It's official.  The SportDork is nervous.  But not because the Gators needed every last second to emerge victorious against an inferior Arkansas team and remain undefeated.  And not because the offensive line was manhandled for the first time this year, or because the three most reliable players on the team were responsible for four turnovers, or because the defense was unable to shut down Arkansas in the fourth quarter.  In fact, I'm not even nervous because Alabama (the Gators' likely foe should they make it to the SEC Championship Game) looks like they could administer a beat down on a number of NFL teams.  No, I'm nervous because this weekend, before the Florida/Arkansas nail-biter, Mrs. SportDork and I made our annual trip to The Big Green Egg's Eggtoberfest, a celebration of the greatest grill/smoker in the history of the universe.  (http://biggreenegg.com/eggtober.html)

What is it, you ask, about an event that tests the limits of one's stomach capacity with an all-day assault of beef, pork, chicken and fish that could possibly make me nervous (other than the obvious risk of contracting salmonella, e-coli or any number of other food-borne illnesses)?  It's because while this year marked the second straight year that Mrs. SportDork and I cooked our world-famous flank steak, it also marked the first ever promotional event for SportDork.com!!!  Here's a shot of me "promoting the brand:"

I wanted to go with a giant banner, but Mrs. SportDork convinced me that a subtle start was best.  In addition to the apron, we printed about seventy-five index cards that not only prominently displayed our marinade and horse-radish cream sauce recipes, but also featured none other than the SportDork.com logo.  So now I have seventy-five brand new readers (I'm an optimist).  Seventy-five new readers who I will have to dazzle with my patented SportDork wit and clever humor - or maybe just with pictures of Spanx and comments about Retief Goosen's underwear (http://sportdork.com/2009/09/29/angel-cabrera-has-excessive-ear-hair.aspx) - in order to convert them into long-term readers.  Whatever.  The point is that I have one shot to add seventy-five new members to The SportDork Nation, and the pressure is overwhelming.  I know this much - I can't afford to squander the opportunity by blathering on about how I spent the weekend eating copious amounts of red meat and attempting to double my readership from twenty to forty by passing out recipe cards with my website printed on them. 

Oh well.  Too late now.

Welcome Aboard!