Wifey wanted to get a decent camera when our daughter made the varsity lacrosse team as a ninth grader, back in about 2005. We looked into it and bought a Nikon D40x with a kit lens and a Nikkor 70-300. I figured she would be the main user but I quickly started using it more than my wife and became a self-taught enthusiast. 4 years of high school (including two undefeated years and two state championships)and 4 years of college lacrosse later and I have probably taken 10,000 lacrosse pictures, plus soccer and ice hockey for our two younger boys.
This past spring, all my equipment was stolen (alright, it was kind of left sitting alone during a tailgate and quickly disappeared). Replaced it with the 7d, a kit lens and a nice Tamron 70-200 f/2.8). Love the Canon stuff and am now shooting completely on manual and starting to experiment on landscapes and anything else that I bump into. Spending way too much time looking at the ff stuff and white lenses on Craigslist or on POTW. My wife thinks I am becoming obsessed with photography. Of course, she may be right. 
