Best & Worst Experience Meeting An Athlete

[darwinbulldog]

I don't really have any baseball celebrity stories, though I think Alice Cooper's a pretty solid softball player, and I got to meet him in Albuquerque one time as part of VIP package I won through a radio contest. I've met lots of football players, especially Saints and Dolphins, and they've all been pretty friendly. I ran out of my school one day in about 5th grade to chase Archie Manning down the street and get his autograph, like in the middle of the day, so I could have gotten in trouble for that, but everyone let it slide. It was Archie Manning after all. I have an in-law who played in the NFL for many years, and he's always been nice to us, so count him too if we're allowed to use family. I'm almost certain I was on a flight with O.J. Simpson back in '91. He's always seemed like a sweet guy. Anybody know what he's been up to these past 27 years?

I met Heisman Trophy winners Earl Campbell and Ricky Williams on separate occasions as a UT student in the late 90s. Ricky and I lived in the same dorm, and one night when my friends and I were sneaking a dog into my room, Ricky was on the lobby phone (I guess those probably don't exist anymore), and the dog went up to him and started jumping up and licking his hand. He just said "Hi" and smiled and petted the dog for a moment. We didn't really have a conversation, because he was still on the phone, and he's very shy anyway, but that was a cool moment.

I was an usher at the basketball arena in college (Erwin Center) and had to ask anyone seated in this particular private room in the building to move to a different area before a meeting started. Earl Campbell was sitting in there, all by himself, and watching TV. (It was the basketball game that was being played live like 100 feet away). So I just said, "I'm sorry; I have to ask if you can move over to this other area." And he gave me a look like, "Are you joking? Do you know who I am?" and then just shrugged his shoulders and moved like I asked him to.

I saw plenty of other athletes and musicians when I was working at that arena. My coolest assignment was being stationed as the security guy for Elton John's dressing room before the concert. I just hung out there for a couple of hours before the show, chatted with his bodyguard, listened to his rehearsal with the band, and met him (very) briefly when he came back to the dressing room -- to take a nap. Ricky Williams told me "Hi", but Elton John gave me a full "Hello."