by the best team in NFL history repeatedly, but not
that game. We moved out into the country between Edmonton and
Spruce Grove. It used to be much more rural then than now. It was
a great place to grow up. I spent my life there until 1994, when I
moved to Toronto, Canada. I lived in Toronto until 2001, at which
point I moved to Bermuda. I currently reside in Bermuda, and enjoy
a lot of what this country has to offer.
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| The Influence of Sports
As far as I can remember, I've been interested
in sports. Some early memories actually come from watching sports.
I am quite competitive, and I think sports draw competitive people
to it. I remember that I became a Cowboys' fan in 1972, watching
Golden Richards play for the Cowboys. It was only due to the fact
that his hair was flowing out of the back of his helmet. What the
hell do you want? I was three years old. Winning
the Super Bowl against the Dolphins didn't hurt, and I was a
Cowboys' fan in my formative years. I idolized Roger Staubach and
Tony Dorsett growing up, which is somewhat ironic. Staubach went
to Navy and Dorsett went to Pitt. Fortunately, I don't remember
any damage they did against my beloved Nittany Lions, or my
secondary cheering interest, Army. I kind of lost interest in the
Cowboys when Tom Landry was fired. I don't really have a favorite
NFL team, but have a soft spot for the Steelers, Bills and Cowboys
(old habits do die hard). I also tend to cheer for teams with lots
of Nittany Lions on them.
I remember getting depressed about Ottawa
beating Edmonton in the Grey Cup in 1973. Football was my first
love growing up. We had season tickets to the Edmonton Eskimos,
and kids could come to the games for $1 (a great idea). I remember
the Esks finally getting revenge by beating the Montreal Alouettes
9-8 in 1975, and then attending the Grey Cup parade. Then the
Eskimos won 5 straight Grey Cups, after getting trounced in 1977,
solely due to crappy field conditions.
I never really had a favorite NHL team growing
up. Edmonton had no NHL team at the time. And by the same time I
was set to play hockey, I had problems with my kidneys as a kid which
required surgery and much recuperation. And when I started playing
hockey, I sucked. It's tough to keep up when you can barely skate.
I do remember watching the Sabres play the Islanders in a hospital
waiting room. I don't remember the year or game, just that that is
the first incident where I really became a Sabres fan. In the WHA,
I was an Edmonton fan. When they joined the NHL, I was already a
Sabres fan.
My love of Penn State football began with my
living in Pennsylvania as a kid, so I took notice of them early.
And Penn State won, so I was soon hooked. As I've gotten older and
wiser and somewhat disillusioned by some aspects of professional
sports, my preference for college sports, in particular college
football, has incresaed.
Everybody in school was seemingly either a Sixers,
Celtics or Lakers fan. Basically, these were the three teams who
were perenially challenging for a championship. Dr. J ensured I
was a Sixers fan.
Growing up though, baseball was my favorite
sport. And the Phillies were my favorite team. I idolized Mike
Schmidt and Steve Carlton.
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| The Influence of Books
Coming soon.
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| Friends & Family Coming
soon.
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