Best & Worst Experience Meeting An Athlete

[oldjudge]

I’ve met a lot of athletes, but there are three that I remember not liking. At the top of the list, far away in the lead, is that pompous Reggie Jackson. I didn’t like Ralph Terry or Lynn Swann either, but they are not even in the same zip code as Reggie.

[Chuck9788]

Good : I've met many boxers. Tommy "The Hitman" Hearns and "The Flushing Flash Kevin Kelly are among the long list of many nice pugilists that I've encountered. Baseball wise Yankees pitcher "Steady" Eddie Lopat was very nice to me when I was a young kid at a signing. Football : Jets Linebacker Joe Klecko was really cool when we met and in hockey Rod Langway from the Washington Capitals stands out. Everyone tells me that Brooks Robinson is the nicest guy.



Bad : I really don't have any. Mainly because rather than strike up a conversation about their sports careers, I tend to talk about other subjects. Example ; Talking about boxing for 10 minutes with the "Big Hurt" Frank Thomas at the Las Vegas airport. There was not one mention of his baseball career. I legitimately was more interested in his opinions on the fight game, And I feel he respected that.

[Bestdj777]

I live in DC, so my "celebrity" encounters primarily involve politic figures, who are pretty accommodating. Two that stood out were Scalia and McCain. I met Scalia at a mixer. He was incredibly friendly and willingly signed for anyone that wanted autographs (there were a few 9th Circuit judges there that were similarly accommodating). Scalia had an interesting approach though. He didn't want to interrupt his conversation with the group to pose for pictures, but would let you take photos of him or near him. It made sense but would have loved a better photo with him.

McCain was also really friendly. I ran into him on the street and shook his hand and spoke for a second. After I left, I saw someone take a photo with him and instantly regretted not asking. I turned around and he gave my phone to his assistant so she could take one. Understanding how busy he is, I kept the interaction to a minimum. But he left me with a very favorable impression.