Have you ever met a professional athlete?

[Jenvenza]

I met Warren Moon when I was younger, but my husband has met a lot of them. He has met Shane Battier - plays for the Houston Rockets. Rudy Tomjanovich and Hakeen Olajuwon.

 

[andymattmom]

Hunter Smith---punter for the Colts came to our church a couple years ago. He is in a Chritian Band...wonderful singer. It is a casual church (we now go to another one). He was very, very nice...signed autographs afterwards. Had a very cute little son....and his wife seemed very nice.

Went to high schools with Rod Woodson who played for Steelers, Raiders, and Ravens (won Super Bowl with them). He holds a football camp every summer at our old high school- it is free for the kids (limited number of course). My boys have been a few times. He is still a wonderful guy, very nice. During the camp they announce no autographs until the last day when he will sign 1 thing for each child. He gets other pro players to attend and help. Great thing...

We saw Rod at a hot dog place during the camp once...have a wonderful picture of my boys with him.

I think sometimes we all forget they might not want to sign autographs, have people stare at them, ask if they are so and so. They might want time with their family, be in a hurry, have had a bad day. Think of the times we have all made some nasty remark to the clerk at a store when we are in a hurry or have had a bad day.

Interesting seeing who everyone has seen!!

 

[MUFFYCAT]

My dh's cousin is married to an ex baseball player. well known name played 13 years for teams like the Mets and Dodgers. He's a nice guy- very very quiet now.
And I dated a minor leaguer for a while.*so did more than met him

Other than those just the typical fan signing stuff at ball parks.

Can you say who your cousin is married to? The well- known name has me going through many Mets who also played with the Dodgers.

 

[GraysMom]

My dh's cousin is married to an ex baseball player. well known name played 13 years for teams like the Mets and Dodgers. He's a nice guy- very very quiet now.
And I dated a minor leaguer for a while.*so did more than met him

Other than those just the typical fan signing stuff at ball parks.

Did he play for the Mets in the 80's? If so, can I ask who he is? (Huge Mets fan back then)

My DFIL pitched for the Pirates way back when.

 

[brerrabbit]

When I was about 9 or ten years old I met Nolan Ryan for the first time. He was in the Texas National Guard and it was around 1968 or 69 and a lot of atheletes were in the Guard to avoid Vietnam. He came to out Little League Fields along with Norm Miller (ex Astro) and a couple of other guys to sign autographs. I have a picture of him in army fatigues. I have met him several times since then and he is always a really nice guy. I even showed him the picture from back then and got him to sign it for me. He thought it was great. For a number of years when he still lived in Alvin I was a member of the same Country Club that he and his wife were members of and saw him there occasionally. We also like to eat at one of his favorite resturants and would see him and talk to him there.

While I lived in Calgary I went to play golf one weekday at Kananaskas and got paired up with two other guys to play. It was not until about the third hole that I found out I was playing with Theron Flury, and Joe McDonald who played for the Flames at the time. They were back in Calgary because training had started for the upcoming season.

Clyde Drexler is from my area and his daughter graduated from Pearland High School. I am a chairperson for an area of Project Graduation and the year his daaughter graduated he came and worked with us. I got to talk to him for over an hour as we took a break at the same time and he was funny because he was telling me stories about Hakeem O from college. I was at U of H at the same time and had met Haleem several times because we practiced Lacrosse at the same time they were having basketball practice and Hakeem wanted to see if he could throw and catch with a lacrosse stick. He was actually pretty decent for someone who had never done it before.

Finally, my strangest encounter with a pro sports player was in 1983. I had been working in Downtown Houston for about a year and the company I worked for had a new state of the art workout facility in our building. I worked out a lunch and one day afterwards I was taking a shower and had just finished and strpprd out of the shower to towel off when I look up and standing in front of me is the CEO of my company with OJ Simpson standing there taking a tour of the facility. OJ sticks his hand out and says "how ya doin?" I shook his hand and said "fine" He asked a couple of questions about the facility and how I liked it and then they left. All I remember to this day is man, he sure had big hands.

 

[RadioNate]

More than I can count and several I'd consider friends.

 

[java]

Oh and another Lynn Swann love-
My brother was in a frat at Duke looking out the window where he sees Lynn S. walking across the quad. He runs and grabs a football- runs out and asks him to throw a few. HE DID!!! just a couple but it meant the world to my brother!

(those asking who the ball player is you have mail)

 

[MI mom of 3]

When I was quite young I met Dick "Night Train" Lane many time times. His ex wife and son lived across the street from my best friend. All I really remember was that he seemed HUGE!!!

Last year we went to the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame induction. Met Steve Yzerman (gorgeous and sooo polite) Desmond Howard (he was very nice and his wife and family were beautiful) Dave Bing (classy gentleman) among others.

DS with Steve Yzerman

and with Desmond Howard

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

MI Mom of 3 - I am so jealous of the Steve Yzerman meeting. I'm a huge hockey fan. How cool for your DS!

I "met" Samari Rolle when he played for the Titans when he came to see our band play. He tried repeatedly to get me to go out with him but I politely declined each time. I told him I didn't like football (only hockey) and he was quite miffed.

 

[simba928]

My friend and I are HUGE Steeler's fans and Clark Haggans, a line backer, used to appear on a radio show every week that was broadcasted from a sports bar/restaurant type place. We found out and went one week. We sat at a table right in front of his table. He was running extremely late (he had a good excuse, though. he never told us his excuse but we figured it out). An hour after he was supposed to get there and we were ready to leave he walked in the door. Extremely nice guy. My friend wrote him a little note on a napkin and she gave it to him. We then went up and got a picture taken with him. It was so much fun. That weekend we made t-shirts that said "I <3 linebackers" on the front and his name and number on the back and our name on the sleeve. A group of us went and he told us how much he loved our shirts and said that he wanted one. Again took pictures with us and talked to us.

Last year, he along with a rookie linebacker, Lamarr Woodley, went to sign autographs at the mall as part of a toy drive for Toys for Tots and my friend and I went. Waited in line for like 2 hours. We finally got up to the front and we both had a picture from when we went to our "Clark Haggans nights" the previous season. He talked to us for a minute about the picture, signed things. Again really nice. Lamarr Woodley was equally as nice.

I recently met Jerome Bettis where I work. Really nice guy but really soft spoken. The entire time I was helping him he didn't think I knew who he was. When I rang him up I said "Have a good day Mr. Bettis". He laughed and left. Another customer came up to me like "Do you know who that was!?!?!?!?"

I also met Mike Webster or Wagner. Forget which one (oops!). I went to a charity fashion show he was in and his wife sat at our table. She was really nice, talking to me about the fashions the whole time and then he came after the show and she introduced everyone at the table to him. Really nice couple.

 

[Disneynutbsv]

Yes, I used to work at The Mount Washington Hotel and I met Wilt Chamberlain I'm only 5 feet tall, so he was really looking down on me, lol.

Then in 1994 one of the members of the Boston Bruins got married and the whole team (except for 1 member, wife was having a baby, so he of course didn't come) stayed at the resort and went to "The Cave". And I met Bobby Orr at a fundraiser once.

 

[Disneynutbsv]

Oh and Bodie Miller lives about 15 minutes from me

 

[JoJo's Mom]

I have met a few of the MN Twins. Kerbie Puckett, Kent Hrbek and Tim Laudner. I went to Jr. High with Trent Klatt (though I am not sure if he is still playing hockey and if he is - where?) last summer we realized that one of the ump's at my daughters softball (fastpitch) was one of the Hanson brothers (if you've seen Slap Shot you know who I am talking about) He was awesome and so nice. My husband asked him "so, I hear you played a little hockey" he says "yep" my DH says "what would you do if I pulled your shirt over your head" he says "you better be able to run fast" It was so funny. He had a great sense of humor.

 

[Talking Hands]

Yes, several. No big deal.