Best & Worst Experience Meeting An Athlete

[ronniehatesjazz]

Originally Posted by Baseballcrazy62

Had the privilege of having Kareem Abdul Jabbar tell me to F off at a charity event fundraiser. There were a group of Police Athletic League kids there and he never signed a single autograph the whole evening. The organizer of the event spent half the evening apologizing for his ( Kareem's) behavior.

Never met him but he always kind of gave me that vibe. Not a big fan of his for other off the court reasons as well. Sorry he treated you that way.

[oldjudge]

I used to put on dinners with famous ex athletes for my company's customers. Among the best people that I ever dealt with were Roger Staubach, Jim Brown, and Wilt Chamberlain. They were friendly, gracious and a pleasure to deal with. Of all the people I worked with the only ones I don't remember favorably were John Riggins and Richard Dent (too quiet-almost shy) and Lynn Swann (a real jerk).
However, at card shows by far the nicest guy I ever met was Pete Rose. He appeared at a show in Central Connecticut in the early 1990s and I took my five year old daughter with me to the show. I had a baseball so I decided to get his autograph. Julie was excited by this so when our turn came to get an autograph I told Pete that Julie was a big fan of his. He talked to her for a minute telling her that he had a daughter just about her age. Then he reached under the table, grabbed his briefcase, and pulled out pictures of his daughter to show her. While the line behind us was probably wondering what was going on Pete spent about five minutes with my daughter. What a nice gesture on his part.

[bbcard1]

Universally as a category, professional wrestlers are great. The reason is simple...they are closer to the money. Baseball players depend on owner who depend on the revenue of teams, a part of which is paying fans. Wrestlers' livelihood is directly related to the fan reaction to them. I remember when my son was six or so Bam Bam Bigelow offered to shake his hand and after my son did so Bam Bam grabbed his hand and asked him, "Why did you squeeze so hard! You're strong!" Made my son's day.

[Dewey2007]

As a kid I remember trying to get autographs after a match. Sheik Adnan Al-Kaissey in full character told me "I no sign in English" as he walked out to the parking lot. It was hilarious. I remember most of the other wrestlers being good about signing.

Originally Posted by bbcard1

Universally as a category, professional wrestlers are great. The reason is simple...they are closer to the money. Baseball players depend on owner who depend on the revenue of teams, a part of which is paying fans. Wrestlers' livelihood is directly related to the fan reaction to them. I remember when my son was six or so Bam Bam Bigelow offered to shake his hand and after my son did so Bam Bam grabbed his hand and asked him, "Why did you squeeze so hard! You're strong!" Made my son's day.

[GoCubsGo32]

Sandy Koufax 3 years ago.

My father is a pilot and was riding in the back of the plane to get home.Before boarding the airplane, a random guy told my dad, "Hey! You are lucky!" "Koufax is on that plane!".. Dad was confused..he said, "Sandy Koufax?" sure enough, he was sitting 2 rows in front of my Dad. Pretty surprising considering it was a very small airport they were flying to. My dad knew I collected autographs and was going to surprise me with getting his autograph. Dad didn't feel comfortable asking since he was still in uniform(even though he was off duty) and he wanted my brother to get a chance to meet him. So he text my brother ( who was picking him up) telling him that Koufax was on the plane and to bring something to get sign.

My dad had no idea about Sandy and how "recluse" he is. In addition, my dad is not an autograph guy. He still thinks anyone who played baseball during the golden era are super friendly.

When Koufax was making his way to baggage claim (one on one) my brother asked him politely, " Mr. Koufax could you please sign this?"

He looked at my brother and scream "WHO THE F**K are you!?!" "WHO TOLD YA I WAS HERE!!" "HUH!!"

My brother who is 30 was so shocked and taken back, that he didn't know what to say. My dad walk over and politely said,"I told him you were on the plane.We are fans of yours and it was a rare occurrence.I wanted my son, to get a chance to meet you sir.Sorry to bother you Mr.Koufax." My dad then took the card, ripped it up, and threw it in the trash can as they left.

Granted, I kinda figure that would probably happen, but since my dad was trying to make it a surprise for me, I didn't know about it, or else I would of told him not to try. Sandy could of been alot nicer to my brother in turning him down. At least he got to meet him! ...kinda...

[savedfrommyspokes]

Dave Winfield and Ronde Barber were the two nicest well known professional athletes I have met. While at a game when I was 10, Dave took time to talk to me during BP ..... he talked for so long, I can remember running out of questions to ask him. He could tell and started asking me questions...IE what position I played, my favorite position, etc. At a work conference about a decade ago, Ronde Barber was signing and out of the 1000 people attending they were all into one of the other guests, so as he was alone I talked with him for 20+ minutes, could not have been nicer a nicer guy.



There are two former MLers who live near me in my neighborhood...they both have kids about the same age as my kids. Through my kids playing around the hood, I have run into them and while our kids have played, I have shot the breeze with them and both could not have been nicer.

[bbcard1]

Originally Posted by savedfrommyspokes

Dave Winfield and Ronde Barber were the two nicest well known professional athletes I have met.

I got to do a commercial with Ronde and Tiki. They were great!

[MattyC]

Best: Meeting Darryl Strawberry at age 10 in 1986, at a local church card show. I presented my two cards for signature, and a rude bodyguard told me it was only one card per "ticket." Darryl told the muscle to kick rocks, and signed my extra card with a personal inscription. Have it on my desk to this day.

Best #2: Cut to 25 years later. Straw needs to get into a club in LA and winds up asking my brother to get in (he ran the place). My brother tells me Straw is there so I roll over. I wind up drinking with him, and regaling him with the story of how he was so nice to me a quarter century earlier.

Best #3: Meeting Mike Tyson in LA, who turned out to be a big fan of a film I had written. One of the nicest guys around.

[sycks22]

Being that my neighbor growing up was the 1st base coach of the Twins we got to meet a bunch of ballplayers. Puckett was the nicest guy ever as my mom got to babysit his daughter at the time and we knew their family really well. "Twig" also introduced us to Griffey Jr when he was with the Mariners and you can image a 8 year old shaking hands with him after the game, it was something I'll never forget. A current player who couldn't be nicer is Trout. Every time he comes to Minnesota he makes sure to sign for at least 20 people at the game and will take pictures and talk to anyone willing to ask him something. You'd think the face of MLB would be above that, but not him. His teammate Pujols hasn't picked up a pen in 5 years since joining the Angels.

Even though he was my favorite player growing up Frank Thomas was kind of a douche when 2 of us approached him while he was walking around San Diego a couple years ago at the All-Star game festivities. He kept saying "no time" and looked visibly upset that we were even talking to him. Another former player who plays it up for TV, but when you meet in person is kind of a dick is Bert Blyleven. He won't sweet spot any baseball you give him and if you give him a photo he'll "best wishes" and personalizes your name on it because he knows it decreases in value. He even turned away my best friends' wife in a hallway with nobody around them before.

[Bicem]

WORST: Michael Irvin hitting on my girlfriend at a bar in North Dallas in 2012.

[ronniehatesjazz]

Originally Posted by sycks22

Being that my neighbor growing up was the 1st base coach of the Twins we got to meet a bunch of ballplayers. Puckett was the nicest guy ever as my mom got to babysit his daughter at the time and we knew their family really well. "Twig" also introduced us to Griffey Jr when he was with the Mariners and you can image a 8 year old shaking hands with him after the game, it was something I'll never forget. A current player who couldn't be nicer is Trout. Every time he comes to Minnesota he makes sure to sign for at least 20 people at the game and will take pictures and talk to anyone willing to ask him something. You'd think the face of MLB would be above that, but not him. His teammate Pujols hasn't picked up a pen in 5 years since joining the Angels.

Even though he was my favorite player growing up Frank Thomas was kind of a douche when 2 of us approached him while he was walking around San Diego a couple years ago at the All-Star game festivities. He kept saying "no time" and looked visibly upset that we were even talking to him. Another former player who plays it up for TV, but when you meet in person is kind of a dick is Bert Blyleven. He won't sweet spot any baseball you give him and if you give him a photo he'll "best wishes" and personalizes your name on it because he knows it decreases in value. He even turned away my best friends' wife in a hallway with nobody around them before.

That pains me to hear that about the big hurt... hopefully it was just a bad day.

[Writehooks]

Two fighters top my list: Muhammad Ali and George Chuvalo.

I was 22 years old, covering my first big fight -- Ali-Spinks II -- in New Orleans in 1978. After virtually everyone else had left the final media conference in the Hilton ballroom, I was still hanging around, savoring the moment. When Angelo Dundee, Ali's trainer, noticed from the press credential hanging around my neck that I was from a Canadian newspaper, he immediately recounted how well the Toronto press had treated Ali when he fought Chuvalo at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1966. He then asked if I would like to meet the champ. Before I could fully comprehend what was happening, I was sitting in the living room of Ali's palatial suite, chatting with The Greatest like we were old pals. Dundee and Ali's brother were also there. Ali couldn't have been more gracious -- even going so far as to ask if I was satisfied with my press row seat allocation for the fight, which was two nights later. "If you don't like where you're sittin', we can get it changed," he said. Incredible.
Although I was a huge fan, I never got to meet Chuvalo in person until 1986, when he was training heavyweight contender Razor Ruddock. George, who retired in 1979 with a record of 73-18-2 (64 KOs), is the only man to fight Ali, Joe Frazier and George Foreman. He held the Canadian title for 21 years, and at the peak of his career was ranked No 2 in the world. A 30-year friendship blossomed from that first meeting, and in 2012 he asked me to co-author his memoir ("Chuvalo: A Fighter's Life"), which was published by HarperCollins in 2014 and has topped 50,000 in sales.

Honorable mentions: Mike Tyson (very interesting guy to talk to, and very polite) and George Foreman.

Biggest jerks: Sugar Ray Leonard (total asshole) and Bill Cosby (pretty much what you would expect).

[Jenx34]

I've been very fortunate in being able to have some great experiences in baseball. I worked in Minor League Baseball for 8 years which afforded me some awesome opportunities. I apologize in advance for this being long, though I'll try to keep it brief.

1. Willie Mays - Could be on some people's worst list, but I had the opportunity to spend 3 days with Willie in 2004, including driving him around in my personal car. It gave me a great insight into what Willie is like and why some don't have great experiences with him. He is not very social with people he doesn't know. Think of a typical cocktail party. Some guys hop around, meeting and greeting lots of people, are the life of the party with lots of stories, etc. Others stick to their group but are very cordial when other approach. And a few try their best to stay out of the limelight and don't feel comfortable when strangers approach and deal with them as quickly and with as minimal interaction as possible. The latter is Willie Mays. Every time someone approached him, you could see in his body language he tensed up and just wanted to get it over with. That said, when he was with people he knew or like in my case, with people that were supposed to be there, and no one was asking him for stuff, he relaxed, laughed, told jokes and was great.

On day 2, we took him to Rickwood Field (America's Oldest Ballpark, 1910) where Willie played as a 17 year old for the Birmingham Black Barons. There were about 7 of us, including a friend of his and Renee, his PR person that traveled with him and Willie McCovey. We didn't know how long he would want to stay, but he wanted to see the old ballpark. We ended up sitting in the press box and listening to Willie tell baseball stories for almost 4 hours. It was awesome! One story I will expand on if requested is that Willie and Bobby Bonds told Barry he would not/could not sign with the Yankees when he hit free agency. Barry listened and re-signed with the Giants.

Background: The reason he visited was we did a deal with him to use his likeness for a bobblehead doll giveaway. I handled the deal for the team. I attached one of my prized possessions - the original contract I wrote up for the deal with Willie's signature right next to mine!

2. Vida Blue - Another bobblehead giveaway. Vida agreed to come to the ball park and do a signing during the game for fans. Before the game he was in our office and saw me opening a case and writing names on them. We always made sure all staff, players and coaches got one. I always wrote their name on them and put them in each player's locker. One of the interns was helping me and asked Vida if he would sign his. Vida said hell, why don't I sign them all. He pulled up a chair and sat in the middle of my office and signed every one. After the game, he was still there, hanging out in the office and came back and asked me where a good place to have a drink. I told him where some of us went and he said let's go. He invited half the office and we all went out and drank beer for a couple more hours. He was as personable as you can get.

This is long so I will share one more for now.... This is a unique good and bad story.

Albert Belle - He was a complete enigma. In 1998 we hosted the Orioles and Phillies in an exhibition game the day before opening day.
The Bad - Belle would not sign autographs for the fans, blew off all that asked. Conversely, Ripken signed so long pre-game they had to ask him to come back into the clubhouse because the people whose seats where nearby couldn't get to them and the game was about to start. I had a clubhouse worker get some baseballs signed for me and he signed mine off the sweet spot, Albert Joey Belle. The clubhouse kid (who several years later would sign with the White Sox and later play in that some clubhouse in AA) said he was gruff in the clubhouse too.

The Good - After the game, fans crowded the exit ramp from the clubhouse where they load the bus. Belle came out earlier than most players, got on the bus and sat in the first seat by the window. He opened the window and told one of the security guards to bring him the kids, and the kids only. For the next 30-40 minutes, he signed something thru the window for every kid that was out there...... except one. More bad - One kid had a Cleveland Indians hat on and Belle looked at him and said I'm not signing for the Indians kid. Rumor has it the kid took his hat off and blended back in and got an autograph, but I was told Belle wasn't nice when he said it to the kid.

That's enough for now... got way too long. Lots more stories, fortunately.

[steve B]

I haven't had any particularly bad experiences, and a few really good ones. I guess I've been lucky.

Brooks Robinson - At a Sports Illustrated hospitality suite in 1976. He was one of three guys signing that night. (Basically a free drinks event in hope that school principals will buy SI for the school, not exactly kid friendly, and I was 13...) He stopped to talk baseball for a while, and when some guy at the back of the line started complaining he stood up and told him "I'm talking baseball with this kid so you'll wait till I'm done"

Bob Feller - pitched a home run derby between games of a minor league double header. Came up in the stands after with a bunch of preprinted photo sheets to sign. I went up last, being shy, and after getting a couple plus one on a random bit of paper for dads autograph album I asked if it bothered him that most of the kids were just making paper planes with them. " No, they're just kids having fun. Do you play baseball?"
Ended up sitting with him for a few batters while he explained the pitching strategy the pitchers were trying. I didn't realize just how cool that was until a few years later.

Random Russian motorcycle rider at the International Six Day Trials in 73 -
We were all hanging out at the outlet from the motorcycle impound looking for autographs. Guy had a cast from hand up to the elbow, and had been riding trails for a full day. Figured there was no way he was going to do autographs. He looked at the gauntlet of kids and yelled over to the mechanic, who brought a pen and put it in a socket he'd had molded into his cast, then signed for everyone. Totally amazing!

One of the Pentons, same event same day a few minutes later - The manufacturer of the US teams bikes had a couple kids on the team. Very popular since they were "our team" He came out, looking tired and basically walked past us all saying "Sorry guys, not today I hurt my thumb. " All he had was a band aid, so it couldn't have been all that bad.
Not so amazing...

[steve B]

Almost forgot my favorite!

The local airbase used to have an airshow around the 4th of July every year. And had the Thunderbirds I think every other year, maybe more often.

The last time I went, I was working in Hydraulics. And the program just happened to include the support staff. The pilots usually came over to the fence for autographs photos etc after their part of the show. And they drew a huge crowd.
Spotting a couple guys way off to one side, I wondered who they were. checked the program, and surprise they're the hydraulic technicians for the planes.
So I went over with a pen and the program open. Before I could even say anything one of them says "the guys you want are over there" pointing towards the pilots. The look of surprise when I responded " You're the hydraulic techs aren't you? You are the guys I'm looking for"
Got the program signed, and had a nice chat about why and the few shop things that cross over. (Planes and industrial stuff don't have much in common at all.)

[docpatlv]

It's funny how people can have different outcomes with meeting the same players. I'm sure they get tired of people "bothering" them, I know that I probably would.

I don't get too many autographs in person, but two of the nicest signers I have met are Lou Brock (twice) and Johnny Mize. Rickey Henderson, not so much.

I met Sandy Koufax a couple of years ago at a shopping center. He was eating ice cream with his lady friend. I waited until he was finished and approached him. I just told him that I wanted to meet him, he responded with a huge smile and a shake of the hand (probably still on an ice cream "high"...lol). I didn't want to ruin the moment by asking him for an autograph or a picture of us together.

Edited to add: My experience meeting Pete Rose was similar to Rickey Henderson. Had first row seats behind the visitor's dugout at Busch Stadium. Brought my 1965 Topps card of Pete just in case. Was about ten feet away from him and asked if he could sign the card for me. He just looked at me and turned away. A side note on Pete that I've told before, but I grew up in Marion, Ill, home of Ray Fosse. Ray was always great with signing things for my brother and I as my father had operated on his mom years ago. I remember one of my teachers in junior high always badmouthing Rose for the All Star game incident. Well, years later, when Rose was sent to prison for income tax evasion, guess where he was sent. You guessed it, Marion, Ill. He wasn't enthusiastically received.

[frankbmd]

As evidence I present my in person autograph signed by a player who hit his first major league home run in 1912.



Can anyone top that?

[Marchillo]

[QUOTE=docpatlv;1738844]It's funny how people can have different outcomes with meeting the same players. I'm sure they get tired of people "bothering" them, I know that I probably would.

This is so true. I was in White Plains Saturday and a couple guys talking about how miserable Pete Rose was. I met him two years ago at induction weekend. No one in line so they asked if I wanted a picture with Pete (no charge) then we chatted a few minutes about my tshirt (Mr Perfect) and I told him about how good of friends he was it Boggs. Good experience.

Guys who got bad reps who were great with me - Fisk, Yaz

Great guys who was kind of a dick Tim Wakefield. In fairness he was generous enough to take tons of photos with kids and I think he thought he was getting a break with me as an adult and was annoyed.

I had two negative experiences with Bob Feller but they make me laugh when I think about them so they are actually more memorable than the negatives.

The biggest dick ever was Kelly Shoppach. Who? Exactly. Tristar did a lot of Boston area shows around the time the Pats and Sox won between 01-07. He was a free autograph I think and total ahole.

Matthew Slater of the Patriots could be the nicest guy ever. What he appears to be in interviews and on the field is 100% him. I was glad to meet him after last years Super Bowl.

I met Bench at a show in Cooperstown and he was extremely nice and stood up for a picture with me.

[cubman1941]

The worst experience I had was with Billy Williams at the 2008 Cubs Convention. They sold pictures then stood in line for an autograph. I waited in line for about an hour waiting for the picture to be autographed (which was ok). I noted him signing other things for lots of people besides the photograph and had one of his baseball cards with me. When it was my turn (and he signed a couple of cards for the person in front of me along with the picture) I asked him to please sign the card along with the picture. He blew me off by saying "I don't sign anything but the picture" and then said "Next". I really took offense at that at have never had any respect for him since then.

The best was Hank Sauer. I got to meet him at a show outside Atlanta around 1995. I had a magazine for him to sign. When I got to him I mentioned that I had send a bb card in 1952 to Spring Training for him to sign and it never came back. He seemed surprised and said he always signed and then proceeded to ask me to come up and sit next to him while he signed. In between signings we talked baseball and, to me, that was better than getting the card signed. I was up there talking to him for over two hours. A class act by a class man. Everything I have read about him always said how great a person he was and he proved it to me.

[drcy]

My dad, who's about the least likely to like rap music, saw MC Hammer being friendly to fans in the airport, happily allowing them to have their photos taken with him. My dad always thought rather highly of him after that.

His funny story is, as an undergrad science geek student, he got to meet Niels Bohr-- which for a physics student was on the order of getting to meet Joe Dimaggio or Charles Lindbergh. While Bohr spoke English, his Danish accent was so thick my dad didn't understand a word he said.

[Fred]

I didn't exactly meet him but...

At a Padre game, long, long ago... there was a player named Chris Gomez. As most people that attend MLB games know, the players warm up before the ball game and some will sign autographs and toss balls to the kids.

I was with my son, he was fairly young at the time. I was watching Gomez play catch with another player. I always bring a glove to a game (never know when a foul balls coming) and had it with me. Chris Gomez motions to me to raise my glove. He's at least a second to home throw away from the stands (it was just a bit further). I put my glove about head high and about a foot and a half away from my head. He throws a strike into the glove. I didn't have to the glove an inch. Tipped my hat and said thank you and nice throw.

Ok, here's one when I was a teenager. Mid to late 1970's. Dale Murphy is a rookie. Before the game starts, I asked him if he cracked his bat during the game if I could have it and he replied yes. Early in the game he cracked one however he was pulled from the game before the fifth inning. After the game I figured he'd probably headed back to the clubhouse. Instead, he had a bat in his hand and was looking around until he saw me. He then handed me the bat to which I said THANK YOU!. Turned out he was using a Phil Neikro bat that day. In that same series Biff Pocoroba cracked three bats during the series and gave them all to me. Dang, it's not hard to understand how a kid can get hooked on the game and the players.

Last one - Dave Winfield (yeah, he was a Padre at the start). I think I got 4 of his bats (nice black LS with a cork handle) in one season. Before and after games he'd sign. There were times he'd sign anything but then again there were times he was just human and having a bad day and didn't bother and may have seemed like a dick. I think it's timing. Sometimes you find a player in a good mood and at other times maybe the guys wife just let him know she found out about his girlfriend.....

I've got tons of fun stories and memories from when I was a kid going to MLB games.

[Andrew1975]

When I was about 12, I was hanging out at a sports club/gym in the Boston area when a giant of a man walked in, put more weight on a bench press bar than I had ever seen before, and proceeded to crank out rep after rep with what looked to be no effort. I remember that the bar was bending. After he finished, I walked up to him and asked if he was a football player. Looked me dead in the eye, and with a completely straight face, responded “yeah, you want to fight”? I froze for a second and then turned to walk away when he broke out in a huge smile, and told me his name... Fred Smerlas (nose tackle for Bills, Niners and Patriots). I asked if he was going to be there for a while, then rode my bike home, flipped through my football cards until I found a few of his, then hauled back to the gym. He signed all the cards, couldn’t have been nicer.

Around the same time period, I was at Legal Seafood in Burlington, MA with my family. Saw Jerry Remy (then 2B for the Red Sox) eating with his family. I stood up, walked over to his table, interrupted his meal (to the horror of my parents), and asked for an autograph, even though I didn’t have a pen, or anything for him to sign. He couldn’t have been more gracious, found a pen and signed for me (don’t remember what he signed). Had a chance to talk to him a few years ago, and still a very nice guy.

At spring training a few years ago, saw Luis Tiant sitting in a golf cart. Had my kids walk up and ask for autos. Absolute nicest guy in the world. Spoke with the kids for a few minutes, asked them about their Little League teams and how they were doing in school. Got the impression that the whole reason he was there was because he loved talking to people and signing autos. Same day, met a bunch of other players including David Price. Was pleasantly surprised, as he signed for every single kid until there were none left without an auto.

[bmattioli]

In the wild:

George Brett was the best

Doug Flutie awesome

Wade Boggs OK 2 times

Dwight Evans awesome

Kirby Puckett unfortunately not good, Thought I was a dealer outside Fenway Park..

That's it from my memory banks..

[Buckeye]

Best: Stan Musial in the mid/late 80s. Still have this on my desk ('61 Topps signed card and baseball) as I am typing this. Arrived late to Dayton, OH baseball card show after work...feel I was lucky...as it was not crowded. Was in a group of young teenagers ( I was around 15). He smiled and asked us all how we were doing and if any of us played ball. A kid's dream come true being asked this by a hero. Will never forget this.

Worst: Unfortunately, Hank Aaron (in 80's). Also Dayton, OH. Arrived early. Long line. He never looked up. Just signed and went on to the next person. He didn't look like he wanted to be there. Kind of a let-down.

[BearBailey]

Best Brooks Robinson

Great Roberto Duran, Steve Garvey, Jim Palmer, Steve Carlton, George Foster, Bill Walton, George Foreman

Worst Mickey Mantle, Frank Robinson, Eddie Murray, Joey Giradello

[esd10]

I have meet a couple baseball player one being derek jeter when he played for the clippers at a big bear on brice rd in columbus and it was free he signed a xerox black and white photo and he was a nice guy. I met ozzie smith back in the late 80's at my grandfathers rax restraunt in st Louis and he talked to my brother and i for a few min and was super nice.

[Fballguy]

Best: Kurt Warner and the 1999 St. Louis Rams. It was the last week of the season in Philadelphia. They had home field throughout the playoffs wrapped up. The game meant nothing for them except to avoid injuries. I stayed at the team hotel and staked out the bar in the restaurant...Shula's Steakhouse. It was the Saturday before the game and the bar went from empty one minute to what seemed like a private St. Louis Rams party the next. The whole team filed in eventually...Warner, Torry Holt, Isaac Bruce, Orlando Pace, Az Hakim, London Fletcher, Kevin Carter, Rickey Proehl, etc. All the coaches Vermeil, Mike Martz, Jim Hanifan, Frank Gansz, Wilbert Montgomery. Ron Jaworkski was there too. I spent hours drinking beer and talking to everyone. The mood was light. They were in the midst of a dream season. Warner was like a rookie. Gracious to everyone. Posed for pictures. Signed everything. It was a really, really, good time. I have dozens of signed polaroid pictures from that night.

Though there was one experience I cherish even more than that. 2008 NFL season. Rams staying around Hoboken to play the Jets...can't remember the name of the hotel, but it was by far the least special hotel I'd ever seen them stay at. They were in the midst of a "least special" season and that weekend would be their "least special" performance of that "least special" season, trailing the Jets 40-0 at halftime in a game that was never a contest. Anyway, rewind 18 hours earlier. Saturday afternoon around 5:00 or so...who walks into the bar but none other than Jim Hanifan, who was retired from coaching at this point but working as the color commentator on Rams broadcasts. He sat on the bar stool next to me and we talked football and watched college football to nearly midnight. He told story after story after story. I love that guy. It was a night I'll never forget.

Post script...The access to the team changed dramatically after the 1999 season. Once they won the Super Bowl, security was much tighter. The team more secluded. I had a connection so I always knew what hotel they'd be at and because I was a paying customer, the hotel let me do what I wanted. I still got to meet and talk to many players, coaches and TV guys but it wasn't the same. From 1999 to 2001, Warner (and many other Rams) went from regular guys with easy access to Armani wearing celebrities you had to hope to get a glimpse off. By the Super Bowl season of 2001, Warner was no longer signing in person. He was handing out prayer cards that he had signed in advance and you could only get one if you happened to be at the hotel when the team arrived. Otherwise you never saw him again.

Worst experience...I don't have many but one stands out. 2001 Season...Rams are in Newark to play the Giants. I'm in my usual spot in the hotel bar waiting with my trooper of a wife. No one in the place at about 2:00 PM on Saturday. Sitting a few seats away from is none other than Lawrence McCutcheon, the one time Rams all time leading rusher. By himself. Drinking a beer. Watching college football. Against my better judgement, I thought it would be ok to go over and chat. I introduced myself. Told him I was a Rams fan since the mid-seventies. It was nice to meet him. He looked at me like I just farted. Never said a word. Then turned around, grabbed his beer and continued to watch college football. I felt like a tool. i was always very cautious and smart around the team. Never wanted to seem like a fanatic. If someone seemed approachable...you know the queues...I'd talk to them. If someone's body language indicated it was a bad idea, I wouldn't. Totally misread this one and never made that mistake again.

But my experience was mild compare to some I've witnessed. I used to work security at the Greater Hartford Open. The celebrity pro-am day was always a lot fun...especially if you got to work the after party that night. One year, at the party they stationed me at the end of the tent which happened to be right next to the porta potties. Ken Howard...aka The White Shadow...went to take a leak and as he approached he said "hi" then asked if I was guarding the "shitters". LOL I thought it was funny. Another time, I got my picture taken standing next to Bob Hope...unintentionally...was just doing my job as he walked by...and unbeknownst to me until the picture appeared on the cover of the Hartford Courant the next day. But as for bad experiences...One year I was working by the putting green and a father made the mistake of lifting his small son...couldn't have been more than 5 or 6 over the fence so the boy could go up to Lawrence Taylor and ask for an autograph. When the boy approached, Taylor told him to get the "F" away from him. The father had to be held back from climbing over the fence. Taylor then started to berate the father and the two stood nose to nose screaming at each other as we tried to diffuse the situation. That was a bad scene...

Another that comes to mind. As a Rams fan, it pains me to say it, but Marshall Faulk was an absolute jerk to fans. Never to me. I knew better than to even try to talk to him. But my wife and I would watch as others went down in flames. One guy in particular comes to mind. A middle aged guy, wearing a Rams jersey...Approached Faulk as he was chatting with two smoking hot girls in the bar of the Hyatt Regency in Jersey City. The guy professed his love of the Rams and told Faulk how great a football player he was. Faulk just stood there and said one word...emotionless...expressionless...he said "ok"...in a tone that easily could've translated to "get lost" or worse. A long, awkward pause ensued. Faulk said nothing. The girls acted like it was the most humorous thing they'd ever seen, while unsuccessfully acting like they didn't want to show it. The guy, undoubtedly feeling very embarrassed just skulked away. Faulk and the girls then proceeded to make fun of him. I was sitting about five feet away and was disgusted. I stopped being a Faulk fan at that point.

[chlankf]

Met Yogi Berra and Lou Dials at a show in St. Louis in early 90s. I had recently seen Berra on a Pringles commercial, it was hilarious, so I brought an empty can for him to sign. He got a kick out of it saying he had never signed one before. I had heard stories of him playing harmonica and that he carried one with him. I asked about it, he smiled, stood up and addressed the crowd to be quiet and began playing. The promoter quickly came over, upset to stop him, and Yogi brushed him off and spent 5 minutes having fun. It was a totally incredible experience.

At the same show, Lou Dials had a table set up with a few negro league pics, pics of himself and a few books. All day Friday people just walked past him paying no mind and oblivious to who he was. Saturday noonish, same situation as Friday. Seeing this I walked over to meet him. He offered me a seat and I joined him for a conversation. I spent the remainder of the day with him. We talked about everything; baseball, girls, what America was like growing up - both our generations sides, college - his opinions and experience & degree. Memories I will never forget. I never asked him for an auto, can't believe I forgot. My dad was not happy I abandoned him at the table but understood. Sunday Lou comes walking to my table with a signed ball for me and thanked me for the company. My father and Lou chatted for a while and went back to his table.

'97 Triple A All-Star game in Des Moines, I was excited to see Paul Konerko play. I had seen him in Az, college for both at the time. During field time for players, he was exorcizing with other players. As he was walking off, many players stopped to sign for people. Paul just ignored fans and tried to get a few of the players to follow him. For 5-6 minutes he stood there rudely saying he wouldn't sign. Witnessing this I became upset. When he walked past, my smart ass youthful mouth shot off. I called him an a-hole and stated I always wanted his auto but was a broke college student and had to watch him play from A mountain. He turned, looked at me and walked over asking if I went to ASU. I acknowledged I did. He grabbed the ball I was holding and the pen, signed my ball, smiled and patted me on the shoulder and walk past everyone then off the field. All I could think was what a prick, however, I clutched my treasure and walked away with a story and a smile.