I feel deeply fortunate to be buddies on Facebook with Tyler Bleszinski. This is not because his brother is Cliffy B (that dude some people know as the Design Director for the Gears of War series) but because in the few chats I’ve had with Tyler I found him to be a cool, down to Earth family man. Hell, the man dressed up as Spongebob Squarepants for Halloween (that alone gets serious props from me).
So I was very honored when he agreed to let me interview him for Social Circle.
Ladies and Gentlemen, meet Tyler Bleszinski…

Tell us a little bit about yourself? I'm the founder of SportsBlogs Nation, a network of more than 150 sports blogs. I'm also the proud husband and father of a gorgeous wife and beautiful daugher.


How did you get into a business like SportsBlog Nation? Well, SportsBlogs Nation started with my blog, Athletics Nation. It's based on the premise that somewhere along the way, fans got left out of the conversation. Especially for people who are really passionate about an individual team like the Oakland Athletics or New Jersey Devils. I've been running it for five years now and it's the best job I've ever had even though I've never worked so hard.


What was the last music concert you saw? Oh man. Probably Gwen Stefani? My wife loves her. The best band in concert ever though is Tool. And it isn't even close.


Do you use custom soundtracks while gaming (he owns an XBOX 360)? No custom soundtracks while gaming. I like hearing what the game composer wanted us to feel during those moments and multiplayer is all about communicating with my friends.


Do you play any musical instruments? I don't suppose a Guitar Hero or Rock Band guitar count? If not, then no.


If you could tour with any one artist/band who would it be and why? Guess I jumped the gun on this one. Tool. My favorite band of all time and Maynard James Keenan would be pretty interesting to get to know I think.


How do you find out about new music? Blogs? Magazines? Radio? I've reached the age where my music tastes don't change much. I guess it means I'm old. I usually find my blogs through recruiting for SB Nation. As you can imagine, I read a lot of sports blogs.


Do you own a portable music player? Which one and how do you like it? I have an iPod, but I recently just was given a Gears of War 2 Zune. I might make the switch if I can get my music over because it has 120 GB of memory compared to the 30 my current iPod has.

(Editor's Note: We have a convert. We need to help this man, stat!)


Do you live in a family of gamers? Does that make for interesting Thanksgiving dinners? Well my brother is the design director of [the] Gears of War franchise, so yeah, we talk a lot of gaming. I love shooters and sports games.




I know that you’re a huge soccer fan (HUGE, folks!) Tell me about how you got interested in soccer and who you follow? I had always watched the world cup and global tournaments, but I had never really gotten into the leagues. But the recent UEFA Cup last summer really hooked me. I finally discover Fox Soccer Channel and really fell in love with a lot of things about the game. I follow AS Roma (tough season for the giallorossi this year), Man City, LA Galaxy (I do love Beckham) and Celtic FC (Boruc is God). I played as a kid, but moved to American football and hockey as I got older. Still, I love watching it, it's just hard to play these days since I had two knee surgeries.


Care to comment on the recent historic elections we’ve had? There are two things about this election that stand out to me above all else. Finally, every kid in every corner of America can finally hear that they can grow up to be whatever they want to be and truly believe it. It's nice to see the promise of America come full circle. And it's a shame that it took America's worst president in history to get us to the point where we would look past race.


The other thing is the ridiculous Prop 8 here in California passing. I'm very disappointed in my state for passing a law that actually removes people's rights.


(Editor's Note: Since this interview I was able to play some Gears of War 2 Horde with Tyler. I think the man gets a tingly feeling whenever he gets his hands on a Mortar! He's also a fantabulous teammate!. Also if you're a Gears of War fan, check out a blog that Tyler and group of cool guys run: GearHeads of War...)