That Having Been Said...

Hi. How are you?
I'm Rob. Rob Masters, aka TRM.
And this is a little bit about me.

As long as I can remember, I've loved hockey, and loved the Red Wings. My first memory, when I was just a tiny little tot, was seeing Steve Yzerman taking a penalty shot. I remember being in the living room, sitting on the couch next to my mom, and just feeling the intensity of what was happening. I didn't understand it at all, but I didn't have to. The room was electric. And from then on, I was hooked. Hockey was my drug of choice, and the Red Wings were my dealer.
I became a fan bordering on obsessive. Eventually, I researched our draft picks. I watched every game with superstitious rituals. I went to training camps. I impressed people at these training camps. I also talked shit to Curtis Joseph's face at a training camp, but that's a different story.
I knew Datsyuk before any fans up at the camp did. Same with Zetterberg. I probably literally have one of the first autographs Zetterberg signed as a Red Wing. Rookie year, training camp, first day.
I'm not saying I've been perfect with my picks, but I've been pretty damn good. But, for my Datysuk and Zetterberg autographs, I also have Darryl Bootland (not too bad of a pick) and Robin Big Snake, too. Okay, Robin Big Snake was more about the name than the skill, but still, I have it.
My brother can back me on this, I was a Holmstrom fan before he got big. I was a Cleary fan his first season with us, before he got awesome. And I've always like Franzen. My mother and I probably had about 17 different nicknames for Franzen before the majority of Detroit knew his first name. Frickin' Franzen being the preferred.
So after all that, I've become pretty comfortable with my claim of being one of the biggest Wings fans ever, certainly one of the biggest I know, and definitely the biggest in the Marine Corps.
Obviously, being in the Marine Corps has hampered my ability to be the biggest fan I can be. And it without a doubt ruined the Wing's chances at the Cup last year, because I couldn't grow my playoff beard (although, I did for about a week when I was on leave).


So, yeah... That's why I do what I do.