There's a difference between athletes from the US and elsewhere too.
When I was in Jr High the international six day motorcycle trials were held in the area. Teams from nearly everywhere any of us had heard of racing motorcycles cross country along the power lines. The bikes all had to be locked up within a few minutes of finishing for the day, and only about a half hour was allowed in the morning for repairs. Naturally the rider exit area was a great place for us to try to get autographs.
One of the Pentons - American riders and sons of the manufacturer- refused. He said he'd hurt his hand. Puzzling to us since all he had was a band-aid.
None of the other americans were particularly accommodating. Maybe doing 1 or 2 out of 30 before making some excuse and hurrying off.
When one of the Russian riders came out we figured no way. He's Russian, covered in mud and wearing a cast on his right arm. full hand and up past the elbow! And he's ridden the full race that day, probably well over a hunderd miles. When he saw the group of kids he stopped and yelled to his mechanic, who brought over a pen and fit it into a hole in the cast. He signed for everyone, and attempted some conversation. Most of the Soviet block guys were also very friendly.
The russian guy with the cast had a lot of fans at my school, the Pentons? Not many. Of course, we also prefered David Schultz hockey card to nearly any other.....
Steve B
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