Sometimes two plus one doesn't equal three. Last Thursday, I hung out with my nephew and took him to grab Sharks autographs. We went to the San Jose Arena, and I bought one of those "This is Sharks Territory" signs, while my nephew wanted to get his 8x10 Shark's logo signed.
Unfortunately, practice was canceled... so most of the players weren't there. However, we didn't leave empty handed.
Mike Ricci stopped by, signed for us... then proceeded to joke around with my nephew about schoolwork and grades. It was one of those moments that he'll remember for years.
Coach McLellan and injured forward Martin Havlat also took the time to sign for us. Although at first, it didn't look like Havlat was going to sign for us. He's been on IR since December 21st and was on crutches. So he was a little preoccupied and none of us wanted to bother him.
Then, he waved my nephew (nobody else) over and signed for him. You should have seen the smile on my nephew's face. The rest of us figured that we'd have to wait until another day... but right before he left, he offered to sign for everyone.
After that... my nephew was hooked. On the drive home, he asked if we could go out again, so we made plans to go on Saturday with my buddy, Mike and his daughter. Unfortunately, my nephew's family was leaving town in the early afternoon, which meant he couldn't go.
But Mike was still interested, so I decided to go anyways... and boy, am I glad I did.
I was able to get the rest of my sign autographed:
It's not autographed by the entire team, but I was able to get all of the big names: Marleau, Thornton, Pavelski, Clowe, Burns, Havlat, Boyle, Niemi, Ricci, Vlasic, Couture, and McLellan.
Plus... I was able to finish a project I started in November, by grabbing Joe Thornton's autograph on this dual photo with Patrick Marleau:
It was the first time I was able to grab every key player in one outing. Hopefully the Sharks are feeling this generous the next time I take my nephew. But I have a feeling that even if he gets the opportunity to say "hello" to only one player, it'll still make his day... which will make my day.
What about you...
Did you ever have the pleasure of meeting someone famous as a child? If so, who?
I can't remember the specific year, but when I was in elementary school... Judy Blume, my favorite childhood author, visited my classroom.
I know she's not an athlete... but for a guy who isn't a big reader, the experience motivated me to read all of her children's books.
Well, that's all I've got. I hope everyone has a great week. Sayonara!
7 comments:
I was 1{not little i know} but byron scott personalized a card for me at a show and i was on cloud nine
The one I most remember is the story I told in one of my first posts of meeting Joe DiMaggio. I'm sure I met a couple other famous people as a kid but I tend to forget.
I met Steve Garvey when I was around 8-10. Don't remember much about it, but it was pretty sweet.
dominicfdny - byron scott was my favorite player until he retired in 1996... i'd be on cloud nine too.
ryan - wow, i don't think i've ever met anybody of his calibre... the closest would be gordie howe. i'll have to track down that post and read it.
greg - another one of my faves... well when he was with the padres (of course). plus i remember seeing photos of his wife, when he was going through his womanizing drama & thinking, damn... she's hot!
I never met anyone famous as a boy, but when we were at my grandmother's house my Dad came in and said he had just spoken to Dallas Cowboy Hollywood Henderson across the street at a gas station. I was mad at him for not coming to get me!
I didn't meet my idol Jeff Bagwell till I was 19 but when I was younger I met a few famous people. I met Brooks and Dunn, Mario Lopez (Slater from Saved by the Bell), The Undertaker (his brother was a police officer like my dad) and a few other random people.
PATP - LOL... I would have been mad too (even though I don't know who Hollywood Henderson is).
Trey J - Slater? That's awesome... loved that show. Screech (Dustin Diamond) attended the elementary school I taught at (years before I was there) and was a legendary figure on that campus.
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