This post is sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011.

I wish I had a better story for you. I really do.

I wish I could spin you a story of eight generations of the RPT family who proudly boasted degrees from the University of Missouri. Maybe in another life I would wish for small-town Missourian roots, or maybe a childhood in either Kansas City or St. Louis. I wish I could tell you I was planted in front of the television as a young child watching the Tigers at every possible chance.

But the truth of the matter is that, in my own way, I'm Mizzou cliché No. 182: The out-of-stater whose eye first caught Mizzou as a result of the Missouri School of Journalism.

One of the biggest criticisms we receive at Rock M Nation is that as non-native Missourians, we don't truly have the pulse of the fan base. In a sense, it's a fair assessment, especially for myself. I'm a native Texan, a brother of aTexas A&M Aggie graduate and the son of an Alabama Crimson Tide alumnus. My blood wasn't born black and gold. But in a sense, that may be the single-most important asset to my fandom.

My Missouri fandom was not preordained. My Missouri fandom was not a matter or circumstance. My Missouri fandom was MY choice, MY legacy, MY burden, and MY joy.

So, to you Missouri fans, I open up the floor. How did you become a Mizzou fan?