So, I'm a huge Dallas Stars stalker....ummmm...I mean....fan. A few years ago, after the lockout, my sister and I went to a practice and got autographs after. That's one thing I love about my Stars....having that setup so that the fans can get face-to-face is the best idea ever. We got to meet everyone from the 2005 team except Zubov. It was a mostly positive experience with the exception of Mike Modano. I won't go into details, but I went away with a bad taste in my mouth from that meeting. Thankfully, Marty Turco made up for it and I got this lovely picture here:
Please don't ever let me cut my hair that short again...Well, I found out about two years ago that the Stars stay at the Hilton across from the arena and they just walk back and forth for practice and the game! I decided that it is too sweet of an opportunity to miss getting to say hi when they are a mere two miles from my house, so I headed downtown on a Saturday to see what I could see and was rewarded handsomely for my stalkerish ways!
There were probably about 20 people there....most of them of the professional autograph seeker type. But the system worked pretty well....we all hung out at the top of the drive, lined up and let the players come to us. Now, I have met many, many celebrities. I have worked on music videos, worked for CMT, went to Fan Fair for a few years, etc., etc. My experience has in NO WAY made me any better about knowing what in the hell to say to them. So I keep my mouth shut. It's charming, I'm sure. I pretty much just said "thank you very much" to each of them and that's it. And, with a few exceptions, I'm really not that into autographs. I would much rather have a picture with a celebrity than their autograph. But I was there by myself with no "photographer" on hand, so I went the autograph route just to do something....
I'm pretty happy with how things went....I got to meet Turco and Morrow right off the bat (Brenden Morrow is taller than I thought he was!). A bunch of the new guys came up and, sadly, I didn't recognize most of them! But thankfully they all sign their names with their number....so I could figure it out later. My first BIG thrill was seeing Daryl "Razor" Reaugh. He is our color commentator. That's right....I was thrilled I got to meet one of our announcers! But if you've ever gotten to hear Ralph and Razor, you would know why. They are the best (and I am not at ALL biased). They are both sarcastic and knowledgable and Razor is constantly spouting off "Razorisms".....phrases or made up words that crack me up. I write them all down. And I told him this (yeah, I'm fun at dinner parties). Anyway, he seemed pleasantly surprised that I even knew who he was (read above: professional autograph hounds). I was so beyond thrilled that I called my mom right after. Because I knew she'd understand.
Mar-ty! Mar-ty! Mar-ty!
Yes, Brenden Morrow is on the phone....he didn't miss a beat in his conversation though...
The infamous Razor (I think these people were only getting his autograph after seeing me do it. I'm pretty sure they didn't know who he was...)The second big thrill came when Mike Modano came out. I was a tad apprehensive, but he has now redeemed himself in my eyes (and even moreso later!). I had him sign the puck I bought commemorating his 503rd goal....which made him the American-born scoring leader AND was scored IN Nashville at a game I attended.
As the players came out of practice, I did catch a few more (though Steve Ott snapped at one of the "professionals" and I didn't approach him after that). When Modano came out, I was determined to get a picture with him. I finally turned to the guy next to me and asked him if he would oblige (the reason this was so hard was because everyone had their own agenda and moved from player to player....I may have caused this guy to miss someone while he was helping me). Anyway, I finally got my picture with Mike Modano...so now I can die somewhat happy!
I don't know....can you tell I'm stoked? I think I hid my excitement pretty well, right?I stuck around and got to meet Ralph (our play-by-play guy)....he walked through a group of people that hardly noticed him and when he got near me, I said "Ralph?" and he looked shocked and asked, "are you from Dallas?" I proudly told him I was and congratulated him on the new contract he and Razor had just signed to stay until 2012 (I think). He was impressed I knew that (thanks for the info, Mom!). I was also the only one that recognized Coach Tippett (c'mon! I know what most of the NHL coaches look like! Wake up, people!)
So, all-in-all, it was a pretty successful day. The Stars will be back in town in December and I'm going to drag my friend Nancy down there to be my photographer. All I want is pictures. And maybe by then I will have memorized more faces (thank you, Center Ice!). Someone better warn the Stars that I'm coming.....
2 comments:
Can I just say that Morrow looks like a priest there? Haha. Sorry your original encounter with Modano didn't go very well. Mine didn't either - I think a lot of people can say that just because Mo doesn't always get into the whole fan thing. It depends on what day you catch him, I guess, because I've also seen him be really sweet and friendly with fans. Glad you got your picture though!
Yeah, and it was hot, so those guys in all black had to be dying!
After my first Mo meeting, I searched around on the Stars message board and found that others were mixed on their encounters with Mikey as well. Guess you just have to catch him in a good mood!
I'm going to hang out again when the Stars are here in December....though I won't need to bother Modano since I already have the pic and signature :)
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