OT: Autographs at Chantilly Show

[kcohen]

Yes. It depends on the athlete. I have found that most of them take the time to chat or pose for pictures, unless of course it's Willie Mays. What you might do is go to the show and observe how Manning interacts. He may well be open to being more indulgent with children too. If you like what you see, you can then purchase the ticket at the show.

[pgellis]

Most of the time if it is a big-name athlete (like Manning), the athlete doesn't have much of a say in how the signing is run. If there are a lot of people in line (most probable for Manning), then the people running the signing will probably move people along very quickly so that they aren't there all day.

[ValKehl]

Hi Erick - I like Ken Cohen's suggestion. Also, you might contact the promoter, Marco Rol, before the show and ask how they run the signings. You can contact him via their website www.csashows.com or call him at 540-456-6877. FYI, I go to all the Chantilly Shows (I live only a few miles away), but since I'm not into autographs, I've never paid any attention to how they do them.
Val

[Jewish-collector]

Erick,

I've gotten autographs at the Chantilly show on a few occasions. The short version is, the more famous/popular the player, the less interaction there is with the collector. For Manning, unfortunately I wouldn't expect too much interaction with him.

Alan

[peterose4hof]

Yes, Peyton Manning is wildly popular and there will be a very long line to get his autograph, but all the stories I have heard from people who have met Peyton Manning in person make him out to be incredibly personable and likable. So unless the promoter completely squelches his personality, I think you can expect at least a few seconds of interaction between Peyton and your son.

Also, if you go I would recomend getting in line early. At the beginning of these sessions the athlete tends to take more time with each customer, but as the day wears on there is usually more pressure on them to speed things up to get through everyone in line.

[drc]

Interaction depends on the athlete. Some are interactive, some are aloof. I'd like to see at the least eye contact and a friendly word.

I know a guy who took a game used bat to be signed and the player (Willie McCovey?) said "I remember this bat. It looks as if it has a few bits left in it" and stood up and posed with it. With the crowd watching, the bat owner was quite pleased with the reaction.

[Cy2009]

Hi Erick,

I have gone to that show for years. It truly does depend on the athlete. But I would wager that if an 8-year old boy stepped up to Peyton that he would be quite cordial. I may be wrong but from everything that I have heard about Peyton Manning, I bet that your son would get quite a thrill and Peyton would enhance his experience.

Cy