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  1. #121

    Re: Your Worst Experience Dealing With An Athlete

    I don't have a bad one, but back in 2009 when Pedro Martinez was working his way up to the Phillies, he stopped and played for the ironpigs. He had a bullpen session, and after, he walked over to the rail and I was the first to get his signature. As he was signing my card, I figured I'd ask him for his headband. He looked up and said "Do you want my DNA?" And I was like uhh and he just laughed and gave it to me. Attached is an article with his picture from the bullpen session. You can see he has a grey headband on, that I now own

    http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/iron...ing_and_a.html
    Check Out My Website: http://ironpigs92.webs.com/

  2. #122

    Re: Your Worst Experience Dealing With An Athlete

    A few years ago I noticed former 49er Dexter Carter in the waiting area for the same flight I was waiting to board. As luck would have it, I sat next to him.

    When I sat down, I told him I was a fan of his, because I loved the way Pat Summerall used to say his name..he laughed, and I told him I knew a couple of his teammates while he was with the 49ers. He asked who, and when I told him, it sparked a conversation that lasted the entire flight, through the airport, all the way to the parking lot...that was a great flight! He was fun to talk with and had some great stories and didn't mind me asking all sorts of questions about his time at FSU and those great 49er teams.

  3. #123
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Posts
    437

    Re: Your Worst Experience Dealing With An Athlete

    My worst experience was back in the early 1990's while at a card show in Toledo, Ohio and with several Cincinnati Reds signing autographs. Most noticeably were Tony Perez, Ken Griffey Sr., Gary Nolan and Johnny Bench. Tony Perez joked around with my kids and was fun to talk to. After about a half hour we worked our way to Johnny Bench. I gave him a baseball to sign and he signed it. I then asked if I could have a picture of him with His 1976 road gray game worn #5 Cincinnati Reds jersey I purchased thru an auction house several years before that I brought along. He reached for the jersey and quickly examined it and asked with a slight growl, "What do you mean my jersey" and "Where did you get this"? I told him thru an auction house and his face turn to a frown as he lifted it up and posed for the picture. I was kind of shocked by the way he reacted when he handed the jersey back wondering what made him upset. It wasn't for several months later when I found out what might have made him upset. I sent the jersey to 3 auction houses and every time they all sent it back with no explanation. I called one of them up asking why. They explained to me that Bench had a fire in his Cincinnati apartment and a lot of his items were pulled out for safety so they wouldn't be damaged. And as expected some were eventually stolen. And the person also said Bench's lawyer was also contacting anybody selling his equipment to contact him. I didn't know if what I had was something from that apartment or not but to this day I regret selling that jersey. It was only going for $1700 back in that day.

  4. #124
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2015
    Posts
    274

    Re: Your Worst Experience Dealing With An Athlete

    I have to say my worst experience happened earlier this year. I took my two boys to the CWS in Omaha. Fist time any of has gone. I took them to get some autographs and play games in the fan zone area. We did not go to a game, maybe next year. Curt Schilling and Dave Winfield were both there to sign autos. Dave was also giving a hitting clinic. I was there for Curt. We were there in line at the gate an hour before it opened, then had to wait another half hour before he was to start signing. We were told he was gonna sign anything we had. That was great cause I had a ball and brought cards for my kids. They also had CWS 8x10 pictures stacked up on the table. When the wind picked up the top quarter of the stack would blow off the table and go all over the ground. They would then pick them up and stack them up to blow off again. About 10 minutes after the gate opened and we all got into line, they cut off the line. 10 minutes before he was to show up we were told that he would only sign the CWS pictures they had on the table, yea the ones that were being blown onto the ground. The time came for him to show up and start signing, and he was not there. He was late. He finally appeared about 15 minutes late, My first thought when I saw him was that he was drunk or hungover. He kept his head down, never looked up and signed those CWS 8x10s like a conveyor belt. My oldest got a picture of me getting the 8x10, its pathetic. Not the picture but that Curt had his head down signing and flinging the 8x10s onto the table. I probably could have gotten five of them, but I did not want to get killed by those other people in line. My kids and I got our 8x10 and went on to play the games. I kept an eye on the line and when I saw the last people go into the tent we went back over. They had run out of the 8x10s and a few people were lucky enough to get other things signed. I tried to get my ball signed but he walked off. He was done. It had been about 40 minutes since he was supposed to start signing. He only signed for about 20 minutes after being late. Signed all the 8x10s and left 20 minutes early. People were still there wanting to get autos on other items but he was done. I bet he still got paid for the whole hour. At least we got an auto.

    On the other hand Dave Winfield not only gave a hitting clinic but also signed for everyone in line. We were among the last in line and it was about time for him to go. I think he was going to the broadcast booth for the game. He had spent time talking to everyone and taking pictures with them. That is great in my book, even if it was gonna cost me not getting his auto. As the time approached for him to go, they cut the line off in front of us and he started signing the 8x10s until everyone had one. He then left. Dave was a class act, everyone got a signed 8x10 even if they did not get to talk to him or get pictures. Those in line early did. I have no problem with that. Dave was great.

    However, we got Schilled by Schilling. So sad how down hill he has gone.

  5. #125

    Re: Your Worst Experience Dealing With An Athlete

    I have enjoyed reading the various stories on here so I figured I would share a couple of my own.

    Best Experiences:

    2008 Ryan Malone - Penguins: A group of buddies and I went to Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals against the Red Wings. I was lucky enough to snag a single ticket from Ticketmaster, while the rest of my friends watched the big screen outside of the stadium. The Pens were down 2-1 in the series so this was basically a must win game. They ended up losing a hard fought game 2-1, which put them in a 3-1 series hole. After the game, we hung around near the players parking lot drowning our sorrows with IC Light. A majority of the players went to their cars without signing or acknowledging anyone, which I couldn't blame them after a game like that. About three hours after the game ended we saw Ryan Malone came out to get into his car. He was the last player to leave the arena. There were only a couple of people left in the parking lot at this time so we went over to see if he would be willing to sign. He ended up talking with us for a good 15 minutes about the game/series. I didn't have anything to get signed so I got a picture with him. It was really a cool experience.

    2013 Clint Hurdle - Pirates: I attended the 2013 Wild Card Playoff game against the Reds, which is still THE greatest sporting event I have ever been to in person. A huge win for the Buccos. I was with a friend of my Dad's (who is a huge autograph guy), and was really hoping to get a couple autos after the game. We waited around and made our way near the team bus where the players were boarding to head to the airport and then onto St. Louis for the NLDS. Pretty much every player did not even acknowledge the screaming crowd and just boarded the bus, but Clint came over and talked with us for awhile, signed autographs, and thanked us numerous times for providing the raucous environment. It was a great end to an unforgettable evening.

    Worst Experience:

    1994 Rod Woodson - Steelers: I attended my first ever Steelers game with my Dad, and his friend (again big autograph guy). It was a preseason game against the Green Bay Packers, I will always remember Greg Lloyd knocking Brett Favre out in the first quarter. After the game, my Dads friend was looking to get some autographs so we waited around with him near the players lot. Rod Woodson emerged, who at the time was my favorite player. I patiently waited as he signed for a couple people that were ahead of me. By this time I was near him he was just getting into his car. Keep in mind I was 8 years old at the time and this was a meaningless preseason game in which he only played a few series. I go to hand him the card I had and he looked at me and said, "If I sign yours, I am going to have to sign his and his and his. I am done" and slammed his car door. I honestly thought my Dad was going to pull him out of the car he was so mad. Haha
    Needless to say I was never a fan of him since.

 

 

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