OT: brush with fame

Sudz · Post by **Sudz** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 2:06 pm

just ran into sean may in the Cingular store in chapel hill....

i'd rank this between the time i sold batteries to jerry stackhouse and the time i saw shane battier in best buy.

tjung0831 · Post by **tjung0831** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 2:42 pm

Sudz wrote:just ran into sean may in the Cingular store in chapel hill....

i'd rank this between the time i sold batteries to jerry stackhouse and the time i saw shane battier in best buy.

Any chance that Hipstersudz will be the official soap of the Charlotte Bobcats?

Jayhawker · Post by **Jayhawker** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 2:51 pm

When my wife and I took lamaze classes in Lawrence, Matt Dougherty and his wife was in our class. I felt bad for them, as a bunch of the husbands kept trying to sit next to them and talk basketball.

It was freakin' lamaze class! I was there for a personal experience with my wife, not to talk basketball. Not only were those guys ignoring their wives, which was pretty sad, they were ruining Matt and his wife's experience as well.

This was in '97. I told my wife then that I wasn't worried about Roy going back to NC, because my bet was that Dougherty would be the next head coach. Well, I was right, and then so very wrong.

davet010 · Post by **davet010** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 4:19 pm

I once tackled ex-Scotland rugby captain Gavin Hastings in a competitive match at university...only cost me a mild concussion as well.

Bill_Abner · Post by **Bill_Abner** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 4:53 pm

Hmm..the closest I've been to a famous person I'd have to say is Cris Carter. Cris grew up in Middletown and my dad coached against him in Pee Wee football when he was 12 and 13. We've known him ever since. Played many a pick up basketball game with him, which never went too well for me...

As far as a drive by famous person sighting like Sudz had, I remember selling Eddie George a nutrition book when I worked at B. Dalton back in college and when I spilled my beer all over Jim Jackson at a party my freshman year. No autographs were given.

Badgun · Post by **Badgun** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 6:22 pm

Man, I've got so many of these I've probably forgotten half of them.

Myrtle Beach SC - Met Bob MacAdoo on the elevator at the Patricia Grand Hotel. He looked like he was about 6'5 and weighed 120 pounds.

Myrtle Beach SC - Met Larry Bird on the beach and chatted for about 15 minutes. He drank two beers from my cooler during that time. Really nice guy!

Martinsville VA - Got invited to the Pontiac banquet and got to sit at a table and eat with Michael Waltrip and Rusty Wallace. Michael Waltrip is huge!

Yanceyville, NC - Drove Jeff Cook, the bassist for Alabama back to my condo to pick up a 5th of Jack Daniels since they were performing on a Sunday and there were no alcohol sales allowed. Another really nice guy.

Probably my coolest and longest brush with greatness was the time I met Alex Van Halen in the Greensboro NC Marriott after a Van Halen show back in 1986. For some reason he took to me and my buddy and bought us drinks for almost 2 hours. We sat and talked about everything. He told us about all of his cars and talked about Eddie and Valerie Bertinelli...if I had been a reporter for the Enquirer, I could have done a Van Halen expose. He took pictures with us and gave us a bunch of stuff...he even stole this huge beer mug from the bar we were in and gave it to me when we got outside. That was a really cool experience.

I've met countless other music and wrestling stars because I was good friends with the local promoter. I even got to meet the great Mil Mascaras.

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 6:27 pm

Geez some of you guys are your own Forrest Gumps.

EDiddy · Post by **EDiddy** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 7:34 pm

Bill, is that Middleton Oh? If so, me come from the same neck of the woods as I Grew up in Vandalia OH. I have always felt Middleton was in the shawdow of Vandalia in high school sports

Bill_Abner · Post by **Bill_Abner** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 7:43 pm

EDiddy wrote:Bill, is that Middleton Oh? If so, me come from the same neck of the woods as I Grew up in Vandalia OH. I have always felt Middleton was in the shawdow of Vandalia in high school sports

Yep. same place. I'm actually from Trenton, OH but my dad grew up in Middie land.

EDiddy · Post by **EDiddy** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 12:50 am

Excellent, great to have another Brutus backer to talk to.

Cincinnati_Kid · Post by **Cincinnati_Kid** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 9:53 pm

EDiddy wrote:Excellent, great to have another Brutus backer to talk to.

theres a few of us here E

Go Buckeyes !!

EDiddy · Post by **EDiddy** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 10:12 pm

oh that is great. Did you guys happened to hear about the recruiting class for the Bucks for 06? I hope they all end up commiting, as its all just verbal right now.

Sudz · Post by **Sudz** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 11:11 pm

that mascot is FREAKY

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 9:51 am

I actually was in the same high school class as Phil Mickelson. We had a number of classes together, including a freshman year weight-lifting class. He wasn't known for his guns.

I went to a wedding a couple years ago which Geena Davis attended (she's married to the best man). She's really tall and actually looks better in person than she does on film. Also wound up sitting with Suzanne Vega at dinner and chatting with her (I avoided any Luka jokes).

I have met a few writers because of my wife's connection to the Iowa Writer's Workshop. I met Salman Rushdie at a party once, that was interesting. I kept checking the door for suspicious guests!

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 9:59 am

Have met a bunch of race drivers and TV and radio personalities through my years in the motorsports industry.

The coolest probably was when current BMW Williams F1 driver Mark Webber called me at my house. Webber, then driving for Jaguar Racing, came to the Speedway for a USGP PR day. There was a break in the schedule, so Mark and a good friend and colleague of mine were chatting. Turns out Mark is a soccer fan, and my buddy said I was, too.

My buddy said, "Hey, Mark, why don't you call him for a few minutes and talk soccer?" So Webber did. It was very cool. Very nice, quiet guy.

The second-coolest was three-time Tour de France winner Greg LeMond. He was racing US F2000 race cars in 1998 when that series ran as a support series to the IRL at Disney World. LeMond was in our office area of the media center for a phone radio interview, so being a cyclist, I had to extend my hand to him and chat for a few minutes. Nice guy. We talked racing more than cycling!

Riki Rachtman from MTV's "Headbangers' Ball" is one of the more memorable "celebs" I've met. Very cool guy.

Another memorable one is PBA bowler Danny Wiseman, who was No. 4 on the tour's money list last year. He's a big-time car freak who attends most of the Speedway events as our staff's guest. He's done some PR stuff for us, too. One of the most normal, cool guys you'll ever meet, and he totally dispels the notion of a pro bowler being some polyester-clad dork.

Another great guy is Purdue head football coach Joe Tiller. We have a program during the month of May at Indy where celebs from Indiana or with Indiana ties wave the green flag to start practice each day. Tiller waved one day, and he was brought around the media center to meet our staff. I mentioned that I was from Syracuse, and Tiller and I struck up a five-minute conversation about SU football, Purdue football, ex-SU coach Paul Pasqualoni, etc. Tiller was the kind of guy you could have beers and talk with for hours. Really nice.

Most drivers are very nice guys. But I've never been with most of them long enough to know if it's PR veneer or the actual person. Buddy Lazier and Sam Hornish Jr. are the exceptions -- both superb dudes. Same with NHRA Funny Car driver Ron Capps -- another great guy.

Take care,
PK

Sport73 · Post by **Sport73** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 10:00 am

If you want to be near famous people, just go to your local Ritz Carlton or 4 Seasons hotel (Especially the 4 Seasons in BOSTON).

In one week at the 4 Seasons in BOSTON I met and got autographs from:

All of U2 (several meetings, discussions, photos, signed my guitar) etc.; they were the reason I was there...

Eric Clapton
Elton John
Sinbad (yippee!)
Richard Marx (ah yeah!)
James Taylor
The J Giels Band
and a few others I can't recall.

Back in '93 I met the cast of Cheers at their 'going away' party at the 4 Seasons bar after the last episode had aired.

My former girlfriend met and had lunch with Eddie Vedder there as well.

In fact, my picture ended up in VOGUE magazine next to Bono signing my guitar a few months later.

ALSO, me and a few friends are on the inside cover of the Gin Blossom's first Album (New Miserable Experience) where there are 'filmstrip' shots of crowds etc. at their concerts. We were front row for them when the were opening for Del Amitri in Boston.

lexbur · Post by **lexbur** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 11:09 am

Working at old Cleveland Stadium there were too many brushes with fame to mention, but these two are the most memorable:

- The night Julio Franco asked me that no matter what their tickets said, make sure his wife and his girlfriend were sitting as far apart as possible in the player's wives' section. I guess I did a good job because the next night I was working a different section, he tracked me down just to thank me.

- Walking toward the employee entrance one late afternoon many hours before a Pink Floyd concert, a non-descript black bus pulled up, the door opened and out stepped Dave Gilmour. He nodded toward me as if to say "hi". To this day I can't remember what I said, if I said anything at all. I think I probably just stood there staring at him like a star-struck idiot.

davet010 · Post by **davet010** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 11:23 am

Oh, nearly forgot my favourite

Seeing Liam Gallagher from Oasis beaten up (by one bloke, smaller than him) outside a pub in Stockport (nr Manchester), after he'd been giving it large all night about how great he was.

Loved every second of it. I'd have made millions if I'd taped it and sold it - the soft tw*t.

Unfortunately no footage exists of him getting his two front teeth knocked out by a German estate agent who'd politely asked him to behave in a hotel a couple of years ago. His slightly-less-irritating brother got a good tanning as well.

Quality.

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 11:44 am

I once told Judd Beuchler (ex Bull) to get the f out of my way. I had no idea it was him. I was at a place called Mad Bar in downtown Chicago on a Friday night. The Bulls had a home game that night and Luc Longley, Judd Beuchler, and Larry Kristowiak (sp?) went to Mad Bar after the game. I hadn't seen Luc yet and I went into the bathroom. After taking a piss I washed my hands and went to go dry my hands with one of those electric hand dryers and Judd Beuchler was draped over talking on his cell phone. At this point I had no idea who he was and when he didn't move I said, "Excuse me, but could you get the f#$% out of my way so I can dry my hands?"

I walked out of the bathroom and found myself standing right next to Luc Longley. That guy was huge. Him and Kristowiak sat down at a table and a couple minutes later Beuchler came out of the bathroom and joined them. My cousin said, "Hey, Judd Beuchler's here too." I felt like an a$$.

I've also met several musicians including: Shavo from System of a Down, David Dramain of Disturbed, and Wayne Static of Static X. All cool guys. And the chick that was on David Dramains arm was one of the hottest chicks I've ever seen.

Jayhawker · Post by **Jayhawker** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 11:55 am

I hung out backstage with Thurston Moore and Kim Gordan. We were "sharing" some stuff, and he was being interviewed. We ended up having a great discussion of how alternative music was being co-opted. He said at the time that bands like Helmet and Jesus Lizard would never be on major labels. He never saw it coming, even though they were already of Geffen.

I once had had a great conversation with Steven Drozd and Michael Ivins of the Flaming Lips backstage. I got to here great stories about why Hit to Head took so long to come out, and what Sonic Boom of Spacemen 3 thought of their records, and the impact that it had on their sound.

Actually, I had met Wayne Coyne two years earlier, but that story gets into stuff I don't think I should talk about here. But it was a pretty insane way to meet one of your favorite musicians.

I put on a show at the infamous Outhouse in Lawrence, KS (which was an utter failure) just so I could see The Laughing Hyenas play live. It was the same night as Day on the Hill, a free show featuring the recently breakout act, Pearl Jam. But the guys from Buffalo Tom came out to the show, and we hung out. The Hyenas were insane, but cool people. They stayed at my friends house in Lawrence.

After the show, when I didn't have hardly any cash to pay them (I stiffed the sound guy, who didn't deserve it, since he came out on short notice when the other guy I hired bailed on me) Larissa told me about when she put on a show with the Birthday Party and only had 13 people show up.

We once got to the Outhouse early in the afternoon and met Steve Albini (later produced Nirvana's In Utero) while he was in Rapeman. They showed up throwing firecrackers out the window of their van . We spent the next few hours shooting off fireworks with them.

I hung out with comedian Doug Stanhope at the Flea Market in KC after one of his shows. He even bought my beers. Lots of grerat stories from him, as there were a bunch of other comedians there as well. Some intersting stuff about his work with Kevin Booth, the friend of the late Bill Hick, who is milking Hicks' corpse for all that it is worth.

Those were the days...

Badger_Fan · Post by **Badger_Fan** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 12:41 pm

Sport73 wrote:If you want to be near famous people, just go to your local Ritz Carlton or 4 Seasons hotel (Especially the 4 Seasons in BOSTON).

In one week at the 4 Seasons in BOSTON I met and got autographs from:

All of U2 (several meetings, discussions, photos, signed my guitar) etc.; they were the reason I was there...

Eric Clapton
Elton John
Sinbad (yippee!)
Richard Marx (ah yeah!)
James Taylor
The J Giels Band
and a few others I can't recall.

Back in '93 I met the cast of Cheers at their 'going away' party at the 4 Seasons bar after the last episode had aired.

My former girlfriend met and had lunch with Eddie Vedder there as well.

In fact, my picture ended up in VOGUE magazine next to Bono signing my guitar a few months later.

ALSO, me and a few friends are on the inside cover of the Gin Blossom's first Album (New Miserable Experience) where there are 'filmstrip' shots of crowds etc. at their concerts. We were front row for them when the were opening for Del Amitri in Boston.

There was a story in the Globe a couple years back about the Four Seasons. I guess Billy Joel was staying there and just walked into the bar on a weeknight, sat down at the piano, and played for about an hour and a half. I'm not the biggest Billy Joel fan, but that would still be cool as hell.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 1:11 pm

I sold groceries to Jeff Blauser when the Cubbies were in Scottsdale for Spring Training. Then later that night, I saw him at the strip club down the street. LOL...

Sport73 · Post by **Sport73** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 3:44 pm

Funny you mention Billy Joel...He was there that week too but I didn't meet him.

DChaps · Post by **DChaps** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 5:57 pm

Only at DSP could there be such a cool thread with a mention of Mil Mascaras "The Man of a thousand masks" and the "The Man of a thousand holds". One of my favorites.

Of course I am jealous of Paul's stories, but have met a few of my favorite racers including Big Al, Little Al, Gordon Johncock, Jimmy Vasser, Christian Fittipaldi, Mario Andretti. Most of those were book/autograph signing things though, so they don't really count.

My best brush with greatness was having Ted Turner spit on my shoe heading into a NCAA tourney game in the Omni back in the early 80s. Don't think he meant to do it, just a mass of people trying to get into the facility and crowd around him at the same time.

athletics_fan · Post by **athletics_fan** » Wed Jul 06, 2005 12:47 am

I've sold groceries to Roy Jones, Jr. before.

Really neat guy, very friendly.

Digital Sportspage

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