Meeting famous athletes

[KaiserUEO]

Well Larry David is number one.

im sure hes thrilled...

 

[Cowtown]

Jimmy don't look too excited, either ...

 

[two3zone]

Wayne Gretzky also a down to earth person.

I want to meet his daughter.

 

[two3zone]

I have a list of 5 people I would give anything to meet, Jb is number 2.

I remember when I moved back to Syracuse, first game back to the dome and after I went out back to say hi to the players and thank them. JB comes out and couldn't wait to say hi and thank you for the amazing job and work he's done for the program and community. I asked politely for a photo with him, after a 20 second pause he says in a whiny voice "Ehhhhhh, not tonight" then started to walk away. I couldn't help but giggle a little to myself.

 

[CuseTroop]

Someone on this board introduced me to about 50 cuse legends in one night once.

Some of my favorites from that night

Hopkins - Nicest guy ever. We spoke for probably 20 minutes. Two guys in suits tried to interrupt us, wanting hop to go somewhere else. Hop said "Hold on, I've got to hear the rest of this story". It was a blast. I can totally picture him killing it every time he walks into a recruits living room.

Justin Pugh - Again, great dude. We shot the breeze until they shut the lights off, and then moved into the hallway to talk more.

Justin Poles - Remembers me every time I see him. Found out I was a veteran, ran off and came back with a sweet SU/American flag pin.

JB- handshake and a picture lol

I don't think I've ever met any famous "non SU" folks..

Actually, I met John Beilein in the Bahamas. We were both walking towards the arena. Drunk troop was like "ayyooo coach, I came from Alaska for this , can I get a picture?!" He looked at me for a minute, as he walked and said "I don't normally do this, have your camera ready to go, and make it quick". So I made it happen real quick, and off he went. As I continued my walk, I couldn't believe how the interaction went... "I don't normally do this?" You mean he doesn't normally take pictures with folks? Was super confused, and thought he was kind of a jerk. I got to the bar I was walking to about 10 minutes later, looked at the TV, and there was Michigan taking the court. I asked him for a picture as he was walking to the arena. I'm lucky he didn't punch me in the face

Lydon tho, is my all time favorite. Met him in the Bahamas, I was hammered. Snapped some pictures. The rest of the night, he'd stop by the black jack table to ask if I was up still. Called me by name the whole night. Months later, I saw him in the hotel lobby in Chicago. He goes "Adam from Alaska, what's up man!". Super cool dude.

 

[two3zone]

im sure hes thrilled...

 

[kirbivore]

Lydon tho, is my all time favorite. Met him in the Bahamas, I was hammered. Snapped some pictures. The rest of the night, he'd stop by the black jack table to ask if I was up still. Called me by name the whole night. Months later, I saw him in the hotel lobby in Chicago. He goes "Adam from Alaska, what's up man!". Super cool dude.

so gambling age is less than 21 in the Bahamas or Atlantis doesn't care?

 

[CuseTroop]

so gambling age is less than 21 in the Bahamas or Atlantis doesn't care?

I was playing

 

[OburgOrange]

Bobby Hull, Darryl Sittler, Jim Furyk.
All very nice and easy to talk too.

Biggest d**cks... Carlos Franco and Nick Faldo

 

[Cowtown]

Bobby Hull, Darryl Sittler, Jim Furyk.
All very nice and easy to talk too.

Biggest d**cks... Carlos Franco and Nick Faldo

"His fellow players weren't exactly wild about him, either. Faldo rarely spoke on the course and nourished a well-earned reputation for arrogance and aloofness.

"Playing with Nick Faldo is like playing by yourself — only slower," Mark Calcavecchia once said about Faldo."

 

[kirbivore]

I was playing

Asking about the age limit there since Tyler would've been 18/19. Any casino I've been to won't let anyone underage on the floor, even if they're not playing.

 

[CuseTroop]

Asking about the age limit there since Tyler would've been 18/19. Any casino I've been to won't let anyone underage on the floor, even if they're not playing.

Google says 18 is the legal age. The casino was right in the middle of the resort. You had to pass through it to get to the arena, or anywhere actually. Players were all over the place

 

[CuseTroop]

Asking about the age limit there since Tyler would've been 18/19. Any casino I've been to won't let anyone underage on the floor, even if they're not playing.

I was trying to be cryptic with my original "i was playing" post, because I didn't want to get anyone in trouble if they weren't supposed to be gambling. Now that I know the laws are 18, I'll say that players from all teams were having a blast at the roulette table, and some of the card tables. The casino at Atlantis was the place to be Friday night after we won the damn thing.

 

[SUFaninNJ]

At the short lived House of Blues in Atlanta the night before Opening Ceremonies of the '96 Olympics. Dan Ackroyd called me a drunk azzhole when ironically, I was neither drunk nor being an azzhole. Although not my most pleasant celebrity interaction, in retrospect, it's made for a nice story.

 

[Tobias Funke]

Met Grant Hill last night at the Atlanta Hawks Asked how my night was going and I told him as far as basketball goes my week was already made when Gillon sunk the three at the buzzer Wednesday. He got a good laugh out of that.

 

[orangefog]

At the short lived House of Blues in Atlanta the night before Opening Ceremonies of the '96 Olympics. Dan Ackroyd called me a drunk azzhole when ironically, I was neither drunk nor being an azzhole. Although not my most pleasant celebrity interaction, in retrospect, it's made for a nice story.

He could have called you an ignorant slut.

 

[NailstheCusefan12]

I got lucky enough to meet a few famous people when I interned at MSG. By far the nicest former athlete I've ever met is Adam Graves. The first time I met him he scolded me for calling him Mr. Graves and from then on we were on a first name basis. Before a playoff game I was told to stick with him and make sure he got to all of the different parts of the arena he needed to before the game started. I've never felt more out of place than being the random intern sitting at a table in one of MSG's suites with Adam Graves, Mark Messier, and Rod Gilbert (all of whom were incredibly nice guys).

 

[SUFaninNJ]

I got lucky enough to meet a few famous people when I interned at MSG. By far the nicest former athlete I've ever met is Adam Graves. The first time I met him he scolded me for calling him Mr. Graves and from then on we were on a first name basis. Before a playoff game I was told to stick with him and make sure he got to all of the different parts of the arena he needed to before the game started. I've never felt more out of place than being the random intern sitting at a table in one of MSG's suites with Adam Graves, Mark Messier, and Rod Gilbert (all of whom were incredibly nice guys).

Marvin has a brother?

 

[KaiserUEO]

I got lucky enough to meet a few famous people when I interned at MSG. By far the nicest former athlete I've ever met is Adam Graves. The first time I met him he scolded me for calling him Mr. Graves and from then on we were on a first name basis. Before a playoff game I was told to stick with him and make sure he got to all of the different parts of the arena he needed to before the game started. I've never felt more out of place than being the random intern sitting at a table in one of MSG's suites with Adam Graves, Mark Messier, and Rod Gilbert (all of whom were incredibly nice guys).

Adam Graves is 1 of the nicest guys on the PLANET.

 

[sutomcat]

I don't have a running list in my head of people I have met who are famous, so I am pretty sure I will miss some but here are a few:

Christian Laettner

Met him at an Empire States Games in Syracuse when he was still in HS, playing for the WNY region. He hadn't verballed anywhere yet. Asked if he was considering Syracuse. He made a face and said 'no, I can do better than that'.

Coach K

Told this story before on the board. cto and I met him at the very first Basket Ball at the convention center downtown. Asked him about GMac, who had just verballed to Syracuse. We knew he had recruited him hard, knew he knew Gerry's talents well, so his comments were of great interest. After a long pause, he said he had never heard of him. His eyes were like doll eyes, black and lifeless. By all accounts, he is a good guy and a good friend to JB...I just think he isn't a fan friendly kind of guy.

GMac

Sat at my table at a Boys and Girls Club fundraiser dinner just prior to his senior season. Each table was assigned one player, all the kids wanted GMac become he was such a legend. He sat down with his food (it was a buffet style dinner) and a line started forming next to him almost immediately. He said 'just a sec', wolfed down a couple bites of his burger, took a sip from his drink and then spent the rest of the night signing autographs and posting for pictures. He was great with the kids, asked their names to personalize autographs, and blew me away with how good he was to his fans (a mix of local kids and well to do supporters of the basketball program).

Jay Wright was very gracious and engaging. Was happy to post for pictures or sign autographs with fans. Seems like a great guy.

Jerry West was nice. Made eye contact, answered questions about Syracuse players, was kind of aloof though.

Rory Sabbatini was a real jerk. Hit a bad shot. Blamed it on the caddy. Told the caddy he was going to 'fire his ass' and that he was sick of getting screwed by him several times, loudly, so anyone in the gallery could easily hear him.

Phil Mickelson was great with kids, signed a lot of autographs, very friendly, spoke with people from the gallery as he played his practice round. I have seen Angel Cabrera, Lumpy Tim Herron, Joey Sindelar, Steve Stricker, Matt Kuchar and Zach Johnson all being great with fans too...

Elmore Smith was a 7'1 center who played for the Buffalo Braves when they were in the NBA circa 1972. They came to Syracuse to do a youth clinic. Elmore was really nice. My brother (10 years old) made a 20 foot hook shot on him from the corner and he couldn't have been more gracious and kind to him.

Met Rusty Staub at a function when he was on the Mets. Very friendly, went out of his way to put kids at ease and get them to interact with him. Great guy.

Chris Christie and Regis Philbin were both very friendly and nice interacting with basketball fans at BET tournaments in the past...

And DC and JDub are two great guys to watch a game with. Both want Syracuse to win desperately and love celebrating big wins.

I still can't believe what DC did after a big SU win in the BET (I think it was to win the tournament in GMac's great run in 2006). SU had just won. SU fans were gathering on the baseline to celebrate, hugging, high fiving, laughing and just going bonkers in general. A big guy appears next to DC and yells 'DC! My man! Gimme some!'.

It should be noted that DC was wearing a beautiful suit that appeared to be custom fit and brand new. And that the big guy now gesturing for DC to hug him was covering in orange body paint from head to at least his belt line.

DC hesitated, but caught up in the moment, put a bear hug on the guy, picked him up and spun him once before letting him go. He looked down, saw the horrible damage done to the suit and discretely got the hell out of there. DC moved on to hugging some of the SU players nearby...

 

[MSOrange]

I don't have a running list in my head of people I have met who are famous, so I am pretty sure I will miss some but here are a few:

Christian Laettner

Met him at an Empire States Games in Syracuse when he was still in HS, playing for the WNY region. He hadn't verballed anywhere yet. Asked if he was considering Syracuse. He made a face and said 'no, I can do better than that'.

Coach K

Told this story before on the board. cto and I met him at the very first Basket Ball at the convention center downtown. Asked him about GMac, who had just verballed to Syracuse. We knew he had recruited him hard, knew he knew Gerry's talents well, so his comments were of great interest. After a long pause, he said he had never heard of him. His eyes were like doll eyes, black and lifeless. By all accounts, he is a good guy and a good friend to JB...I just think he isn't a fan friendly kind of guy.

GMac

Sat at my table at a Boys and Girls Club fundraiser dinner just prior to his senior season. Each table was assigned one player, all the kids wanted GMac become he was such a legend. He sat down with his food (it was a buffet style dinner) and a line started forming next to him almost immediately. He said 'just a sec', wolfed down a couple bites of his burger, took a sip from his drink and then spent the rest of the night signing autographs and posting for pictures. He was great with the kids, asked their names to personalize autographs, and blew me away with how good he was to his fans (a mix of local kids and well to do supporters of the basketball program).

Jay Wright was very gracious and engaging. Was happy to post for pictures or sign autographs with fans. Seems like a great guy.

Jerry West was nice. Made eye contact, answered questions about Syracuse players, was kind of aloof though.

Rory Sabbatini was a real jerk. Hit a bad shot. Blamed it on the caddy. Told the caddy he was going to 'fire his ass' and that he was sick of getting screwed by him several times, loudly, so anyone in the gallery could easily hear him.

Phil Mickelson was great with kids, signed a lot of autographs, very friendly, spoke with people from the gallery as he played his practice round. I have seen Angel Cabrera, Lumpy Tim Herron, Joey Sindelar, Steve Stricker, Matt Kuchar and Zach Johnson all being great with fans too...

Elmore Smith was a 7'1 center who played for the Buffalo Braves when they were in the NBA circa 1972. They came to Syracuse to do a youth clinic. Elmore was really nice. My brother (10 years old) made a 20 foot hook shot on him from the corner and he couldn't have been more gracious and kind to him.

Met Rusty Staub at a function when he was on the Mets. Very friendly, went out of his way to put kids at ease and get them to interact with him. Great guy.

Chris Christie and Regis Philbin were both very friendly and nice interacting with basketball fans at BET tournaments in the past...

And DC and JDub are two great guys to watch a game with. Both want Syracuse to win desperately and love celebrating big wins.

I still can't believe what DC did after a big SU win in the BET (I think it was to win the tournament in GMac's great run in 2006). SU had just won. SU fans were gathering on the baseline to celebrate, hugging, high fiving, laughing and just going bonkers in general. A big guy appears next to DC and yells 'DC! My man! Gimme some!'.

It should be noted that DC was wearing a beautiful suit that appeared to be custom fit and brand new. And that the big guy now gesturing for DC to hug him was covering in orange body paint from head to at least his belt line.

DC hesitated, but caught up in the moment, put a bear hug on the guy, picked him up and spun him once before letting him go. He looked down, saw the horrible damage done to the suit and discretely got the hell out of there. DC moved on to hugging some of the SU players nearby...

I remember that Coach K GMac story. Always cracks me up.

 

[SUFaninNJ]

He pretty much has one foot out the door, he is doing everything but governing our state lol, I have never seen a politician do less.

He's so bad I even voted for Buono who was pretty ill-equipped to run. That being said, I probably would've voted for a table over Christie. It probably would've accomplished more as well.

 

[Toga]

Richard Nixon, Jim Boeheim and Bowzer from Sha Na Na. Eclectic mix I realize.

 

[MSOrange]

Richard Nixon, Jim Boeheim and Bowzer from Sha Na Na. Eclectic mix I realize.

All at the same time? I can totally see this trio together for a night out in the Salt City.

 

[Bayside44]

Jay Wright is one cool cat. Met him the night before a noon tip at the Sheraton Bar, he knew my Villanova (and Hofstra!) friends that were up for the game. In fact he asked me if I knew them since they live in Alexandria. HE then proceeded to drink beer and beat us 12 hours later.