Growing up, Willie Mays was my idol, but i had heard so many stories of his disdain for fans that I purposefully never took the opportunity to go meet him at shows when I had the chance. I wanted to keep the wonderful memories of my childhood fully intact and unblemished by the realities of the world. (Wow, that sounded poetic!) And I'm glad I did. A half minute of watching him angrily sign my card while never making eye contact with me would've completely wiped out a lifetime of good impressions I've had of him as a ballplayer.
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