Best & Worst Experience Meeting An Athlete

[steve B]

I haven't had any particularly bad experiences, and a few really good ones. I guess I've been lucky.

Brooks Robinson - At a Sports Illustrated hospitality suite in 1976. He was one of three guys signing that night. (Basically a free drinks event in hope that school principals will buy SI for the school, not exactly kid friendly, and I was 13...) He stopped to talk baseball for a while, and when some guy at the back of the line started complaining he stood up and told him "I'm talking baseball with this kid so you'll wait till I'm done"

Bob Feller - pitched a home run derby between games of a minor league double header. Came up in the stands after with a bunch of preprinted photo sheets to sign. I went up last, being shy, and after getting a couple plus one on a random bit of paper for dads autograph album I asked if it bothered him that most of the kids were just making paper planes with them. " No, they're just kids having fun. Do you play baseball?"
Ended up sitting with him for a few batters while he explained the pitching strategy the pitchers were trying. I didn't realize just how cool that was until a few years later.

Random Russian motorcycle rider at the International Six Day Trials in 73 -
We were all hanging out at the outlet from the motorcycle impound looking for autographs. Guy had a cast from hand up to the elbow, and had been riding trails for a full day. Figured there was no way he was going to do autographs. He looked at the gauntlet of kids and yelled over to the mechanic, who brought a pen and put it in a socket he'd had molded into his cast, then signed for everyone. Totally amazing!

One of the Pentons, same event same day a few minutes later - The manufacturer of the US teams bikes had a couple kids on the team. Very popular since they were "our team" He came out, looking tired and basically walked past us all saying "Sorry guys, not today I hurt my thumb. " All he had was a band aid, so it couldn't have been all that bad.
Not so amazing...

[steve B]

Almost forgot my favorite!

The local airbase used to have an airshow around the 4th of July every year. And had the Thunderbirds I think every other year, maybe more often.

The last time I went, I was working in Hydraulics. And the program just happened to include the support staff. The pilots usually came over to the fence for autographs photos etc after their part of the show. And they drew a huge crowd.
Spotting a couple guys way off to one side, I wondered who they were. checked the program, and surprise they're the hydraulic technicians for the planes.
So I went over with a pen and the program open. Before I could even say anything one of them says "the guys you want are over there" pointing towards the pilots. The look of surprise when I responded " You're the hydraulic techs aren't you? You are the guys I'm looking for"
Got the program signed, and had a nice chat about why and the few shop things that cross over. (Planes and industrial stuff don't have much in common at all.)