One thing that most people know about me is that I love sports. This goes beyond the usual basketball, football and baseball.

I love lots of obscure sports and thought I’d give you all a little info about some of my favorite sports in hopes of broadening awareness. Due to space constrictions, I’m not going to go into in-depth explanations of these sports, just explain why I like them and why you might enjoy watching them as well.

Cricket: There are multiple different forms of the game, some that take a few hours to finish and some that can take days to complete, but the sport is high-scoring, fun to watch, and quite interesting.

Here’s why you should watch: Despite having a reputation of being a boring sport that conjures thoughts of snooty Englishmen, cricket is actually an exciting and enthralling game.

During the long version of cricket, in which matches last for three or more days, it’s very interesting to see how the teams will play and what strategy they will employ. It’s like a marathon chess match with high scores and tons of excitement.

Currently, I’ve been watching a series between Australia and India. It has become something I look forward to every day, and the games have been great. Michael Clarke of Australia batted for a day and a half and racked up a huge score of 329 runs. I know most people reading this probably don’t know much about cricket, but trust me, that’s amazing. It would be like someone in baseball hitting four or five home runs in a game.

Australian Rules Football: This game has to be one of the craziest and most exciting games I’ve ever seen. I first discovered it during a sleepless night while I was in high school. One night while unable to sleep, I turned on ESPN and found Australian football, which has honestly become one of my favorite sports to watch.

Here’s why you should watch: Australian football is like a cross between soccer, rugby and basketball. It has high-scoring games, is fast paced and physical, and has many high-flying moments that give a fan of exciting sports cause to cheer. Also, another reason why you should watch is, during the season, it’s pretty easy to find a game to watch.

On ESPN3.com, it’s possible to watch three or four games a week. Also, ESPN 2 usually shows a few games during the year. The season doesn’t start for another few months, but if you want to get a taste of the game, head over to youtube.com and check out some clips from the Australian Football League.

Surfing: This is a sport that I’m relatively new to. I’ve always thought that surfing looked fun and would be something I’d like to try, but over the winter break, I started watching some surfing competitions and have gotten hooked on the sport.

Here’s why you should watch: One thing I’ve enjoyed about watching surfing is the smoothness and ease the athletes have. It’s amazing to watch Kelly Slater fly off the lip of a wave and spin 360 degrees as if it were nothing. The skill that is seen during a competition is mind blowing. Also most of the time, the world tour will come down to the final few events.

It’s also a very technical sport, and once you learn the basics and get into watching it, there is a lot you can appreciate from watching the pros as they compete.

I’ve enjoyed finding other sports to watch besides what we think as common here in the United States. It’s been something that’s been interesting, and it has been fun to follow sports from around the world. As the new year kicks off, I hope everyone will take a chance to check out a few new sports.