As a kid, I was a AAA baseball shortstop and a mediocre hockey right-winger. I only played soccer for fun at school or at the nearby park. I starting playing soccer for real at 13 after being cut from the AAA team the year prior*. I played rec league as striker and I finished top scorer on my team. The next year, we moved from Trois-Rivières to Asbestos and I played on a much better team, was converted to full back and sucked. Played the year after and sucked even more (was 15 by then and had discovered beer and marijuana, not a good mix for a sports guy).
Never really played after that until this very summer when my friends and I started a rec league team. I played striker at the beginning then got moved to DM and that's where I hit my stride. I am by no means a good player, but I am good defensively (mostly because of positionning and understanding of the game) and I have great vision for my level (best passer on the team even though I am bad at dribbles and running with the ball). Basically my role is to track back, drive the ball carrier into a trap/get the ball back (I either take the ball away from the carrier or receive a pass from my defense) and then distribute. I really like playing that position, REALLY REALLY like it. We play 7 on 7 for the fall/winter season and my position doesn't really exist so I am a bad striker that can't score and that spends too much time in front of his defense. CAN'T WAIT FOR THE 11 on 11 SEASON!
As far as being a fan, I started to get interested in soccer in 1998. Rooted for France because, you know, I am French Canadian. Fell in love with Zidane (like everybody else did) that year. Since we didn't have a lot of soccer on TV outside of the big competitions, I didn't pay much attention after the World Cup. Watched Euro 2000 and learned there that Zizou would play for Madrid, so I started to casually watch Madrid. I have been a fan ever since, been watching most games, thanks to quality streaming, for the past three seasons.
However, Real wasn't what revived my interest in soccer. The MOntreal Impact did. I always followed them from afar (watching games on TV when they would be playing or listening to games on radio while working the night shift), but was never a "real" fan until the joined the MLS 3 years ago. Attending their first home game at the Big O made me addicted and I have been a season ticket holder ever since. I will have to drop my tickets next year because of time constraints, but god I will miss it. Because of my renewed interest for the sports, I started following European football semi-religiously (well, Real to be quite honest, but I will watch everything I can when I have the time). Fell in love with Ozil so I have a soft spot for Arsenal even though I don't really like Ozil anymore. Was a big Gareth Bale guy when he was with Tottenham and was absolutely estatic when he signed with Real. He is my favourite player and I wear 11 because of him
Internationally, I support France and have done so since 1998. The only reason why I picked that team was because, well, French is my first language. I try to watch CMNT games when I can and I hope that the program will grow and that we will one day qualify for the World Cup.
*: Long story short, I was one of the better players, but I acted like a star during training camp and got cut as a result. My dad told me it would happen and I didn't believe him - afterall, why would they cut their star SS? I ended up winning MVP of the biggest tournament the AAA team played anyway - I was first call up and played all the big games - so I didn't learn anything about my behavior that year. Learned a few years later, fortunately - about 7-8 years too late which would be about 4 years ago.