GB Autographs

John Mellencamp 4/20/16

2016-08-28T16:19:00.002-04:00

This is one of those really good successes for me that built up pretty quickly. I knew John Mellencamp would be having a show close by for a while, but did not know if I would be able to make it over. After work I decided that I wanted to go, so I went to the mall to find a record for him to sign, and luckily I got the last one in the store which happened to be a numbered anniversary edition, which was kind of cool.

I also decided to go to the show because I am a fan of his, and even though my time was running short, I decided to try to meet him on his way into the show. When I got to the venue I waited for a few minutes and I was halfway down the sidewalk when I saw his vehicle pulling up. The setup at this venue is one that you can't get right to the door, but you can get close enough for the acts to hear you. Regardless, he went in very quickly so I knew I would have to try my luck later on.

The show was pretty awesome, and I am definitely glad that I decided to go.

Afterwards, I saw him run out into a trailer which i think was acting as a dressing room, and maybe ten or twenty minutes later, someone from his tour came out to collect items from the 3 or 4 of us waiting.

A few minutes later, the guy came back out, and here was the result:

Red Sox Opening Day 4/11/16

2016-08-23T19:28:00.000-04:00

It has been six months since I last posted, which I think is the longest hiatus I have been on in the years since I started writing the blog. I haven't stopped 'graphing at all, but merely slowed down because of well, life. With that said, I am looking forward to catching up on the entries I need to write, and there are some very good ones that I can't wait for.

I was lucky enough to have Opening Day tickets for the Red Sox for the first time ever, which was a great experience. I didn't do a whole lot of 'graphing, but I went to my now usual pre-game spot which happens to be near the NESN booth where the pre-game show is aired. Sometimes they have interesting guests, and I figured that being Opening Day, this may be the case.

Shortly after I got to the stage area, I found in a great spot near the exit of the stage and quickly noticed that John Henry, Tom Werner, and Sam Kennedy, three members of the ownership group, were being interviewed. John Henry, who also is one of the Liverpool F.C. owners, while featured in one of my previous blog entries, was who I wanted to get the most, because I don't get many opportunities to see him.

When the interview finished up, the guys walked off of the stage, and a lot of fans started asking for pictures and autographs. I thought my chances were good because there weren't a ton of people, but it took me a while to get in front of John Henry. He was rushing, but signed a baseball for me, which I also added Tom Werner to without much trouble. It was nice to get John's autograph again, and meet Tom Werner for the first time.

I also was able to meet Dennis Eckersley again, and got a baseball signed by him. He was nice as always, especially for a hall of Famer. The pen skipped a little, but that's okay:

While I didn't get a ton of autographs on Opening Day, it was nice to get a few quality ones, and the experience was great.

Presidential Campaign Trail October 2014 - February 2016

2016-02-10T20:40:00.001-05:00

While I happen to live in a state that presidential candidates don't typically visit, I am lucky enough to be close to the first in the nation state of New Hampshire, which provides ample opportunity to meet the candidates. Here is my journey over the the span of roughly two and a half years of how I met eight of the front runners.

October/November 2014:

Governor Chris Christie in CT

Over the span of a few weeks in the fall of 2014, New Jersey Governor, Chris Christie was traveling all over the country to stump for various Republican Gubernatorial candidates. He stopped in Connecticut twice to support Tom Foley, who who eventually go on to lose the race.

At the time, Christie was considered a front runner for the presidency, but since then, he has faced some issues such as, "Bridge-gate", which nearly torpedoed his chances.

Nonetheless, Christie was awesome in Connecticut, and signed a ton of items for me, and took at picture at one of the two stops I went to.

October 2015:

Donald Trump

Love him or hate him, Donald Trump's ascension has been one of the biggest news stories of 2015, and beginning of 2016. On a long weekend in October, I went up to Atkinson, NH to a town hall event that Trump was holding. There were A LOT of people at this event, and I was able to experience the beginnings of what New England Collectors have been calling the, "Trump Pit". Donald signed two items for me, one while he was walking away from the stage, and another outside of the event on the way to his car. This was an awesome kick off to meeting candidates in 2015.

You may remember from my previous Trump post that I was caught, "face-palming", in this below tweet(in the lower left if you zoom in).

In Atkinson, Trump says that 30% of the press are good, but "50% are the worst people I've ever met." #nhpolitics pic.twitter.com/np6mjk73eg
— Kailani Koenig (@kailanikm) October 26, 2015

December 2015:

Senator Rand Paul

Being my favorite candidate, I was really excited to meet Senator Paul. I saw him at a diner meet and greet in Nashua, NH where he talked to many supporters, and I was also able to attend his town hall meeting later in the day a few towns away.

Rand went throughout the diner meeting with everyone, taking pictures, and signing autographs. It was an awesome, relaxed event.

Senator Lindsey Graham with Senator John McCain

I went to New Hampshire again in mid December for a day full of events. First, I went to a Lindsey Graham town hall meeting at a library, mostly because Senator John McCain, the 2008 GOP nominee for president was stumping for him. Both guys were super nice. I got a couple of pictures signed by both, and both were happy to take pictures with me.

One of my favorite memories from the campaign trail is when I was taking a selfie with John McCain. I was holding the phone up, getting ready to take the photo, and he went to press the on-screen photo button. When he saw that I clicked the button on the side he said, "Oh, you guys don't do that anymore." Mind you, John McCain is almost eighty years old, so this was pretty funny.

They both really liked this photo:

Governor Jeb Bush

Later that day, Jeb Bush held a town hall meeting in Exeter, NH that I was also able to make it to. There were actually a good number of collectors at this one, and Jeb took his time after the event and signed up a storm/took pictures.

As you can see, by the time I got back to him, he changed his pen to a terrible faded black one:

January 2016:

Senator Bernie Sanders

I went up to UMass Amherst for a Bernie Sanders rally in early January, which was absolutely packed. I wasn't able to get inside, but Bernie gave a speech outside for the overflow crowd before his main event of the afternoon. As he was walking inside, I had the best possible spot to get him to sign my copy of his "Rolling Stone" magazine issue, but he said he had to go. It would have only taken him a second to sign it, but oh well. You can't win them all, I suppose. At the end of the day, it was cool to experience a true grass roots rally.

Senator Ted Cruz

It just so happened that Ted Cruz was holding a meet and greet at a diner in Southern New Hampshire on Martin Luther King Day, and I had the day off so I decided to head up to the granite State again to meet the junior senator from Texas. It was bitterly cold, and I couldn't stay inside because it was SO packed with literally no room to move around, so I met him as he was getting off of his bus. After he signed for me, and took a picture with myself and what I can remember to be one other person, his aides rushed him inside of the building. It is worth mentioning that at some points that I was there it was snowing. Getting the book signed made it worth the trip though.

February 2016:

Senator Marco Rubio

Just a few days before the New Hampshire Primary, I had a big day planned because this would represent my last day to partake in the campaign trail for likely at least a few years. The first event of the day was supposed to be a pancake breakfast with Senator Rubio, but the campaign had so much demand that they decided on the eve of the event to change it to a town hall meeting. This didn't matter too much to me even though there were going to be a lot more people there, because I had mostly good experiences on this journey, and most of the candidates were very cordial even with large crowds of people.

When I arrived at the event, there were already a ton of people, but i managed to get a good spot.

Marco was running a little late, and in the meantime, the organizers of the event announced that cars in the fire lane would be towed. I hadn't parked in the fire lane, but across from it. After about another ten minutes or so, they made another announcement for about 4-5 cars to move, and I was indeed one of them, so i ended up losing my spot.

I got back inside after barely finding a new parking spot, and Marco came on soon after.

The speech/question and answer session went maybe a little less than an hour, and then it was time to try and meet him. I had made my way through the crowd a little bit, but I still found myself about 6 or 7 people away from him on all sides. Eventually, I was able to make it close enough despite the entire crowd pushing, to reach his book over to him, which he glanced up and saw, then signed!

He continued taking pictures with just about everyone who wanted one, and when I finally got next to him, he took a picture with me and signed an image of his TIME magazine cover, despite his handler telling me that he wasn't signing anything due to time restraints.

I was satisfied with my morning so far, and I then waited for him to make his way out, during which I was able to add him on one more photo to top off the success I had at this event.

I had planned to attend another Rubio Town Hall, followed by a John Kasich event, but I was just too exhausted after traveling to this one and getting up to him to go to any more, so I decided to pass up those opportunities.

With that, my journey to meet as many 2016 Presidential candidate front runners as possible is likely over, and it was truly a one of a kind experience that was pretty awesome to take on. I met so many interesting people along the way, and it was worth every minute.

Top 50 Interactions of 2015 (5th Annual Edition)

2015-12-05T16:34:00.001-05:00

As I am writing this, I really can't believe that another year has passed and this is my 5th time writing my annual ranking of my top interactions with athletes and celebrities of the year. The first ranking entry back in 2011 had a top FIVE list, and now I have really slowed down the blog and struggle to narrow the list down to a top 50. I thank you guys so much for the tens of thousands of page views, and while I no longer post every week, I appreciate your continued support.

Here we go.

As in the past few years, I have created a visual of the places I met people in 2015:

The Travelers Championship(Cromwell) made it back on the list this year after I attended the event for the first time since 2014.

Here are my countdowns from previous years:

50. Tito Oritz | Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion | Manchester,CT

49. Stuart Appleby| PGA Tour | Cromwell,CT

48. Canaan Smith | Country Artist | Wallingford,CT

47. Jonas Gray | Former New England Patriots Running Back | Waterford,CT

46. Photo With Tiffany | 80's Pop Star | Uncasville,CT

45. Ernie Els | 2x PGA Tour Major Champion | Cromwell,CT

44. Daniel Hamilton | UCONN Basketball, NBA Prospect | Storrs,CT

43. Tyler Beede | San Francisco Giants Prospect | New Britain, CT

42. Kyle Crick | San Francisco Giants Prospect | New Britain,CT

41. Bubba Wallace Jr. | NASCAR Rising Star | Cromwell,CT

40. Henry Owens | Boston Red Sox Starting Pitcher | Pawtucket,RI

39. Blake Swihart | Boston Red Sox Catcher | Pawtucket,RI

38. Ryan Sheckler |Professional Skateboarder | Cromwell,CT

37. Justin Masterson | Boston Red Sox | Baltimore,MD

36. Francisco Lindor | Cleveland Indians | Pawtucket,RI

35. Jerry Remy | Boston Red Sox Announcer/ Former Player | Mashantucket,CT

34. Brian Cashman | New York Yankees General Manager | Uncasville, CT

33. John Henry | Boston Red Sox/ Liverpool F.C. Owner | Mashantucket,CT

32. Troy Brown | New England Patriots Legend | Pawtucket,Rhode Island

31. Joe Buck | MLB/NFL Announcer | Boston,MA

30. Jim Calhoun | Naismith Hall of Fame/ Former UCONN Basketball Head Coach | Cromwell,CT

29. The Swon Brothers | Country Band | Brooklyn,CT

28. Tim Wakefield | Former Boston Red Sox Pitcher | Cromwell,CT

27. Geno Auriemma | Naismith HOF/UCONN Women's Basketball Head Coach |Cromwell,CT

26. Photo With Kris Dunn | Providence College Basketball/ NBA Prospect | Providence, RI

25. Clay Buccholz | Boston Red Sox | New York,NY

24. Chris Webby | Rap Artist | Torrington,CT

23. Iliza Shlesinger | Comedian | Mashantucket,CT

22. Patton Oswalt | Actor/Comedian | New York,NY

21. LeGarrette Blount | Patriots Running Back | Attleboro,MA

20. Stephen Gostowski | Patriots Kicker | Cromwell,CT

19. Malcolm Butler | Patriots Cornerback | Worcester,MA

18. Xander Bogaerts | Boston Red Sox Shortstop | Mashantucket,CT

17. Rodney Atkins | Country Star | Woodstock,CT

16. Bubba Watson | 2x PGA Tour Masters Champion | Cromwell,CT

15. Mat Lauer | TODAY Show Host | Cromwell,CT

14. Dennis Eckersley | Baseball Hall of Fame | Boston,MA

13. Pedro Martinez | Baseball Hall of Fame | Framingham,MA

12. Photo With Ray Allen | NBA Legend | Storrs,CT

11. Carlton Fisk | Baseball Hall of Fame | Mashantucket,CT

10. Bridget Moynahan | Actress(Blue Bloods, Coyote Ugly) | Cromwell,CT

I was able to meet Bridget at this year's Travelers Celebrity Pro-Am. She currently stars in one of my favorite shows, "Blue Bloods". This was her second year in a row at the event, but I had to miss it last year. She was awesome to her fans, and I hope she continues attending in future years.

9. Pat Monahan | Lead Singer of Train | Wallingford,CT

I actually met Pat during December of last year so he missed that countdown, but this was a huge success for me. Train has been a mainstay on pop radio for a very long time now, and I was very excited to meet Pat!

8. George Lopez | Actor/Comedian | Cromwell,CT

George was one of the most cordial celebrities I have ever met. He actually grabbed more photos from under my ones on top, which is nearly unheard of for someone to do. It was awesome to meet a comedy legend.

7. Rob Schneider | Actor/Comedian | Manchester,CT

This was perhaps my most fun experience of the year. Rob took me into his green room after his stand up show which was surprising, and a new experience all together. If you watch Adam Sandler movies you know how important Rob is in the world of comedy.

6. Kevin Bacon | Actor(Footloose,Tremors, The Following) | Hartford,CT

I was able to meet Kevin Bacon on opening night of his show, "Rear Window", in Hartford. He was awesome to the few people waiting, and besides being an awesome actor, he gives A LOT back to the community.

5. 50 Cent | Rap Icon | Various Locations

Anyone who meets celebrities knows that this was the year to meet 50 Cent. He was touring to promote his Vodka domestically as well as internationally, and he REALLY hooked it up with outside items. "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" was one of the first albums I bought in middle school back in the day, so this was a HUGE one for me.

4. James Patterson | Author | Hartford,CT

James Patterson has sold an incredible amount of books(~275,000,000) and I have always been a huge fan. Getting a 1st edition ,"Along Came a Spider", signed was pretty awesome because that was the first book in the "Alex Cross" series, as well as the first book by him that I read. He was actually surprised that I had one in such good condition.

3. Josh Radnor | Actor(How I Met Your Mother, Liberal Arts) | Storrs,CT

Josh starred as Ted Mosby in my favorite television show of all time, and meeting him was not a guarantee, so when I was able to meet him I was very happy. If you haven't seen his movie, "Liberal Arts", which he directed and starred in, I greatly recommend it.

2. Donald Trump | Mogul/ Presidential Candidate | Atkinson,NH

This was (I believe) my most read post of the year, and it makes sense. Trump is polarizing. Many love him, many hate him, and I am certainly not a fan of his politics, but he was amazingly relevant this year, and it is amazing that I got to meet him. I am still pretty shocked about it even though I had it planned out, and I hope to meet more presidential candidates in the future.

1. Mike Trout | Best Baseball Player in the World | Boston, MA

I had a little difficulty selecting #1 on this list, however at the end of the day, this experience is the one that made me the most happy, and that I will cherish in the future. Mike is known as one of the best signers at stadiums in baseball, which is remarkable seeing how he is the best player in the game, and everyone wants a piece of him. I was a little lucky to meet him, but very, very happy to.

Donald Trump 10/26/15

2015-10-27T20:32:00.001-04:00

I had been wanting to make it to a political rally again for quite some time now, and I was able to do just that the other day in New Hampshire. I had the day off so I decided to make the just under 2 hour drive to Atkinson to see one of the most relevant people of the year, Donald Trump. I am not a Trump supporter by any means, but he is in the spotlight big time, very successful, and while I don't sell, his autographs are simply worth A LOT of money right now.

I woke up before 4:00 a.m. to start the 100+ mile drive, and I arrived at the country club where the event was being held right around 6:00. The event was so early because Trump was holding a town hall meeting live on "Today", with Matt Lauer. Before the town hall meeting was a ticketed public event, which is what I attended. The doors were scheduled to open at 6:30 a.m. for the 7:00 a.m. event, however when I got there, they were open, and the place was PACKED.

I went to look for a good spot, and even with the large crowd I was somehow lucky enough to find an aisle seat right next to where he would be walking out. My spot was as perfect as it could have been. This picture doesn't show the crowd in front of the stage, but it was gigantic, especially for before 7 a.m..

After a while of sitting around waiting, it was time:

I was pretty confident that I would be able to get the 'graph and maybe a picture on his way off of the stage, especially with me being right next to the rail.

The speech went on, and despite really not being a fan of Trump's views at all, it wasn't too bad of a speech. I was actually surprised with how even-keel it was. He mostly talked about how he was winning every state(which was true until this morning).

I did however find this tweet that shows me "face-palming" during part of the event, which I thought was pretty awesome. If you want to see, simply zoom to the bottom left, and I'm in a black hat.

In Atkinson, Trump says that 30% of the press are good, but "50% are the worst people I've ever met." #nhpolitics pic.twitter.com/np6mjk73eg
— Kailani Koenig (@kailanikm) October 26, 2015

When the speech ended and Donald was walking off the stage I stood up and got ready. He got to me, saw my "Forbes" magazine, asked me how the article was, held it up to the crowd, got an applause, and signed it with a HUGE signature. I was happy that my drive up was rewarded. As much as I disagree with the way he carries himself politically, I was a devoted fan of his show, "The Apprentice", so it was really cool to meet him. I tried to take a photo with him, but he was just rushing too much and I couldn't get a good one taken.

I wasn't done though. Trump had an hour long live town hall with Matt Lauer as I said earlier, and I decided to stay around to see if I could get him to sign or take a picture again afterwards.

There were a number of supporters out near his vehicle along the railing, but I found a good spot. A few of the others were live-streaming the show, so I was able to know exactly when it ended. Just a few minutes later, he came out, and started interacting with the crowd. Almost immediately, I was being pushed hard against the railing, but Donald came right over to me after signing a book for a woman. As soon as he got to me, I felt the crowd pushing even harder but I wasn't really thinking about it. Trump grabbed my photo, once again held it up to the crowd, and signed it really big like the last time. This made the trip even more worth it, and I was pretty happy.

I think this was actually the farthest I have ever gone for a non-guaranteed interaction with someone, and I'm glad that it paid off. I'm excited to see which other candidates I can meet before next November.

Rodney Atkins 9/7/15

2015-09-09T20:06:00.003-04:00

As I said last week, fair season in New England is going strong, which annually leads to a least a few music 'graphing opportunities. This one was a little more planned than the Swon Brothers, since I had seen at least a month ago that Rodney Atkins would be performing at a fair I go to every year in Connecticut. I also saw a post weeks ago that if you join Rodney's fan club for a small fee, that you have a chance to win a meet and greet with him at your show. I knew nearly nobody else would see that post, so it was pretty much a guarantee, (at least I thought so), that I would be meeting him.

There was a long stretch where I hadn't heard anything, but then about 4-5 days before the show I got an e-mail stating that I was in! I love Rodney's music, and he and Jason Aldean literally got me into country music years ago, so I was pretty thrilled that I was going to be meeting him.

I had bought all 5 of his CD's on Amazon/at Wal-Mart for around $5 each which was a pretty good deal, so I was well-prepared for the event.

When fair day came, I went to the merch booth where I was told my pass would be waiting, I picked it up, and inside was the meet and greet pass, along with a note that said only one autograph and one picture was allowed per person. I was a little bummed, just because I had gone through the trouble of buying his entire collection, but I didn't think they would really enforce it because it was so low key.

After the concert I went to the meeting spot, which was at the merch booth, and after a few minutes, I along with maybe 15-20 others were led to the area where the meet and greet would be taking place. After another 10 minutes or so, Rodney came out of his bus, and the event was underway.

I was probably 6-7 people back, and I noticed that Rodney was signing multiples for people, which was awesome.

When I got up to him, I handed him the CD booklets, and he asked who to make them out to.

I told him that he was one of the guys who really got me interested in the genre, and that his song, "It's America", played at a baseball stadium near me for like 5 years, and was the song that really got me hooked. He told me that he appreciated that. He was VERY nice. Not that I wasn't expecting him to be, but he was just awesome. He really cared about what people were telling him, and he was one of the most genuine celebrities I have ever met.

Rodney signed 5 CD's for me. Here they are in order of their release:

He was also kind enough to take a photo with me after signing all of those.

New York Mets Vs. Boston 8/30/15

2015-09-07T10:12:00.001-04:00

Last weekend I went to Citi Field for the first time on a group trip to see the Mets play the Red Sox. It is often tough for me on group trips to get autographs at the games because of timing, but this time we ended up showing up before gates opened which was pretty awesome.

This was my 5th different Major League Stadium, and as always, I was very excited to knock another one off of my list. In order, I have been to: RFK Stadium in Washington, Fenway Park, Camden Yards, Yankee Stadium, and now Citi Field.

Since it was a Sunday, I knew there wouldn't be batting practice which would limit my chances for autographs, but when I got inside, the pitchers were throwing, and I already saw someone signing. When I got closer, about halfway down the stairs, I could see that it was Clay Buchholz. I hadn't met him in about 7-8 years, around the time when he threw his no-hitter.

When I got down to him he was nicer than I had ever seen him, which was pretty great, and he even took a photo with me!:

A few minutes later, Eduardo Rodriguez started to sign after an obnoxious woman was screaming his name for 10 minutes. He signed for her and about 4 others. I missed out which was a bummer, but no big deal I suppose.

Craig Breslow also signed for a while, but I just wasn't in position, and I didn't want to move because I had a really solid spot in the front row. I always joke around saying, I've met over 140 Red Sox players, and he is one of the nicest athletes in Boston, but I just have terrible luck with him.

After that I was able to get one more autograph. Steven Wright was coming over and I really wanted to talk to him because I had seen him play for a few years in Pawtucket and he was always one of the nicest and most fan-friendly guys. I told him about seeing him in Pawtucket for so long and how I was happy that he had really made it and has been sticking around.

I only got two autographs, but it was an awesome day, and Citi Field definitely became one of my favorite stadiums to watch a game at/enjoy the overall experience. People may call me crazy but I mighhhttt like it as much as Camden Yards.

The Swon Brothers 8/28/15

2015-09-01T21:22:00.000-04:00

Fair season is officially underway in New England, and while that means the year is beginning to wind down, a good part of my 'graphing season is just beginning.

Every year there is a small fair near where I used to live, and I found out a few weeks ago that the Swon Brothers, who since their long stint on NBC's , "The Voice", have begun to really succeed in the country scene were going to be performing at it. The concert was on a Friday night which was pretty perfect as far as my schedule goes, so my girlfriend and I decided to head over to the show, and hoped to get an autograph or two.

When we got to the fair, the tour bus was fenced in next to the stage as usual, but there wasn't much action at all so we just decided to walk around for a while and come back closer to showtime. We went back to get a seat about 70-90 minutes before the show. While we were waiting, a sign was put up at the merchandise booth that said that the guys would be signing after their show. I had bought a CD, so I was happy to have this safety net, and it's always nice to have pretty much a guarantee that I will meet who I am trying for.

Maybe 30 minutes before showtime, I noticed a really nice SUV pulling up near the fence, and I could see that Colton Swon was in the front seat. I went over and positioned myself near where he would be walking over. He got out of the vehicle and I asked him to sign the CD. He went to grab my pen, and a cheap fair security guy told me to go away or something along those lines. Obviously I didn't think much of it because the artist was literally grabbing my CD and pen. The guy then got in front of him and tried to block me from handing off the CD. Colton looked at me and was just like, "Sorry man." I could tell he really wanted to sign it, probably because it kind of pays his salary when fans buy his music, but the guy was just being obnoxious. Eventually, and by that I mean within the next 10 seconds, he was able to finally sign the CD. After that, I saw his brother Zach getting out of the back of the SUV, and walking behind the merch table. Another security guy said, "You can't be here." Zach didn't care though, and grabbed my CD and signed it with no hesitation at all. The security guys all seemed so pissed, and nobody else had even been trying to get anything signed because it all happened so quickly.

Let's recap.

-I was literally in an open area at a SMALLLL local fair.
-Both guys wanted to sign my CD with no hesitation at all. I'm pretty confident Colton would have had a full conversation with me if he had the chance.
-Security guys who had no affiliation with the artists were trying to control their actions.

This is becoming a more and more frequent occurrence in the hobby, and it obviously isn't good for it. "Security guys" just need to learn their place and not go above what their job calls for. I see this happen at concerts, basketball games, you name it.

Yes, I realize that I could have just gotten my CD signed after the concert, but, "I waited until the show ended and waited in line." isn't the most exciting blog entry for you guys.

With that said, they were selling photos for $5, so I did wait after the show and have them sign that, but that's besides the point :) .

I had gotten the booklet signed by them before the show, and when I went up to the line after the show, my girlfriend got the actual CD done for me.

Notice how the CD cover that I got signed before the show has much nicer autographs than during their signing:

Boston Vs. Cleveland 8/17/15

2015-08-31T21:23:00.000-04:00

A few weeks back while I was at work, a reader of this blog who happens to live in the area, whom I had only met once mind you, dm'ed me on Twitter with an INCREDIBLY generous offer of two free tickets to the Red Sox game that night. I was honestly pretty shocked. It was just such a nice gesture for anyone to make, let alone someone who had only met me briefly in person a few years ago. With that said, I just want to truly thank, "P"(Didn't want to put his full name here) for his generosity.

After work I met up with my girlfriend and picked up the tickets. We then promptly drove up to Boston. Where I used to live was a lot closer to Fenway, about 65-70 minutes, and my new place is about 95 minutes away, but I still like to take any opportunities I can to make it up to the park.

We were able to make it to the stadium while batting practice was winding down which happened to be much earlier than I had expected to arrive, and I saw Pitcher, Trevor Bauer, signing over the dugout, so I raced over and was able to get him to sign a baseball. He must have signed around 50 things for people, and he was just very nice.

After everyone else came in, I decided to go to the NESN set on Yawkey Way to see who was doing the pre-game show because I had seen that a number of my friends have had good luck over there in the past.

Hall of Fame Pitcher, Dennis Eckersley was doing the show with Tom Caron, AND nobody was around the exit of the set, so we went and got some food and came back closer to the end of the show. When the show ended, Dennis was walking over and when I asked him to sign, he couldn't have been any nicer. It was VERY hot so I was happy and thankful that he did it, and was extra happy to have met yet another Hall of Famer, and to add another Red Sox player to my list. I have now met 140+ Red Sox players.

Eck was also kind enough to take a photo with me.

I may have only gotten two autographs at this game, but when one is a Hall of Fame legend, there is little to complain about.

Chris Webby III 8/14/15

2015-08-22T12:00:00.004-04:00

You may remember around this time a year ago, I met my favorite rapper Chris Webby at a music store in Connecticut while he was promoting his debut album. Now, a year later, Chris was back after 2 HUGE U.S. tours. The first was one in which he was the headliner, and the second was Tech N9ne's Special Effects Tour.

I had been wanting to see him again, because I had to miss his closest tour date on the Special Effects Tour after having gone to two stops on his previous tour.

This event was at a super small venue which was really cool. It had the feel of old Webby shows before he toured. For those who don't know Webby, he has been releasing mixtapes and a few EP's for years now. He has crashed Datpiff's servers multiple times, and his debut album got to the top of iTune's rap charts at one point. He's finally starting to get real national attention, and it's pretty awesome. Oh, and he's from Connecticut.

The show was really quick, and much faster than his tour shows were. Afterwards, I walked to where he was coming out, and he was already outside hanging out. I looked at his manager and he told me that he'd take care of me after he was done with his cigarette. Webby has always been one of the absolute nicest guys out there, so I was excited to meet him again. When he finished, I had him sign 3 of his mixtapes that I hadn't gotten signed yet and he talked about all of them to me which was really cool. He was actually really funny talking about them, because he said he absolutely hated one of them(Bars on Me), and then said, "You can't love all of your kids the same, right?" jokingly which was pretty hilarious. I also found this interesting because, "Bars on Me", is one of my favorite projects that he has released. He also commented on how much he loved, "There Goes the Neighborhood", and "Best in the Burbs", which he said went together really nicely back in the day.

It was really nice to see Webby again, and I can't wait until he comes back around!

Here are links to my other two blog entries about meeting Webby:
Chris Webby I
Chris Webby II

50 Cent Round II 7/26/15

2015-07-29T22:44:00.000-04:00

After successfully meeting 50 Cent last month on the shortest of notices, he continued to tour the U.S. promoting EFFEN Vodka, and made his way back to Connecticut for the last weekend of July. This time I was prepared.

When I saw that he would be holding another signing that I could make it to, I ordered some new things to add to what was at my house all along(for the last signing I found out as I was leaving work, so I had no time to grab any items besides the one CD that was luckily in my car). Also, 50 has been in the news a lot, and is in the new movie, "South Paw", so I was able to find a few things in stores that I planned to get signed. All together, I ended up with 4 CD's, a 16x20, and a magazine to get signed. Luckily, my girlfriend wanted to meet him and was willing to help me get all of this signed which was pretty cool.

We arrived to the store about 1.5 hours before he was scheduled to be there, and there were roughly 30 people already lined up. I went to the last signing at the very tail end, so I can't really compare the two events, but I can say he is drawing A LOT of people at every event especially considering the advertising for them is terrible.

I should mention at this point that I found out about this signing because a co-worker told me that his girlfriend heard somewhere that 50 Cent was doing another signing in Connecticut. After 2 hours of research I finally found the location. If anyone from EFFEN ends up reading this, keep that in mind.

50 showed up about 5 minutes late which was fine, and the line didn't move for a while because he pre-signs the bottles, and you basically trade in your receipt for your respective bottles when you move up to the staging area. It was run very smoothly, and once the line started to go we made it through in no time.

I decided to buy a case because a number of my friends + family( all 21+ ) wanted some, and it allowed me more time with 50 Cent, and the ability to take a picture with my own phone.

My girlfriend went up first(she had a single bottle) and the workers were commenting on how organized the stuff to get signed was. We had a good laugh about that later because I am meticulous about setting up boards to get signed. I noticed that for a lot of items 50 was using a really bad silver Sharpie, and it should have clicked with me to ask him to sign everything in black when I got up to him, but I think I just was holding too much and probably was a bit starstruck, and just didn't think of it at the time. I was also holding my phone and getting it ready as I was having him sign things.

One thing I learned at this signing was that he truly takes care of the people who buy the cases. He took like 6 pictures with me, including about 3 different poses, and was just all around awesome. I actually got to talk to him unlike last time, and it was just a really fun experience. 50 is one of my favorite entertainers in the world, and I've followed him since 5th grade, so it's just really cool to get to interact with him.

Here are the items we got signed. The bottles all came out so beautifully:

Here's a photo with everything that also shows the 16x20:

Curtis also took photos with everyone, and actually a few with me.

Like I said, I came very prepared, and it definitely paid off!

Actor/Comedian Rob Schneider 7/10/15

2015-07-12T14:19:00.001-04:00

While a lot of my successes lately have been after last minute decisions, this one was a little different. I saw a few weeks ago that Rob Schneider, who is in just about every movie ever made(I'm only half-joking), was going to be performing stand up at a comedy club that is just about 10 minutes from my house.

After doing a little research, I found out that Rob is one of the nicest celebrities out there. Tons of people told me about their successes with him, so I figured that I definitely should give it a shot, especially since I really am a pretty big fan of his.

My day hadn't been going well, because the first two ways in which I can get photos were unavailable, and I recently moved so all of my movies that had Schneider in them were at my old place, and Target only had one film that he was in.

My plan was that I would try to meet him as he arrived at the club, after someone had told me that he recently showed up during the opener's set. With that said, after I grabbed dinner, I headed inside the mall(where the club is strangely located) which was next door, and waited outside the club. There were benches so it worked out pretty well, and I had to wait to get inside the club regardless.

It was getting a bit close to when he was supposed to go on, and I decided to go inside thinking that he must have simply beat me there.

I had also heard that he sometimes signs at his merchandise table after his shows, so I set that prospect as my Plan B. When I went inside, it was evident that there was no merchandise table, which wasn't overly surprising because he had another show pretty soon after the one I was attending would be ending.

So I was left with Plan C, which was to just ask him as he came off the stage. I did have the fact that my seat was close to where he would be walking out going for me. The cool thing about the club is that there is only one way in and out, so you have pretty good access to the acts if they want to interact with you. I was learning all of this quickly though, since I had never attended a show there before.

After the show ended, Rob came off of the stage and started shaking hands with people as he walked towards the exit. I got in the perfect position and noticed that I was the only person who had something to get signed. When Rob got to me I asked him to please sign, and what happened next was one of the craziest things I have ever experienced in my years of taking part in this hobby. He said, "Yeah I'll sign those for you, come with me." And so we started walking.

It soon became apparent that he was taking me to his green room, which was really cool because I was the only person he was bringing. He asked one of the workers how to get back to it, and they mistakenly lead us to the restroom. Rob went, "No, no, the green room!", which was pretty funny, and when we got to it the guard at the door seemed to want to stop me from following him in, but he said, "No, he's coming in."

So here I am, hanging out with Rob Schneider, world class comedian and accomplished actor. He was so nice, and just started signing whatever I had on me. I had actually left a baseball with my girlfriend back at the table (Rob starred in, "The Benchwarmers") which ended up being one of two regrets from this experience. The other was that I had my phone turned off from being at the show, and I didn't want to be rude and wait for it to turn on to take a photo. I should have turned it on when we started walking, but I just didn't think of it. We got to talk about his new show "Real Rob", as well as his new Netflix movie with Adam Sandler that will be released in a few months. After he finished signing, I thanked him for everything, shook his hand, and was on my way.

I couldn't believe what had just happened, and I knew it would be a memory that would be unforgettable.

Rob even inscribed each piece with the name of the character he played in each film.

New Britain Vs. Richmond(Giants) 6/29/15

2015-07-11T17:24:00.001-04:00

I haven't been able to make it to many Minor League Baseball games this season, but a few weeks ago the Giants AA team was in town with their #1 Prospect, Kyle Crick, as well as their #3 Prospect, Tyler Beede. I have done very well with their farm teams in the past(Connecticut used to be home to their AA squad), and just a couple of seasons ago, I met Joe Panik and Andrew Susac in New Britain, who are both currently starters for the Giants.

The scouting report going in was that Tyler Beede was incredibly nice while Kyle Crick was a little bit tougher of a 'graph.

There was a double-header because of a rain out over the weekend, and I got to the stadium near the end of the first game. Beede is currently in the bullpen, and on his way in he stopped to sign for a number of fans. He was very nice, and I got to talk to him about growing up around me.

He was nice enough to sign a couple of photos and take a photo with me:

I wasn't able to get Crick before the next game. A few people had asked, but he said, "Not right now."

I was hoping I would be able to meet him after the game, but I had doubts because this stadium has

huge crowds outside after every single game it seems.

After the game ended, I went outside and my friend gave me 2 more Tyler Beede photos to get signed. That was pretty nice of him, and I was happy because I had only the two that I got signed earlier in the night.

A little bit later, Crick emerged from the locker room as everybody was waiting for him. In general, #1 Prospects end up making an impact in the Majors, and end up becoming super tough to meet so they really get hounded for autographs in the minors. Some are nicer than others, and I would say Crick was overall pretty fine about signing.

He only did one, and after I got mine signed, I turned my hat around and got back behind everyone else. He definitely remembered me because he asked, "Did I already sign for you?" I just said "no". This was one of only a few times I can remember lying to an athlete, but I didn't exactly feel bad about it because a kid who signed a $900,000 signing bonus can't be having too hard of a time, and can sign for their fans.

The night ended up being very successful, and I hope to see these guys playing in San Francisco very soon!

2015 Travelers Championship Celebrity Pro-Am

2015-07-03T15:49:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite events in CT all year. Unfortunately last year I had to skip it because I had just switched jobs, but this year I was good to go and hoped rack up on some celebrities, as well as some of the best golfers in the world.

For those who don't know, the Celebrity Pro-Am is a charitable event in which a PGA Tour Professional is paired with 3 other people. These people can be celebrities, dignitaries, and just other local people of interest. Of course, I only go to meet the celebrities and PGA guys, and usually I am very successful.

Here are links to the other two times I have 'graphed this event:
2013
2012

This year, I'll start by talking about how I met each celebrity and what they were like.

George Lopez was my big target for the day. I knew his signing habits were very good, so I wasn't too worried about missing out on him although there were a lot of people.

I first met him when he was coming up from the practice facility. He was rushing because he had to tee off and kept saying,"Last one, last one." but he kept signing and did two 8x10s for me:

Later in the day, I still had photos for him so I went to the 8th green, and I was super happy with what transpired.

I called him over after he finished the hole, and I had 2 photos showing(with some more peeking out under them) on top of my book. He signed the first two, and without me even asking, grabbed the others and signed them for me. This was incredibly nice of him, and not something someone of his level of celebrity do very often, if at all.

The marker he had by this point was God awful, but luckily I was able to get him to use mine on the previous photos.

To top it off, he was more than happy to take a picture with me.

Bridget Moynahan, the star of Blue Bloods on CBS, was another big target. Some may remember her from her role in Coyote Ugly as well.

She was actually hosting/playing in the charity mini golf tournament that takes place the same day as the Celebrity Pro-Am. When she arrived, she had a cart bring her right up to the mini golf course so I wasn't expecting the best. She had a brace on her ankle, so I'm guessing that was the reasoning for her being driven directly up. Other people were reassuring me that she would sign at the end, because that's what she did last year.

They were right, and at the end she signed away and took a photo with me as well:

She was very sweet to the fans, and thanked us for coming out. She even commented on how much she liked the photo I chose.

Matt Lauer of the Today Show was also at this event, and I had never met him before so he was also near the top of my list. I was able to get him coming up from the practice green area. He was rushing much more than the others, but still stopped and signed and took a photo with me:

Stephen Gostkowski of the New England Patriots was another name I was excited to see on the list because he is one of the Patriots that I haven't met yet. He was VERY nice. I told him I loved the photo of him making the tackle and he laughed and said," Me too, but my knees still hurt from doing that." He was half kidding...

Tim Wakefield needs no introduction, and while I had met him before, I am always excited to see him because I grew up watching him. He signed 2 photos for me(I had to dip him) but he was very nice.

He had his own(blue) sharpie to my surprise. Usually no famous person voluntarily carries a blue with them.

The Connecticut legend Jim Calhoun signed up a storm at the event, and I caught him coming down from the clubhouse. I've never had a bad experience with him!

It was a bit of a surprise to see that NASCAR phenom Bubba Wallace Jr. would be attending this event, but as a fan of his, I was pretty happy. I saw him multiple times throughout the day, and he was always very nice as most NASCAR drivers are.

Skateboarding legend, Ryan Sheckler was also there, and he was truly one of the nicest people in attendance. His handler kept trying to drag him away from signing, and he just kept going and going. He wouldn't stop, and his handler was getting visibly frustrated. It's always so funny when power hungry people try to ruin the fun, but Ryan hooked everyone up!

Season 1 winner of NBC's ,"The Voice", Javier Colon was there as always. I've gotten a bunch of things signed by him over the years, so I just went with one photo this time.

Coach/ Hall of Famer Geno Auriemma is always a great signer, and I was able to get him to sign 3 of the AWESOME new Womens' Championship Sports Illustrateds.

Overall, I had a great day 'graphing the celebrities who attended and now I will talk about the golfers.

Two-time Masters Champion, Bubba Watson, is always one of the top golfers at this event. He usually signs a lot coming off of his last hole, and that was true again this year:

I was able to meet another two-time major champion, Ernie Els, for the first time around the practice area. He probably has the worst autograph of any golfer out there, but it was still cool to meet him.

Another first-timer for me was former Masters Champion, Angel Cabrera. Angel is a STRICT one-per and glares into your soul like a dementor straight out of Harry Potter to make sure that he doesn't sign for you again.

I got the rest of the golfers that I had either met a number of times before or that I didn't care as much about on pairing sheet books.

Keegan Bradley:

Hunter Mahan:

Gary Woodland:

Brandt Snedeker:

Luke Donald & Stuart Appleby:

Mark Leishman:

Jason Gore, Kevin Na, & One Unknown:

I'm really happy with how this year's tournament worked out for me, and I'm already looking forward to next year.

50 Cent 6/18/15

2015-06-27T11:08:00.000-04:00

As I have often said, some of the last minute events I find out about are the best ones.

Last week, one day after my James Patterson event, I was finishing up at work later than usual. I was packing up my things to go home and decided to scroll though my facebook feed. When I saw the post I was pretty shocked. 50 Cent was doing a bottle signing at a package store literally 5 minutes from my house. He was there from 5-8, and I only found out about it because a news station posted a story at like 6:40. 50 Cent has been going all around the country doing these signings, and I knew he was going to be in Massachusetts soon, but I had no idea about his Connecticut stops.

Believe it or not, I had his, "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" album in my car, along with the album artwork booklet and everything.

When I got to the store it looked pretty packed, but certainly not unreasonable. After asking a store worker, I found out that they had the event set up where you would go about 5 at a time into the store, pick the bottle(s) you want, cash out, then get into the signing line. The process was slow, but at the same time worked for this particular store, and kept things in order.

I think I got to the front of the line by about 7:30, and noticed that they were taking your unsigned bottle, giving you a pre-signed bottle of the same variety, and letting you take a picture with 50. After I got my picture taken with him, I pulled out my CD booklet, and he took it and signed it with no problem. He didn't say much to anyone at all during the whole experience, but all I really cared about was getting one of my oldest CD's signed. I have had this album since 6th grade, which is 10 years ago now, and it was just crazy that I happened to have it in my car. It was also just awesome that a rap icon who I've listened to for so long was so close to my house. I love last minute signings(well, when I'm prepared).

Best Selling Author James Patterson 6/17/15

2015-06-21T12:05:00.005-04:00

Last Monday I was walking back from lunch at work and I saw James Patterson's face on the wall. The sign was an ad for an event happening the next day in Hartford to benefit the Mark Twain House. It caught my eye because I'm a huge James Patterson fan, and I especially enjoy his Alex Cross series.

Seeing how this was to benefit a really great cause, and he is my favorite author not named J.K. Rowling, I decided to buy tickets online. On the page, there was a line about a book signing after the lecture, so I was happy that I didn't have to try for him outside. As much as I love doing this, sometimes it just takes too much time these days!

After I bought the tickets, I went out to a few stores to find some cheap books in good condition(while I have read a ton of his books, they have all been in e-book format). I ended up getting 8 books total. I was going to this with my girlfriend, so 8 really isn't too crazy of a number. Also, while the event was for a good cause, it was pretty pricey, so I wanted to get as many books signed as possible.

The lecture itself was very good, but a little long in my opinion. It went an hour and a half, but had some really good moments in which Patterson showed a sense of humor and a passion towards education.

As we were getting in line after the talk, the people running the event said you could have one personal item signed, unless you bought one of the books they were selling. I probably would have bought one of their books because they were only $10, but I couldn't justify buying a 9th or 10th book, and their selection wasn't fantastic. By this point though, my readers know that I'm pretty good at this, and most 'graphers know that you shouldn't take out extra items until the last minute, and by doing that I was successful.

Between us, we were able to get 5 books signed including a First Edition, "Along Came a Spider", which is one of my favorite books of all time!

The only even slightly disappointing part about the night was that I found out that the Mark Twain House had held this same event last year with Dan Brown, and in 2013 with Stephen King! I literally lived 2-3 streets away from the venue last summer, so I was shocked that I never heard about the Dan Brown event.

Baseball 'graphing April/May 2015 (Mike Trout, Rusney Castillo, + much more)

2015-05-26T20:53:00.002-04:00

This April and May I was able to make it to four baseball games despite having finals, graduating college, and working. While not as frequently attending games as in past years, the quality of the players I met was really great, and I was able to bring my total of Red Sox players I've met to 141!

In this entry, I'll be going in chronological order of when I attended games to recap my solid month.

April 24th/25th Red Sox @ Orioles in Baltimore

This was a very interesting trip, because it was in the middle of the riots in Baltimore. We actually were held in the stadium on the 25th because the riots had made their way to the perimeter of the stadium. Luckily, the game went into extra innings so we didn't have to wait after it was done.

I was able to get a few autographs on the 24th, but none on the 25th.

The Red Sox were very tough inside the stadium on this trip. I was actually only able to get two different players.

The first guy I met was catcher Sandy Leon. While he isn't the most exciting player on the team, he represented a new Red Sox to add to my list, so I was happy nonetheless. I was able to throw a ball to him during batting practice when he was standing in the dugout. I was hoping to add more players to the ball since it was just signed by Leon, but I can do that eventually.

The other player I got to meet was pitcher, Justin Masterson. Justin has always been one of my favorite players, as well as one of the nicer guys in the league. I hadn't met him since 2008, so I was happy to catch up with him again. I was actually able to make it down to him twice and he took a picture with me after signing:

Pawtucket Red Sox Vs. Columbus Clippers(Cleveland Indians) May 14th, 2015

I don't live as close as I used to so I can't make it to Pawtucket much anymore, but I still try to make it once in a while because the minors are so much easier to 'graph than MLB.

Pawtucket's club is STACKED this year with Red Sox top prospects and Columbus was in town with a few of Cleveland's top prospects as well.

Before the game, I was able to meet James Ramsey and Top Prospect, Francisco Lindor off of the bus. I had met Lindor a few years ago in AA before he was the Top Prospect. Both guys were extremely nice, especially Ramsey:

James Ramsey:

Francisco Lindor signed and took a photo:

I showed up late for the PawSox guys coming in, but did see Rusney Castillo who denied the 4 of us waiting when he came in.

I was able to get Henry Owens, who is still one of the Red Sox top pitching prospects inside after the game because he was charting:

I did pretty well after the game as well.

Clippers wise, I really only needed Charles Nagy who is a UCONN legend, and former MLB pitcher. My friend hooked me up with a card which is seen in this picture:

Also in the above photo are former Red Sox players Luis Jimenez and Jemile Weeks on the ticket.

I was also surprised to meet Allen Craig who has played on the Red Sox the last 2 seasons.

Finally, Rusney Castillo came out and I was happy that he came over to sign for the few of us left there. A bunch of people had left a few minutes earlier, which was really lucky because I doubt he would have stopped if they were still there.

I had to get him on the baseball with Allen Craig because I ran out of items:

This ended up being a great day because I was able to meet four Red Sox players that I hadn't in the past.

Red Sox Vs. Angels May 23rd,2015

This was my first time ever 'graphing outside at Fenway, and while it was a long day I feel like I did pretty well although my big catch was inside.

Most Red Sox players denied coming in, but I was able to get a few. Xander Bogaerts only signed for women, and to my surprise, Craig Breslow said he was, "running late".

The first autograph I got on the day was from Junichi Tazawa. I hadn't seen him in a number of years, the last time being when he was in AAA, so it was nice to see him again.

After that, nearly the entire team came in without signing, so I went over to the Angels side for a while to test my luck there. Nearly entire team came off the bus without signing. The only guy that even acknowledged us was Albert Pujols with a wave/look back.

Chris Ianetta came in with a cab, and despite being right in front of him, even he wouldn't sign.

I decided to go go and get some food, and to my Surprise I saw Rusney Castillo signing. I was able to get through the crowd, and was really happy when he took my baseball and signed it. Even though I had gotten him the week before, it was nice to finally have him on his own baseball.

After getting some food, I went to try and meet the MLB on Fox broadcasters. Being a big fan of baseball, I was really happy when Joe Buck showed up and was super nice to the few of us who wanted to meet him. He signed and took a photo:

I never saw Harold Reynolds or Tom Verducci.

Of course the big goal with the Angels in town was to meet the best baseball player in the world, Mike Trout. After he didn't sign off of the bus(as expected), my last chance was inside. I had a number of friends who had bad luck with him all weekend, so I wasn't really sure if I would be able to meet him. During batting practice, I was in the front row, and Trout came over to sign when he noticed a serviceman and some kids nearby. He signed for a kid first, then the serviceman, then me. I felt really lucky, and sometimes luck is what you need to meet the best athlete in any sport. I was pretty shocked that I got to meet him. For the past 3 seasons, I had seen people post their successes with him, and I just never had the opportunity to try with him playing in Los Angeles. I was thrilled that I met him in my first attempt ever, and I still can't really believe it.

Hall of Fame Inductee Pedro Martinez Book Signing 5/7/15

2015-05-16T12:29:00.000-04:00

Despite last week being the last finals week of my time in college, I found time to make it to Massachusetts for the iconic Pedro Martinez's book signing. This was actually his second signing of the day, and third of the week.

I got to the store (The Paper Store in Framingham) about 2 hours before the event because I knew it would be packed. Luckily I was only about 25 people back, but if you know about Pedro Martinez you know he takes forever to sign his autograph. Anyways, I got in line and about an hour after the event started I got to the table.

Pedro wasn't overly talkative, which is understandable because he had a long day. I had met him a number of years ago anyway, so I didn't mind anyway since I really just wanted his signed book.

I ended up getting 4 books signed, 1 for me, 2 for friends, and one extra:

Here is a link to when I met Pedro 4 years ago:
Pedro Martinez 2011

Actor/Director Josh Radnor (How I Met Your Mother, Liberal Arts) 4/1/15

2015-04-05T11:00:00.001-04:00

Well just like in the fall, I'm back again after a bit of a lull in blogs, this one being around two months long. I have been 'graphing here and there, mostly at college basketball games, and a few other low key events. I will be writing a "Winter Recap" entry very soon to document what I did during my time off from blogging. With baseball season starting this week, I should be back in full force with plenty of cool entries!

Anyway, now to get to one of my favorite 'graphing experiences of all time.

About a month ago, I heard rumblings of my favorite actor from my favorite television show, landing the spring lecture spot at UCONN. After seeing the official news, I bought my ticket right when they went on sale to the event which would eventually sell out.

To give some personal background, How I Met Your Mother has been my favorite show since early middle school. I am graduating college in a month, and when it ended last year, it was the first show I had really watched every week from pilot to finale for years. On top of that, Josh Radnor played the lead of Ted Mosby, and eventually created and starred in the movie Liberal Arts, which was a huge independent success, and highly underrated in my opinion.

Although I had never had success meeting someone at this theatre before the show, I decided once again to try my luck since I figured the stage door would be packed as always afterwards. About 40 minutes before the show, a towncar pulled up to the sidewalk(actually down the street from where it should have, and out stepped Josh.

I quickly walked over, and asked Josh to sign a photo. He didn't think twice about it and seemed happy to. After the first, he saw that I had another, and signed that with no problem as well. I couldn't believe that one of my favorite celebrities of all time was being this cordial.

After he signed for me, he asked me where the stage door was and I explained to him how to get to it, and offered to take him to it. He went back to the car to tell his driver he was all set, and when he came back I asked for a photo with him. At this point he seemed a little rushed, but still took a nice photo with me. This was an experience I will never forget.

His lecture was hilarious, and capped the overall experience off in the perfect way.

An Atypical Day of 'graphing 2/6/15

2015-02-07T18:08:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was an interesting day to say the least. I had been planning to go to Mohegan Sun for Mike Francesa's annual charity broadcast with many former Yankees greats. This year's lineup included Brian Cashman, Joe Girardi, David Cone, Bernie Williams, Buck Showalter, and a few other minor names. I had never done this event before, but my friends had luck in the past with it, and it was on a Friday which was nice and allowed me to go.

ALSO going on at Mohegan was 80's week, which was to culminate with a huge concert at night featuring Tiffany, Debbie Gibson, Terri Nunn of Berlin, and other 80's pop stars. Being a general fan and follower of pop culture, I was excited to possibly see a few of these people since I have been hearing their music on pop radio since I was a little kid.

ALSO in the building was Rev Run, of Run DMC fame, who would be DJ'ing an event at a club at night.

Finally, Fleetwood Mac would probably be showing up at some point for their show on the following day.

I'll start with the baseball guys since that was my main focus of the day.

David Cone:

David, known as a pretty nice guy, came walking down to head to the radio show and said he would sign for us on the way back. He ended up signing a ton inside the radio show, and I got word of this, but when my friend and I went over, the room was at capacity so we couldn't go in. He went another way on his way back, and I never saw him again.

Joe Girardi:

Joe came walking down to the show, and I stepped up and asked him to sign. His security seemed to be more of the problem, and they said he was late and might sign later.

I was able to get inside the show while he was on the air, and he signed after he got off the set for 10 people or so, but I just couldn't get close enough.

Buck Showalter:

Word was circulating that Buck wasn't feeling well, and when we was walking to the show this was apparent. He looked really bad, and didn't seem to want any part in interacting with fans.

By this point you may be thinking, "Well, who DID you meet?"

Luckily for me, when Yankees General Manager, Brian Cashman came down, he was in the signing mood and helped me not go home empty handed.

I also was able to meet former MLB player, and local guy, John Ellis:

(Thanks to my friend Geoff for the card!)

I didn't try for Bernie Williams, because he is one of the toughest autographs in baseball and I had to get going.

Throughout the day I walked around a bit because I was getting a little bored, and I ended up running into 2 80's pop stars.

The first was Terri Nunn, known from her time in the band Berlin, who is best known for the song,"Take My Breath Away", from the hit Tom Cruise movie, "Top Gun".

Terri was really sweet. She talked to the few of us that ran into her. I have to give the assist to my older buddies who pointed her out for me. I was happy to get a nice photo with her.

Later on in the day I was walking to another prime spot, and when I arrived, people were taking photos with 80's pop icon, Tiffany! She was also very nice, which was cool and I was happy to get a photo with her. I remember Saved By the Bell making multiple references to her over the years, and it was really cool to meet her.

Debbie Gibson and Rev Run both took pictures and signed for people during the day, but I just wasn't lucky enough to see them. I would have loved to meet Gibson, but I couldn't complain after meeting a few cool people.

Fleetwood Mac hadn't shown up by the time I left.

Overall, I had an interesting day. The Yankees were very tough, but the music successes definitely helped the day move along!

Red Sox Winter Weekend 2015

2015-01-28T12:31:00.001-05:00

Last weekend was the weekend in which most MLB teams had their fanfests, and for the first year, the Red Sox held one not too far from me at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut.

Over the last few months, the Red Sox had a huge list of possible players named, "expected attendees" on their website. They purposely did not say how many players you would be able to meet, so I was expecting maybe 3-4, but even that turned out not to be the case. Luckily for me, I was able to catch a few guys and got them to sign when they were not in the autograph room.

The first person I met on the day was former Red Sox/ Broadcasting legend, Jerry Remy. Jerry was sitting near the NESN set, and was signing/taking photos with mostly anyone who wanted something.

My Dad and I both got a baseball signed, and I got a photo with him. I found it extremely curious that he sweet spotted for my Dad, and side paneled for me, especially since I handed the ball to him the correct way. Of course my Dad let me hear it, joking that he was the better 'grapher.

Nonetheless, I was happy to add another former Red Sox player to my collection, bringing my total to 132.

After meeting the RemDawg I noticed that Red Sox/Liverpool FC owner, John Henry was sitting nearby watching a ping pong tournament that was going on. Surprisingly, I had never met him and being a fan of both of his teams, I had to add him to my collection. He was very nice, and signed no problem:

After we met him, I had a 1:00 autograph session so I went up to the ballroom that the autograph sessions were taking place in, and the line to get in at 12:00 was already INSANE. I'm talking hundreds of people already waiting to get into the 1:00 session.

The autograph session worked like this:

There were many different times(you picked one earlier in the week).

For each "Time" there were 4 separate lines of 1 player each, (2, if the players were of way less caliber).

There was also a "photo only" line, that the autograph line lead into after you get your autograph.

So when it was all said and done, if you didn't know what you were doing, the most you were guaranteed to get by attending Winter Weekend was 1 autograph and 1 photo. I should mention that this was NOT a free event, so unless you either A) Got really lucky with who your autograph session was, or B) Worked to get extra autographs, this event was NOT worth the money whatsoever. Luckily for me, I was able to do both case A and B, and ended up doing alright.

So back to the event... I walk in to the ballroom, and head to my assigned line. After about 3 or 4 minutes I sighed in relief as I saw that the legendary Carlton Fisk was who I drew to get an autograph from. I was extremely lucky, because the line next to me was for 2 relatively unknown players to the casual fan. Dustin Pedroia was also signing during this session, but I had already met him albeit 9 years ago now!

Carlton was really nice, but wouldn't add the "Hall of Fame 2000" inscription. I figured he wouldn't, because there were A LOT of people, but I was happy regardless.

It's not every day that I can add an autograph as nice as this to my collection::

As I said earlier, after you got your autograph, you had to option to enter the "photo only" line. The player that was in my photo line was Xander Bogaerts, and even though I had met him probably a dozen times in the past, I had never gotten a picture with him so I decided it was worth the wait.

By the time I was done, it was time for my Dad's autograph/photo session. Unfortunately, he didn't draw as good of an autograph as me, but his photo draw was better. He drew newcomer, Wade Miley for his autograph, and Fred Lynn as his photo. I was happy that he at least got to meet one guy he used to watch a lot.

With that said, this is where the event was poorly planned, and many folks didn't get their money's worth. I got super lucky with my draw, but my Dad got a terrible autograph draw, and a good photo draw. I guess you could say for the casual fan, this would be fine, but for people/'graphers who come to expect a bit more, they left disappointed. I personally got my money's worth, but had to really work for it, and have some luck on my side.

Here is the Wade Miley autograph:

After he got out of his session, we went back down to the main area where we had met Jerry Remy and John Henry earlier, to see if anybody else was hanging out.

Allen Craig would not sign coming off of the NESN set, but I was able to get Tommy Layne, who made his Red Sox debut last year. I had failed to meet him in Pawtucket before his call up last season, so I was actually pretty happy about meeting him:

After that, I was pretty exhausted so we decided to leave. I was walking through the casino towards the exit, when all of a sudden I saw Xander Bogaerts, Mookie Betts, and a few others walking around. I had to choose, because they were walking somewhere fast and Xander was the best player, so I went with him. I was the only one asking him/that noticed them, so he signed for me and gave me a better autograph than I have ever seen him give. I had to keep pace with him, but he made it worth it.

That was a nice ending to my day, and the event overall.

One more thing worth mentioning before someone asks is that the players WOULD NOT sign after their talks or even walking through the event. I think they were strictly told not to. I got Xander Bogaerts because he was walking through the casino, not through the event space.

Actor/Comedian Patton Oswalt(King of Queens,Young Adult, Ratatouille) 1/6/15

2015-01-13T21:09:00.003-05:00

Last week I finished off my winter break from school by making my first 'graphing trip to New York City in about 2 years to meet an actor from one of my all-time favorite tv shows, Patton Oswalt. Besides his role as Spence on King of Queens, Patton is known for his stand up comedy specials, his supporting role in Young Adult, and as the voice of Ratatouille.

This was a book signing at a store in which I had attended many events at in prior years, and had generally great experiences with in the past. The event details said that one outside item would be allowed to be signed which was a nice surprise, and not usually something that is guaranteed to happen at book signings.

I ended up being the first person at the event, and waited for the discussion to start. John Hodgman was on hand to talk to Patton about the new book, and their discussion was hilarious. I truly enjoyed my time there, and I actually connected to a lot of things Patton talked about in his life which was honestly really nice.

When the signing started, I was the first in line, and Patton was nicer than I could have imagined. He actually listened to everything I told him, thanked me 3-4 times during our short conversation, and seemed to be a pretty genuine guy. I wish more famous people were this friendly, but at the end of the day those who aren't are major pieces in what makes the hobby interesting. I ended up getting two books, and a photo signed, as well as a picture taken with him:

Patriots Running Back Jonas Gray 1/5/15

2015-01-05T22:22:00.001-05:00

This evening I was able to start off 2015 on a good note by meeting breakout Patriots player, Jonas Gray. A few weeks ago, Jonas scored 4 touchdowns in a single game, and graced the cover of Sports Illustrated in the following week. Regular readers of the blog know that I am a pretty avid Sports Illustrated collector, so this was a good, cheap opportunity for me to add one to my collection.

I am not one for paid signings, just because I enjoy the chase this hobby entails more than anything else within it. Expanding on this thought, I was not impressed at all by the way the store ran things for this event, and I won't throw them under the bus, but it's easy enough to figure out by searching the date and "Jonas Gray Signing".

First, they were using dud markers which is just really annoying, and simply cheap for a paid signing. Secondly, they had some guy bringing your item up to the table, so you couldn't hand Jonas your marker or say anything before he signed the item. Luckily for my friends in back of me, they saw this and were quick to respond. Third, back to the marker issue: Jonas started to sign my magazine with a black sharpie, which is just a no go, and unacceptable for a paid event. Further, it was completely dead from signing dud items like shirts, plastic things, and other cloth, and other canvas-like items.

As I stated, Jonas started to sign my item in the black, and luckily I interrupted before he got very far. I held out my blue marker, and the owner of the store said, "he has a blue". Luckily it wasn't too bad, but mine wouldn't have been as streaky. There is just no reason to rush a paid signing so much that the customer can't even say anything, or have the star use a specified pen before starting to sign.

With all of that said, luckily the magazine didn't come out too badly. You can see where the black marker started, but hopefully when I frame it, it won't be visible on the wall.

I was very rushed, and in trying to explain to the owner of the store why I wanted to use the marker I brought, I didn't even get to say a single word to Jonas.

Troy Brown 12/30/14

2014-12-31T16:31:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I woke up and when I went on social media I was surprised to see that former Patriots star and 3 time Super Bowl Champion, Troy Brown would be appearing at a nearby supermarket to sign autographs/take pictures for free. I don't get to 'graph football as much as I would like, so this was a good opportunity to meet a great former player.

Regular readers of my blog may notice that some of my best successes are from last minute decisions to 'graph an event, and I really wanted to take advantage of this opportunity.The event was scheduled to start at 12, and I arrived at 11. There were about 30 people in line, and there were to be 150 bracelets to be handed out, so I was in luck.

Troy showed up about 25-30 minutes late, but that was okay, and when I got up to him he was quiet, but nice.

I asked him to sign an extra and he said he couldn't, but I got a picture with him instead. I could have gotten back in line, but there were a lot of people in back of me, so I just decided to head out.

This was a very quick hit for a Patriots legend, and huge part of 3 super bowl wins.

Patriots Star RB LeGarrette Blount 12/15/14

2014-12-20T23:27:00.001-05:00

During a recent conversation with a 'graphing friend, he told me that nearly every week during the football season there is a radio show in Massachusetts on which many Patriots players appear throughout the season. Luckily for me, my first time going was going to be a great episode, as Patriots star, LeGarrette Blount would be appearing on the show.

The event is billed as you can get the giveaway photo that the player signs during the show, but no outside items. Obviously I was still going to try because, well, I'm a 'grapher, and I love the chase.

Anyway, I got there pretty early because I had never been, and I ended up talking to a super nice gentleman who was setting up that happened to be an employee of the store the event was being held at. He ended up finding some photos from previous signings that were not given away, and he was nice enough to give the few of us there a copy. Before the show even started, I had gotten autographs of Ryan Allen and Michael Buchanon, which was super thoughtful of the guy.

A while later, the show got underway, and I was in the front row, so I thought I had a real shot to get LeGarrette to sign my Sports Illustrated and I was right. I was kind of worried however, because my friend had warned me that the guy who runs the show is pretty mean, and well to be frank on a power trip.

So the show ends, and I go right up to LeGarrette as a few others did(They all wanted photos), and he is all smiles. He's loving interacting with everyone which is awesome. I then hand him the Sports Illustrated and he literally had it in his hands with my marker, went to sign it, and the guy running the show ripped it away. I couldn't believe it. It's one thing if the player isn't having a good time and wants to leave, but LeGarrette truly seemed to be having a great time and wanted to take pictures/sign for whoever wanted something and this one guy on a power trip ruined it for everyone. He then rushed him to the back, 15 minutes before his time was even up, and later on someone found a selfie on the guy's facebook with LeGarrette, and he walked out with a stack of about 10 posters signed. Unbelievable.

It is worth noting that there were 30 people in attendance MAX.

I was a little upset that I didn't get my Sports Illustrated signed, but more so because of the way it went down than anything else.