OT - Your "fan-girl" moment

As a child, I lived in a residential neighborhood that was relatively close to where Lloyd Carr lived, back when he was still a coordinator for Bo. He used to jog down my street from time to time when I was out with the neighborhood kids throwing the ball around. We'd always run up to him and try to get him to talk about upcoming games. He wasn't very forthcoming with any details, but he was polite and relatively good natured, considering he was getting swarmed by eight year olds.

In NYC, you meet entertainment/athletic celebrities on the regular. While working for a supermarket, I shook hands with Don King (after scaring the shit out of him) and engaged a staring contest with Francis Ford Coppola who was three feet away without exchanging words (which I now regret). I rang up Halle Berry's groceries! I saw Darryl Strawberry and Bobby Ojeda hit the concessions at MSG at an event I can't remember--I just remember seeing them. While at a sidewalk cafe with my mom, I watched Fred Armisen walk down the street and glaring at a Blackberry in confusion.

At B.C., I had Doug Flutie stop in front of me at the Plex until I moved out his way--I was blocking a bathroom door, and I guess he needed to pee. At Michigan I met some prominent writers you probably wouldn't know. I taught one class with Jon Horford as a student and another with Shane Morris (his first summer and the last class I taught there). I've chatted with Bernie Sanders on a couple of occasions. He's a gruff dude, but we all love him up here.

The best encounter though was watching my mom hurl obscenities at Magic Johnson for blocking our view of the stage when the Victory Tour (the Jackson Five+ reunion) came to Giants Stadium, without her knowing it was Magic Johnson. When I told her that she was heartbroken as she had a huge crush on him. I told that story at a luncheon after her memorial service, so it is special.

I met Adrian Newey at the F1 race in Korea about 12 years ago.  I mean Jenson Button and Christian Horner were there too, but I was fan girling over the aerodynamics legend. 

Not exactly my moment but… 

working at a harbor in rural MI, one summer day Jerry Stackhouse brought his 50’ Hatteras into town. (To his credit, he piloted his own boat). I had the privilege of fueling his boat and chatting with his dad, and they decided to stay overnight. Jerry kept to himself mostly but was friendly, as was everyone onboard.

It was evening and things were quiet up to this point, but this being a small town, word traveled fast when the giant hoops star went to the local store to buy some goods. One of my coworkers drove 20 minutes in on his day off to go to his girlfriend’s parents’ boat, pull a big lake trout out of the cooler, and run down to Jerry’s boat with fish hoisted aloft yelling “Jerry come fishing with us! You’ll catch one of these!” (He was not hired back the following summer) Meanwhile half the town came down to gawk at the large black person and they ended up canceling their overnight stay and went to the next harbor, about 40 miles way as the crow flies. 

Not exactly fangirl moments because I didn't act silly in any of these, but...

1. Waiting out a rainstorm at the front door of the Sofitel in DC a couple blocks from the White House and started chatting with a husky gentleman standing there with me. We ended up walking a few blocks together and he told me how much fun he was having on Russian Television. It was Ex-governor Jessie Ventura. The Body. Ol' Painless.

2. Was with two friends, one of whom was getting married, at a fine gentleman's establishment in Houston called Rick's Cabaret. We were in the VIP section when they roped it off and a group of large and tall folks came in, one of whom sat next to me on on a loveseat with, uh, a "staff member" of the club. Took me a while to look over but when I did... Magic Johnson. Lakers were in town. 

3. I'm a Steelers Fanboy since age 6 so one time I noticed this freakishly athletic dude waiting for his bag at Houston IAH airport. Not big, just looked like a comic book superhero. It was Rod Woodson. I had a Steelers hat on so I walked over, wished him good luck, and he gave me points for being a Steelers fan in enemy territory.

4. Was on Oak St in the Gold Coast neighborhood of Chicago and see this freaky looking guy with leathery face and goofy shock-blonde hair come out of a store and walk my way. He was wearing a big fur coat had a huge bodyguard-looking dude with him. Some guys have all the luck, it was Rod Stewart. 

My real fangirl moments were meeting some very eminent scientists at meeting after admiring their work for years or studying textbooks they had written. Don't make good stories, though. I also have a tendency to run into far right-wing commentators for some reason. Also not good stories.

EDIT: almost forgot. Would have gone 100% fangirl if I'd ever met Muhammad Ali, but never got the chance. Went to his funeral, though. Talking to some people at the memorial and had a chance to chitchat with a folk singer of some note. It's a wild world, because it was Yusuf Islam, fka Cat Stevens. 

One week prior to the 2019 NFL draft, I was eating breakfast at a Bob Evans in Grand Rapids with my wife on a Sunday morning.  Walking towards the register with bill in hand preparing to pay, I happened to see a very large man sitting in a booth - just so happened to be none other than Rashan Gary.  Because he was not yet served breakfast I walked over and introduced myself and exchanged my congratulations on his accomplishments - and shared that I hope the Steelers would find a way to draft him.  

Rashan Gary, 1 week before the draft at Bob Evans in Grand Rapids - none of those things added up in my brain.

Realized 2 miles down the road I walked out of the restaurant forgetting to pay my bill, had to turn around and come back with tail between my legs to pay. 

I ran into Barry Bonds in a store at Disney in the fall of 2000. He was with his kids, so it was enough to just say, "I saw him." Little did anyone know how (in)famous he was about to be.

Not a fan girl moment so much as a cool bro story but when I was younger, 17 or 18 I believe, my buddy scored tickets to the Buick Open in Warwick Hills. There are very few details of the story that I can recall, like which day we went down there or which hole we actually posted up on, but this was something like 2006...so Tiger Woods was in his prime. After we caught a glimpse of the huge crowd that was just going to follow him around the course all day we decided to go sit on the tee box of a later hole so we could have prime viewing of him teeing off at least during one point of our spectation. 

So we find our hole and stand on it, and later on when Tiger walks up near the tee box I notice he's close enough to me that I can say something to him that doesn't require me to strain my voice or yell. Next thing I know, he reaches into his bag and pulls out a PB&J. I immediately say to him, "Hey Tiger, lemme git a little nibble on that."

He giggles a bit, but does not look at me and does not say anything.

I once saw Vincent Smith at the Kroger that was on stadium and industrial and I challenged him to a race to the end of the aisle. He literally just ignored me.

Saw Ray Romano lounging around in a towel in the spa at the Bellagio. He’s really tall.

2007, walking down the Strip in Vegas during the day, typical crowd on the sidewalk, I walk past Michael and Corinna Schumacher. All by themselves. I double back, pull up next to Michael and say, "has anyone recognized you?" He says "you are the first," and smiles a big smile like he really enjoys being anonymous. I shake his hand and I realize I've lost my wife. We meet up again at our hotel and I get an earful and a half from her, but it was totally worth it.

I've had several but my favorite is when I was in my late 20's and in LA on business. I was sitting in the lobby of my hotel, waiting for a colleague. There was someone pacing back and forth in front of me. I looked up to see Steve Martin staring at me sideways. The minute I caught his eye, he looked away and then I looked away because.....Steve Martin! I had been a lifelong fan. We kept playing this game, him pacing and looking at me sideways and then looking away when I glanced at him. I was too starstruck to strike up a conversation (I knew it would have to be clever given that we were just kind of flirting with each other), my colleague arrived and I got up and left. I still regret not saying something. 

I work 80-90 UM athletic events a year so have innumerable encounters with coaches, athletes,  alumni, staff. We usually have to “be cool” …no photos, autographs, etc but now and then your job has you right  there with a future pro athlete. 

So one fairly innocuous story  - BBQ at the Big House conncluded with current players and recruits up in the Jack Roth suites eating catered BBQ. At the end there was lots of food for the taking (which is not normal). So there us staffers were elbow to elbow with football players a few days before fall camp opened, with to-go containers  trying to scrounge a wonderful dinner. Chris Evans had two styrofoam containers full of every last corn bread muffin. I said “ C’mon man, not a single one for me”. He begrudgingly gave me one saying, “ They’re real good”. 

Lived out in the LA area in the 80s and 90s and as another poster said about New York stumbling across the Famous (or Infamous) is not unusual.  But two that were more memorable:

Working for the legacy company that built the plane, we were given the day off and passes to the opening of the Spruce Goose in its dome in Long Beach.  Standing there looking up at this thing didn't notice a guy in uniform standing next to me until he said "sure is a big son of a bitch, ain't she?".  Turned and found it was Gen. Chuck Yeager.  We had a fascinating 10 minute conversation about the history of aviation until some media types saw him and pushed me out of the way.

I was really into beach volleyball, (back before they trashed the sport with point a serve and.... that is rant for another day)  Was  sitting in the sand watching the Hermosa Beach OPen wearing an Orange letter Tigers hat (had to keep the sun off my balding pate) when this guy comes up and says nice hat, where'd you get it?  Told him Tiger Stadium and he sits down and tells me what a huge Tigers fan he is.  So I got to watch the rest fo the match talking crap with Tom Selleck.  Really a nice guy.

Jim Harbaugh FaceTimed me during my spring break in 2022. I had a few former students who were on a recruiting visit. Being a huge Michigan fan, living in Columbus, with my classroom decked out in Michigan stuff, the kids told Harbaugh he had to FaceTime me and that I’d lose my mind. 
 

I was crazy star struck and Harbaugh was such a cool guy. Wanted to know more about me. He asked what I taught (history) and shared how he loved that subject. I’m sure it was creepy but I mention knowing that he wanted to major in that but was told he couldn’t because football would keep him too busy. I also thanked him and the team for beating OSU the previous fall and hoped they could do it again. He was in great spirits and talked to me for like 3-4 minutes. 
 

I fumbled with my phone to record my screen but didn’t realize the default is sound is off, so I have a 2+ minute video of us talking but no sound. Ha. 

I ran in to Harbaugh at the play Ernie, he was with Mitch Albom who wrote the play. Harbaugh was kind enough to take a picture and then I told him I still have eligibility if he needed a center. He looked me up and down and said, “center huh?” then gave a good natured chuckle and walked away. Thanks for humoring me Coach.
 

Meeting Beilein and hearing his middle school wrestling stories was cool, he signed a ball for my son. Also got to meet Bo, Lloyd, Steve Fischer, Bill Freehan, Rick Leach, Brian Elerbe, Fred Jackson, and so many others at the UofM golf outing I attended as a middle schooler. Chris Chelios was very cool to me when I saw him at Cheli’s. Kevin Jackson was awesome to see at The Grappler last year. Chatted with Adam Coon, Myles Amine, Steve Micic, and Sean Bormet at a coaching clinic. My Grandpa once marched me over to Lloyd Carr once and tried to sell him on me as a recruit, haha God bless my grandfather, that was an alward one. Got to meet TJ Duckett a few times and after he bought us some shots my buddy started busting his balls about a goal line fumble as a Lion, talk about embarrassing.

About 15 years ago, met John C. Reilly and his wife at a bar in Pentwater.  He was cool and drinking several Blue Moon's 

About 24 years ago, met Ken Shamrock and Mark Henry at a strip club in Memphis.  Ken had already started in the WWE, so he had a "sister" on the show.  She was with him that night and they are probably not brother and sister.

Some handshakes—Matt Guitar Murphy, Buddy Guy, Jesse Jackson. Took care of Al Gore and some senators at Bethesda.

My wife and I were running through a casino in Vegas to catch a flight and I ran over Apollo Ohno.

I once consulted with Eric Heiden about a case and everyone I excitedly told about it that day was too young to appreciate it.

I used to work for an advertising organization in Detroit, and we held weekly luncheon meetings with a guest speaker, who sometimes was a celebrity. Consequently, I got to meet several.

Peter Jennings was very nice. I was holding the elevator for him and all the grand high muckymucks from Ford Motor who had sponsored his appearance. They all paid no attention to me as the piled on the elevator, but Jennings stopped, smiled at me and said, "How are you today?" I mumbled "Just fine, Mr. Jennings." He nodded, climbed on the elevator, and off they went. The only one who showed basic courtesy was the biggest name on the elevator.

Rush Limbaugh was ... not nice. Decidedly so. I'm not talking about his politics. I'm talking about his personality, that of one of the most arrogant, loudmouthed, pushy, full-of-himself SOBs who expected the entire world to kiss his ass. Sometime later I heard one long-time Detroit ad member, a man who was perpetually upbeat and liked everybody, refer to Rush as "Jesus, what a prick."

Joan Rivers was nicer than I thought she'd be. She came sailing into the reception room with a half-dozen members of her entourage in her wake. I happened to be standing in front of her, and she poked my chest and announced "OH! I LOVE that tie!" in the same brassy voice I'd heard on late night. I said thank you, Ms. Rivers, and then asked one of her entourage if I should tell Joan that my tie cost $5 at Target. She giggled and said I should probably keep it to myself.

I didn't realize how many encounters I had until I tried to pick a few:

Michigan connections: When I was in college, I worked at the AA News sports department, writing, copy editing and doing page design. I met John Bacon and edited his articles. - Chris Calloway was a neighbor my senior year. - I worked at Crisler and would hang around after practice, playing pick-up games with the managers. Kirk Taylor would stay behind and play with us, along with Rumeal and Terry Mills once each. - I got a picture with Loy and Glen Rice after the post-championship pep rally at Crisler. - I shook Gerald Ford's hand at a whistle-stop campaign event at the Durand train depot. - My roommate was a manager for the basketball team. He had most of the team over one night to hang out and Eric Riley stuck a bowl of food with a spoon in my microwave. There were sparks flying everywhere. He had no idea not to put metal in a microwave. - After the 1989 season and the interim title was removed, Steve Fisher moved from his mansion into a mega-mansion. He asked my roommate to help his wife, Anige, with a few things, so we went to his old house, helped her pack a few things and took them to the new house. He paid us with cash and a 6-pack of Frankenmuth Bock beer. Angie was fun, Coach was aloof.

NFL connections: I covered a preseason Lions game, interviewed Bennie Blades and Chris Spielman then walked out of the tunnel with Eddie Murray. Had a nice chat with him.

MLB connections: I went to a Tiger game at County Stadium in late Sept. Due to rain and 2 sucky teams, hardly anyone was there. I had a broken arm at the time and got my cast signed by Henneman, Nokes, Whitaker and I can't remember who else. Then Willie Hernandez threw me a ball that went into a puddle during warm-ups. I tried to get Morris to sign it just before the game but he got pissed at the interruption because he was pitching the next day and was charting pitches. I saw him a few months later at a card show in Detroit and had him sign the ball there. When I relayed the story, all he did was scowl at me. - My baseball coach was a card dealer and he brought Willie Horton in to speak at a Father-Son banquet. He gave me and a couple teammates some batting stance tips, working with each of us individually. - I went to shows with my coach many times, and he was always introducing me to players: Ripken and Eddie Murray (NTEM), Barbaro Garbey, Kaline, and Morris, as mentioned above.

Local media: When I was a kid, I met Zip Rzeppa from WNEM Channel 5 in Saginaw at an MLS football game and got his autograph. I was 8 and awestruck.

When I was about 8 years old, I met Gordie Howe in a drug store in Sarasota, Florida.  I had just finished reading a biography about him, so when my mom said, "Look, it's Gordie Howe," I didn't believe her.  I looked down the aisle, and sure enough it was him.  She quickly bought me a pad of paper at the store so I could ask for an autograph.  I tried to play it cool and asked, "Excuse me, but do you play hockey?"  Of course he said he did, and we talked for a couple of minutes.  He asked about my mite team and signed an autograph, and he was very nice throughout.  I usually don't approach celebrities, but that was a great experience for a kid and I am glad my mom recognized him.

I was in the lobby of the the Omni Hotel in Indy, standing behind a sofa, watching a Mich-UCLA basketball game. The game ended and the guy who was also watching the game right in front of me sitting on the sofa stood up and turned around. Derek Jeter.

I lived in LA for 5 years and probably met 20-30 people (though I did drag race James Woods).  I went to the White House Press Correspondents Dinner a when Cecely Strong hosted and I met everybody.  Easily a hundred named people.  I “spoke” to Elon Musk, Neil Degrass Tyson, Rocket Racoon, Bill Belicheck, Russel Wilson, Wisconsin 7’ basketball center, Jane Fonda, Wolf Blitzer, Rick Scott , Scalia, Jason Chafetz, Katie Couric, and several more. I sat next to the the head of ESPN News at the time and the CEO/owner of NewsMax who was famous for helping advise Trump early on. Politics aside he was a personable guy.  Obama was there but I didn’t meet him.

Flew on same plane as the Duke basketball team coming back from a Hawaii tournament, a redeye from Hawaii to Chicago. This was the Duke team with Hill, Laettner, and Hurley. Was hanging out at the back talking with Coach K and Alaa Abdelnaby. I remember telling them that I had attended the game when they came to Crisler, that same year, I think. When we got to Chicago, I saw people who looked like boosters get some players something to eat!

Almost got into a bar fight with Scottie Pippen when a friend of mine accidently knocked his coat off a bar stool.  The "fight" was more Scottie Pippen's idea than mine.  In fact, it was all his idea.  I was just trying to figure out how to get the hell out of there.  But Horace Grant intervened and it was all cool.