A few weeks ago, I presented my first mailbag column. I asked people on Facebook and Twitter for questions, and didn’t get as many as I wanted, but still answered the questions I received. It was lots of fun, so I decided to do it again.

This time, I received a whole bunch of questions. I want to answer all of them, and will try to as I do more mailbags. But for today, I decided to pick my favorites and answer those. So get ready for some question-answering goodness. Here it goes. Part two of a sports columnist’s mailbag.

A coworker asks: When will you become a Chargers fan?

Never. I will never be a Chargers fan. That’s not to say I will never change my football allegiances because, well, the Bears organization is running like a Cadillac. A Cadillac that has been set ablaze. When the firefighters show up to put out the fire, their hoses spray not water, but gasoline, only making the fire stronger. Finally when the firefighters from the next town over show up to help, their hoses work, finally extinguishing the flames.

So yeah, that’s the current state of the Bears organization.

Wait, what was the question? Oh yeah, the Chargers. I’ll never be a Chargers fan because I never understood why every season it seems like people pick the Chargers to do great things. They’ve had some successful seasons in my lifetime, but not nearly enough success to warrant the hype they get.

Also, I never liked the way Philip Rivers throws the ball. He has a good arm, but it always looks like he’s going to throw the ball into the ground. Lastly, I visited San Diego for the first time this past summer, and other than the beaches, I was unimpressed. I just got weird vibes the whole time I was there, and everyone seemed unhappy to live there, which was strange. For those reasons and more, I will never be a Chargers fan.

Matt Thomas asks: Which 2015 Illinois Basketball signee are you most excited about and why?

John Groce went to work putting together an impressive 2015 class. He brought in Simeon forward D.J. Williams, Plainfield East sharpshooter Aaron Jordan, La Lumiere’s multi-skilled guard Jalen Coleman-Lands and, for a cherry on top, brought Darius Paul back into the program.

There is a whole lot to get excited about in that class. The shooting on this year’s team will be solid, and next year, the Illini bring in two of the best shooters in the 2015 class with Jordan and Coleman-Lands.

D.J. Williams is a guy who has great size and loads of potential. How effective he is once he gets here remains to be seen, but he’s the kind of recruit you love to develop if you’re a coaching staff. Really, I’m excited about the entire class.

That being said, if I had to pick one player to get most excited about, it would have to be Darius Paul. After Paul left the team last year, due to off-the-court issues, there was a bit of a depth problem in the Illini frontcourt, especially after Nnanna Egwu graduates

They need guys who can defend the rim, and without Paul, the Illini could have been in trouble. After Paul took care of his personal business, Groce was able to recruit him back to the Illini, and that is outstanding news. Paul brings a solid offensive game, and provides Illinois with another big body that can block shots and rebound. Losing Egwu will hurt, but the return of Paul should help ease the pain.

Will Andresen asks: Do you have any personal pre-game rituals for Illini football or basketball?

Participating in pre-game rituals is weird to me. Not because I don’t do them. I do, but because they don’t really work. Before basically any big sporting event that a team I root for is playing in, I listen to AC/DC’s Thunderstruck. It seems like whenever I listen to this song, the team I’m rooting for loses.

But, they win just often enough to convince me that the song works. You’d think at a certain point, I’d come to the logical realization that it doesn’t matter if I listen to Thunderstruck or not, it doesn’t effect the outcome of the game I’m watching. I’m a diehard sports fan though, so I’m dumb and logic doesn’t decide my actions.

It’s not really pregame, but during Illinois basketball games, I feel like the closer I sit to the TV, the more power I have over the game. Again, this makes no sense and can’t affect the outcome of the game, but I do it anyway.

One last thing I do before I watch Illinois games is I get far away from anyone who is watching the game, but is indifferent about the result. When I watch a sporting event, I want to watch it with people who understand my frustration when something goes poorly. I don’t want to hear, “It’s only sports, why are you getting angry?” I can’t put up with that.

I was sent a bunch of other questions and I will get to those eventually, but this is all the time I have for this week’s mailbag. I had a lot of fun answering your questions! Keep them coming!

Sam is a senior is Media. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @Sam_Sherman5.