Welcome to the latest Fan Conversation, our way of bringing the best asset of the site the forefront. You. Even though FanIQ has added a more in-depth Sports Bio (p.s. - update yours. Now would be good), we'll continue featuring as many of you as often as possible. Next up is one of our newest league commissioners, but also one of our best. She keeps her Seahawks league alive and fresh, meet Jess ...

The Vitals
Name: Jessica
Age: sometimes I wonder - I'm 32 but I feel like a kid
Location: Central Oregon coast
Job: Full time student, CG wife, and mom
Favorite Teams: Seattle Seahawks, Indy Colts, Anaheim Ducks, Seattle Mariners, Wazzu Cougs, Spokane Chiefs
Teams you hate: I'm probably going to catch flack for this, but I really have a hard time "hating" any team. I get pretty irritated by the Dallas Stars at times though lol
Favorite sports to watch: it's a tossup between football and hockey
Favorite expert: I honestly have a tough time answering this - I don't really pay much attention to the "experts" (maybe I should!)
Least favorite expert: Is Rich Eisen considered "expert"? He's such a snake...I don't like him at all
Fav actor: I love Tom Hanks, Nick Cage, Johnny Depp, Cuba Gooding Jr., Ashton Kutcher, and Seth Green...I could go on and on
Fav actress: Brittany Murphy, Jessica Alba, Sandra Bullock, Lucy Liu, Julia Stiles...I could go on and on again lol

How did you stumble upon FanIQ?
I was perusing the Football Talk forum in Myspace one day and someone had posted a link to the page. I've been logged in ever since!

Where did you grow up?
Do I have to answer this? lol - I grew up in a tiny mining area in North Idaho called the Silver Valley. It consists of a string of about six 2000 (and less) population towns along I-90

How did you become such a crazed (in a good way) sports fan?
Football was just something I grew up with. As far back as I can remember, my dad watched football on Sundays and Monday nights; I just fell into the habit and never gave it up. When I grew up and moved out of the house, I had friends who had played college ball with Kitna at CWU. When he was with Seattle, they always threw big football parties on game day, which was right up my alley - being the Seahawks fan that I am, and it kept my team enthusiasm alive even through some struggling times.
I've also been a boxing fan since I was just a little kid. My uncle was an alternate on the Olympic boxing team (before I was born, but I heard about it all the time growing up) so that sparked my interest. I lost track for a while, but then I had some friends who did Fight Night frequently and I started to get into it again.
I didn't get into hockey though until I was in high school, and then I played for a women's league for a while a few years ago, which helped amplify my love for the sport.

Is your (lucky) husband as big a sports fan as you?
I might question how "lucky" he is - I'm pretty obsessed with sports, it's almost all I ever talk about. But my husband is definitely as into hockey and football as I am - he wasn't always a fan of my particular teams though. I don't know what happened, but I've created a monster Seahawks fan lol

You have a lovely daughter who you mentioned to me that you're teaching all the sports logo's is that right? How is she doing?
She's doing great - she makes a momma proud! She's got all of the NFL logos down pat, and most of their quarterbacks (and their numbers) - but I'm going to need to work on updating her now with all of the changes. She's about halfway through the hockey logos. She tends to remember who the animal mascots are a lot easier than the others. The playoff series have been great, except she despises the Red Wings right now because they beat the Ducks twice.

Is she following her mother's lead as a sports fan?
She's well on her way. We took her to her first hockey game when she was 3 weeks old, and I could swear she watched the puck for an entire period. She loves to play, and when I asked her if she wanted to play t-ball this spring she was almost offended because it wasn't football or hockey.
She also gets up in the morning and watches NFL network, and I can hear her cheering when they have Rewind or Game of the Week going on. She swears she's going to marry Hasselbeck (but in her words, he has to wash his face first when he has "that black stuff" under his eyes) and she doesn't miss an opportunity to tell the world.

You went to Wazzu for a few years. What was your favorite sports moment as a Cougar fan?
My favorite moment as a Cougar fan actually dates back about 20 years. My parents and some friends took me to a Cougs football game against the rival Vandals. At the time, the Vandals were favored to win, and my parents were rooting for them as well. I always root for the underdog if I don't have a preference, so of course I was cheering for the Cougs. That game may very well have been the deciding factor in my chosen university - and I don't even remember whether or not they won, I just loved the experience.

We all have that moment as a young kid that turns us on to sports. What was your first fond memory of being a sports fan?
I remember when I was a kid and football was always on the TV on weekends. Once I hit 10 or 11 years old, I started becoming more interested in the logistics of the game, and I wanted to learn about it. My dad was very patient and he sat with me and taught me a lot. The more I learned, the more I enjoyed watching the games. My mom was never into it, so I think he enjoyed the company.

Who was your favorite athlete growing up?
It changed a lot - when I was really little I remember loving Walter Payton because my dad loved him. Then I loved so many others; Warren Moon, Deion Sanders, Jerry Rice, Boomer Esiason - I was also way into Bo Jackson when I was in jr. high/high school lol

What's the best sporting event you've been to live?
I was fortunate enough to attend the last game in the Kingdome, even though it was a tough loss I got to see Marino play and meet a lot of Seahawks back then. I also got to see the Christmas Eve game against the Colts - which was like a dream come true for me. I love both teams so much, but I found it surprisingly easy to root for the Seahawks. I have to mention the de la Hoya / Oba Carr fight in 1999, because that was truly an amazing experience. I went to Las Vegas with a friend, having no idea Oscar was there that same weekend until we saw a billboard. On a whim, we decided to go to Mandalay Bay to check ticket prices. We ran into George Foreman in the lobby and our decision was made; ticket prices disregarded. We sat right in front of Dan Marino and Gary Payton lol

What's been your top sports moment as a fan?
Of course the Colts SB win this year ranks right up there. The other one would be the Seahawks win over the Panthers that sent them to Detroit for XL. Unfortunately neither one of my top teams has won a championship...yet. So I'll have to settle with any game I've been able to attend live and any playoff win as top - for now.
What was your worst?
The Seahawks Super Bowl loss was the worst, by far.

You're a huge hockey fan I can tell. I've tried to watch some hockey but just can't get into it. Have you always been a big fan or was there some event that got you into it?
Actually, when I was in high school my aunt was a billet for the Spokane Chiefs (the WHL team in Spokane, Wa.). For those who don't know what a billet is, it's someone who gives the kids a place to live while they play for the team. I got to know a few of the guys when I visited her, and they convinced me to go to one of their games. I was hooked the minute I smelled the ice. I started following the Ducks because a few of my friends from Spokane played for them at one point in time. Babcock was the coach for the Chiefs when I was writing for a team booster website and I had some correspondence with him. When my players and coach were all there, I couldn't help but root for the Ducks. Now they've scattered, and my Ducks team loyalty prevails.

Have you gotten over the "officiating" of Super Bowl XL?
How did I know this was going to be a question by somebody on this site eventually? *deep breath* As a fan of the sport, I saw missed calls on both sides, as well as calls that shouldn't have been made on both sides. I can't say whether or not the hawks would have won had the officiating been different. However, one particular thing that stands out in my mind though was the Big Ben reach after the whistle when the ref reconsidered and called it a TD. He was so obviously not in the end zone before the whistle. The penalty call on the Hasselbeck tackle on that interception was also extremely questionable. But, it's over and what's done is done. I just hope that when we make it next time, the officiating is more fair and we play better.

How would you grade the Seahawks offseason?
I'm not happy that they focused more on the secondary than the O-Line. Having Jennings, and putting Trufant back where he's comfortable should help a lot in that area. I also don't understand why they drafted any receivers...come on, two wide-outs? Really? I know that all of these positions are important for depth, but like I said - I just wish they'd have focused more on the offensive line. I'm saying maybe a C-

I have to ask, how are you also a fan of the Colts as well?
I may be a Seahawks fan, but above all, I'm a football fan. I just love the sport. I really have a lot of respect for the game, and all of the teams within the league. My dad was a Colts fan, so that's where my love for them stems. It was actually the first team I remember loving as a little girl. Then my passion for the team was renewed when I lived with a friend of mine who was a Patriots fan back in '99-'00. (I also cheered for the Jets just to get under his skin.) The Seahawks were my dad's second favorite team, and they were really the "home team" for me, so that's probably why my loyalties lie with them above all.

Just for fun let's say you could be the GM of any team and make one transaction (trade, add/drop, etc) ... who would you be and what move would you make?
I was going to say Tim Ruskell and something about Hutch but I thought better of it, there are too many things I would want to do with the Seahawks right now to be able to choose just one. I think that if I were a GM right now and could only make one transaction, I'd want to be Brian Burke and I'd re-sign Giguere

What's the one sporting event you haven't been to you most want to attend?
Either the Super Bowl or a Stanley Cup finals game - I don't even care who's playing.

Favorite website outside of FanIQ?
Quite honestly since I found the Q, I haven't frequented many other sites. I do like to play online poker, blackjack, and other games so I think Pogo.com would be the only other regular site I visit (besides myspace)

What's your favorite non-sports programming?
I'm a sucker for forensics and legal shows. My favorites are all of the CSI's, Shark, Boston Legal, and Rescue Me. I also watch Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters - I need my girl fix now and then, believe it or not.

I dare ask, but any other hobbies outside of sports?
Well, I'm still a full time student, so it's hard to have many hobbies outside of school, raising a 5-year-old, and being a military wife. But I do find time for myself sometimes. I love to read mystery/suspense novels. I'm also a big fan of anything ancient Greek - I'm learning the language so I can read the works of people like Homer, Euripides, Hesiod, etc. in their native language. I also like to study all sorts of different religions. I'm starting to get into photography, and I spend a lot of time at the beach and the aquarium.

Cliche portion of the interview ...

3 CDs on a desert island ...?
I'd have to go with anything from Smashing Pumpkins, anything from Green Day, and Bush's Sixteen Stone

3 people you'd invite to dinner with you?
Patrick Roy, Al Michaels, and Terry Bradshaw - he seems like a kick

And what would be served for dinner?
Unless we were having steak, I would have to cook (I can't cook a steak to save my life) - and I would make Parmesan breaded chicken with my homemade marinara over a bed of Rigati with a Caesar salad and garlic bread.

Libation of choice?
I love a good Pinot Noir, white Merlot, or any sweeter mead with a meal. I also like a good margarita now and then, but those usually get me in trouble when the mixer runs out and I've started on the tequila

This is FanIQ home to bold predictions ... whats one bold prediction for the 2007 sports year you have?
I hope this isn't going to come back and bite me in the arse but I'm going to say Ducks take the cup in 7 - here's to hoping.

On FanIQ:

Do you have any good friends on FanIQ?
My husband's on the site, and I do have some friends I've recruited. Other than that, I'm starting to get to know Nate, MarktheShark, and Justin (WhoDey) a little better.

Is there any thread/event on FanIQ that stands out most to you?
The recent Suns/Spurs battles in the forums have definitely stood out lately, and I don't even follow basketball. I know that something lately to have sparked my interest is the possibility of an upcoming gathering of Q'ers - I'm there!

Weirdest hangout question you've answered?
I just answered one today "Have you ever sneezed in a library" - if you haven't seen it yet check it out, the forum will crack you up.

Favorite polls to answer?
I love all of them - the prediction ones get me in trouble though. Every time I think I'm golden, I get knocked off my self created pedestal. I'd have to say that my very favorite to answer (so far) have been all of the hockey polls; from pick'em to more in depth commish created ones. I can't wait for football season on FanIQ!

What's the best prediction you've made this year?
I've only been on the site for just shy of two months, but I bet a lot of people that the Colts would take the Super Bowl. Maybe that was the best not because of my prediction abilities as much as it was because of how good it felt to be right and have my 2nd fave team win it all.

Thanks Jess. Great to have you a part of the site and great to quasi meet you.