Disastrous brush with a celebrity?

one time i ran into mark may right after college gameday...i told to come back to my frat house for a party and he and lou holtz obliged ...once they got there, we gang banged him * mark gay* and masterbated all of his face... we left lou alone because he agreed to video tape it all ... true story.

human centipad wrote:

one time i ran into mark may right after college gameday...i told to come back to my frat house for a party and he and lou holtz obliged ...once they got there, we gang banged him * mark gay* and masterbated all of his face... we left lou alone because he agreed to video tape it all ... true story.

Is that where you perfected your writing skills?

hahahahahahhahahahah wow how original! did that really happen?

Not disastrous

Evander Holyfield is a pretty big supporter of track and field. Anyways he was up at Penn on Saturday one year sponsoring a couple of folks and after the meet I saw him step out of a port a potty on the side walk and I called out Hey everybody its the champ, its the champ. Everyone rushes up to Holyfield to get pictures and shake hands. Who knows what the champ did in that portable facility.

But thanks Holyfield for supporting the sport.

I used to coach the children of George Muresan (tallest NBA player ever). He was a very active parent and would come to all the meets and he would pick the kids up from practices everyday. He had this tricked out Ford Excursion. No driver side or passenger side seats. He would drive from the middle row, his wife next to him and the kids in the back.

He was also a pretty decent tennis player. He had a pretty wicked serve, good reach, but not much court mobility.

At 14 I was on a train from Stockholm to Oslo with my mom and at one of the stops this big guy gets into the car and says real loud, "Any Americans in Here? I need to talk Americans." He as about 2 seats up so I chimed in, yes we were from America and asked where he was from.

Seeing it was just a kid he kind of said oh, "Chicago." and I said we were from Iowa. (my mom kept quiet, she was Finnish).

That pretty much ended our conversation, he didn't want talk to a kid, American or not. But a guy did sit down and talked with him for most of the trip.

Later that day, or next day, we were sightseeing in Oslo and this guy came up and said, "hey you're the boy on the train, aren't you?"

"Umm, yeah I guess."

"Do you know who that was?" he asked.

I was thinking NFL or a heavyweight wrestler.

"Brian Olfield, a US Olympic shot putter, and he's going to train in Oslo for a few weeks before the Olympics in Munich."

So not much of a meeting, but I did follow his career after that and he set some world records (rendered "unofficial" because he was a professional by then) and was somewhat of a 70s celebrity and one of the most colorful characters in track and field.

My Dad travels a lot so he's bumped into a few sports stars. It's pretty easy for him to establish rapport because he's 6'6" and a former college basketball player.

Bo Jackson was sitting in the airport's American Airlines Admiral's club (or similar) waiting for a flight. My dad walked up and said "You could make my 10 year old's day if you'd sign this envelope." Jackson looked up and said, "I come here [to the Admiral's Club] to get away from guys like you."

Without pulling back the outreached envelope, my dad responded, "You should try wearing a hat."

Jackson snapped back, "I tried that already" and he grabbed the envelope and signed it.

On another occasion, Mohammed Ali signed for my Dad and he put the year as '83. The problem was, it was '93.

Most of my brushes have been non-disastrous:

Robert F. Kennedy came to our house in 1965, when I was seven, so that my father could accompany him on a tour of the Hudson River and talk about cleanup efforts. The picture of his standing there on our front walk with my father hung in the hallway my whole childhood.

My parents belonged to an early green organization called C.A.N. (Consumer Action Now) in the early 1970s and my family attended a brunch where Robert Redford and Paul Newman walked in with their wives (who were members of C.A.N.). This was right after BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID had come out and those two guys were It. I got to shake their hands. They were shorter than you'd expect--around 5'8" or 5'9", I'm guessing.

As a blues performer, I've gotten a chance to share stages with and hang out with some name players. Hung out backstage with Buddy Guy and his band at Central Park Summerstage in 1990, drinking Buddy's Brandy. His album DAMN RIGHT I'VE GOT THE BLUES had just come out and he was a big deal.

Toured the UK as a support act for Bo Diddley in 1991 and got to hang out with him a lot on the bus. He was exactly like his public persona: tough, funny, plain-spoken, profane. No star-attitude. He'd come straight at you. He had a little computerized drum machine and he loved that thing.

Shook B. B. King's hand once.

Met a few famous actors and stage folk at the home of my late uncle, who was a drama critic. John Malkovitch, Edward Albee, Dustin Hoffman.

Had a summer home up in Maine and Zero Mostel moved in next door. He came to several big parties given by my grandparents and he was--as you'd expect--a total ham. Loud, profane, "outrageous."

I was hanging out in a Harlem jazz club and Joe Seneca was having a drink at the bar. This is a year or two after he starred in CROSSROADS with Ralph Macchio. Nice guy.

Going Anon on this one all the way around.

A while ago (within the past 20 years) I headed out for a run on a trail near where I worked. Bumped into another runner I knew and talked a bit. In pulls a future Olympic runner, whom I'd known for a long time and thought had been on decent terms with. What the heck, it was just a recovery run so I waited and thought I'd join them for a bit.

We weren't a half mile (which seemed awkwardly silent anyway) into the run when the future Olympian asked if I had a cold--ah no, I might have had one a month ago but no cold.

Future Olympian got real silent and didn't say another word. Suddenly Olympian stopped and said something like:

I can't do this.

I got the hint and just took off and completed my out and back run. Passed them on the way back and they seemed fine.

I think Olympian was paranoid, maybe immunosuppressed. For some reason. Go figure. Strange encounter and I never talked to that person again and hopefully never will.

My dad is an airline pilot and has had the pleasure of meeting a ton of celebrities. Some were nice, others the contrary.

I sat next to Sean Connery on a first class flight to California. One of the nicest guys I've ever met. Incredibly open, articulate, and down to earth. Signed an autograph on an airplane napkin and offered my dad who was flying the plane and I the opportunity to go to dinner with him at the hotel.

My dad has had:

Justin Timberlake: Biggest dick my dad's ever met. Had his bodygaurd abruptly escort an 8 year old girl away from his seat who was asking for an autograph.

Rick Flair: Nice and very mild mannered. Signed an autograph for my dad to give me.

George Bush Sr.: Another nice guy who was open to talk and signed an autograph.

James Worthy (NBA Hall of Famer): Signed an autograph for my mom to give to me (she is a flight attendant) and talked to her for about an hour on an international flight.

Three Six Mafia (Juicy J and DJ Paul): My mom had them on a flight after doing a homecoming concert for an all black college. She said they were hilarious and ordered Bloody Mary's because they were hungover from drinking all night. Also signed autographs. I later met Juicy J in Memphis at the Fed Ex Forum and he asked me to buy him a shot of crown (cheap bastard). I obliged however for the sake of the experience. Cool guy though.

Ray J: My mom had him on a flight. Said he was nice and very mild mannered. Very soft spoken. (She should've asked about his sex tape with Kardashian)

Quentin Tarantino: My dad flew him on a private jet in which Tarantino asked to come up into the cockpit and fly for a bit. My dad said he was the weirdest guy he's ever met.

Billy Ray Cyrus: My dad met him on an overnight in long beach as he was finishing up a run onn the beach a man came up and asked for directions to a restaurant. Upon noticing who it was my dad replied "well Mr. Cyrus I dont know the exact location of that restaurant but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night".

Bill Rodgers: Met him at a Half Marathon I ran and had dinner with him. Talked to him 3-4 hours after the marathon and he offered me a place to stay out in Boston should I run the marathon. Damn nice guy and so cool and open.

Dick Beardsly: I met Dick at another marathon and talked to him forever. Incredibly humble and open about the demons he's overcome in his life. Truly inspiring.

Alberto Salazar: My mon used to run with him as I guess she lived next to his brother in Virginia. She was also a D1 runner. I was suprised this Christmas when I recieved an autographed picture from him and Dick Beardsly that the two had corresponded on signing for me. The running community is really something with what many of these guys give back to the sport in small acts like that.

Joanie Benoit: Beautiful, graceful, and friendly. No other words adequately describe this woman.

Chris Solinsky: Shot the sh*t with him at Great American after racing there in college. Guy asked how a few of my teammates that he knew were doing and asked how my season had been. Class act guy.

That's about it.

Not me but my friend once shared the same dealer with Lance Armstrong. This was before his TdF days so my friend didn't know who he was. He said he's taking the drugs to help him sleep better.

Another friend (waiter) once waited on Snooki at a restaurant. Bill was $29.20. She paid $30.00. How generous.

A cousin once ran into Miley Cyrus and asked for an autograph. He is usually pretty shabbily dressed. She thought he was a homeless bum or something and went "Ewww..." and took off without stopping.

This wasn't like I stepped on my dick in front of a celeb or anything, but still a fun story. When I bartended in downtown Atlanta we used to have a few athletes that would always come in...to the point where we basically expected to see them when their team was in town. One night Chris Sabo sucked it up at the plate against Braves pitching. We figured he would come in later, so we wrote "Sabo 0-5" on the message board in the bar. He did show up late that night for some beers, and he actually laughed about it. After that he would come in and rag on us when the Reds would win.

This story is worthless without names. C'mon man - not everyone cares that much.

Howie wrote:

This one time in the 80's when I was in jr. high I was at Conrad's bike shop in New York and the older lady who owned the place tells me that the guy beside me is a famous musician. I look at the guy, who to me seems like some normal middle class guy in dockers. So I ask him who he is and he says he is Bob Weir from the Grateful Dead. I say "never heard of you". After an agonizingly long second of eye contact he shrugs and then we both keep looking at bicycles.

That's great! Funny because Bob Weir couldn't give a rat's ass if anybody has ever heard of him...he probably prefers it that way.

Big Don wrote:

Bo Jackson was sitting in the airport's American Airlines Admiral's club (or similar) waiting for a flight. My dad walked up and said "You could make my 10 year old's day if you'd sign this envelope." Jackson looked up and said, "I come here [to the Admiral's Club] to get away from guys like you."

Ha Ha.

I was at a stoplight and big dude on a big beautiful

Harley pulls up next to me. I am checking out the bike and as I look up I realize it was Bo. I called out to him by name, he just looks at me like I am a piece of gum stuck to the bottom of his shoe. The minute until the light went green was awkward.

Thanks for reinforcing my opinion of him.

I was driving around with my boss after a business meeting in Burbank. We were just making our way through surface streets to get to the freeway. We were talking about the opportunity the meeting offered our company and I wasn't paying as much attention to my driving, as I should.We pulled up to a stop sign. A couple of pedestrians were crossing the street, completely involved with their own discussion. I was waiting a the crosswalk for them to get past our lane, but still more involved with the conversation with my boss. I guess I wasn't pushing on the brake pedal hard enough, as my boss barked out "BRAKES!". I hit the brakes hard and the car rocked.This was enough to catch the attention of the two guys crossing the street. The nearest guy to the bumper looked back at me very startled. I felt a great deal of relief and thanked my boss for preventing me from hitting Tommy Lee Jones.

Lorenzo the Magnificent wrote:

Have you ever espied someone famous, even if famous only among running afficianados, and in an attempt to greet them, acknowledge their greatness, let them know that you actually knew who they were, etc. totally screwed up? Called them by a wrong name, misplaced them, froze, stuttered, or spilled beer all over them(me and former PV WR holder Billy Olson).

Stories of brushes with greatness gone bad?

Oh man, this is a great thread.

I've had some positive celebrity encounters, but I will stick to the bad ones.

-when I was a kid, I was a huge pro wrestling fan (I think it's funny that there are a lot of stories about wrestlers here), and my family was at the beach near the Florida-Alabama line and at the grocery store a cashier told my mom that a famous pro wrestler was shopping there. We looked around and saw hm - it was Lex Luger, wearing the most ridiculously loud loose-fitting Hawaiian pants. My mom encouraged me to go talk to him, but I was too scared (I was seven years-old, tops). She went up to him and basically said that her son is a big wrestling fan and it would be great if he'd go talk to me for a second, and he pretty much told her that he was on vacation and didn't want to be bothered. She was very disappointed. Needless to say, I wasn't super surprised when the less-savory details of his personal life came out later, although obviously you can't judge a person by one small incident.

Maybe more to come later.

My favorite so far, I think, is the John Madden one... saving a guy from oncoming traffic and then lamenting how shitty the game he was about to call was hahahaha

Oh, and as a pretty big deadhead, the Bob Weir story is awesome. As someone pointed out, a member of the Grateful Dead is probably one of the least likely people to give two hoots about whether he is recognized hahaha

Ki Sung-yong wrote:

I was a 5th grader when I met Obama when he was campaigning for the Senate. I didn't think I'd get to shake his hand and say a few words to him so I fumbled my words and I asked him if he was going to run for president (I meant in 2008). He must have thought I was stupid and told me he's not running for president but the senate.

Way to go. You're the one who put the idea in his head.

Jeff Koons is a relative of mine. He is a great guy and very down to earth. His studio is amazing and so is his art. I can assure you he wasn't offended. My sister is actually on a vacation with the family now.

agip wrote:

back in my running store days, I met a few famous people.

One day Jeff Koons, the artist, walks in. I love his work and actually feel an affinity to it, but I gaggled and goofed and said something about irony, which is exactly the wrong thing to say about Koons - the great thing about his work is that it is so honest and vulnerable. Opposite of ironic.

Anyway, I realized this, so I put together a list of 5 or so people I wanted to have something intelligent to say to. Should they need a pair of running shoes. I put a little thought into having something intelligent to say.

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