By Moose . . .
OK, everyone, please excuse me if there are mistakes/errors on this post, because I'm writing this right now and I'm not gonna edit it, so I'm just getting that out of the way. Yeah, you know that guy that I've been ranting/talking about for a little while now? That point guard for my Celtics? Rajon Rondo? And that center that is a beast (perkisabeast.com)? Kendrick Perkins?
Today, I met my first two NBA players. Here's the story. I was at the Prudential Center in Boston with a few friends, and we were waiting for someone. So, at the base of the elevator was a Gucci store. We decided to just wait outside the store until the person we were waiting for showed up.
I was talking to my friend while I was facing the store, and he points over my shoulder. I turn around to see a massive Kendrick Perkins staring me eye-to-eye. The emotion on my part was incredible. There was no warning of my meeting Perk. I just turned around and WHAM! He was just there. In his booming voice he said, "Excuse me." The emotions that went through my brain were somewhat terrified, excited, happy and many other things as well.
I got out of his way, of course. He headed right into the store, me with my jaw dropped halfway to the ground. I watched as other people filed off of the elevator, among them one of my idols, Rajon Rondo. I was speechless. I watched as Rondo walked into the store and away into an aisle, amazed at my luckiness.
You guys know that Rondo is one of my favorite players. You guys know that I've ranted about him/wrote about him in, what, four posts now? Anyways, I almost collapsed, shocked, amazed and excited at the same time. Keep in mind my age and that they were my first NBA players that I had met. So this really isn't an overreaction. And I'm glorifying it a bit.
I hopped up and down squeaking for a few minutes (well it wasn't that bad, haha), and I saw Rondo go near the window. I didn't want to miss the opportunity to meet some of my favorite players, so to my own amazement I walked into Gucci and went right up to Rajon. "Mr. Rondo," I think I said, "You're one of my favorites. You're playing great this year and all of that. I loved the triple-double the other night, too."
He said with a slight smile, "Thanks, man," a few times and extended his wiry right arm. I took it and shook his massive hand, truly amazing how big they are. First of all, Rondo is not huge. He's pretty small, actually. At 6'1" I was somewhat (SOMEWHAT, not really at all) close to his height. Let's just say he wasn't out of the ordinary. But I was extremely excited at meeting him. "You're the first NBA player that I've met, ever." I said ecstatically. "Well," Said Rondo, "If you wanna meet another one, Kendrick's right down the corner,"
"Thanks," I said, and I walked down the aisle to meet my second player. Perkins was sitting down on a bench, trying on shoes? I don't know what he was doing, but he was surrounded by about five of his friends, or bodyguards, one of the two. I walked up to Kendrick hesitantly, and I said, "Mr. Perkins, I'm sorry to bother you, but I just wanted to say that I'm a big fan," I might have said a few other things, but I don't quite remember. I got more of, "Thanks, man," as he extended his arm, with an even more immense hand attached.
I took it and shook his hand, noticing the diamond-studded watch and all of that on his hand. He smiled as I said, "Keep up the good work," and I walked out of the store, just on a high. I mean, a kid my age meeting his first NBA player? TWO of them? It was incredible. And another thing: The guys were nice. And nobody else was bothering them, nobody else was anywhere near. I just talked for a few moments and went away. Just an afterthought: Rondo was wearing a Nike sweatshirt, Nike sweatpants and Nike flip flops. He's a Reebok guy. Hmmm. Maybe there's something we don't know about.
Anyways, I'm just kind of on a high right now. I'm excited at all of this. And just know, my shameless Rajon Rondo talk is not over. This just fueled the fire. And Perk's hooked nose is even more pronounced in real life. It was great stuff, just unexpected. Anyways, there it is. Thanks for listening, everybody.
--Moose
20 comments:
MOOSE I AM SO HAPPY FOR YOU! This is the NBA fan equivalent to having kids! Tell me, did Rondo also have RIDICULOUSLY wide set shoulders- like the ones wide framed doors are made of? And Perkins, the beast of blue collar. That's his nickname in my eyes. "The Beast of Blue Collar." It's like The Hick from French Lick"...Rolls off the tongue. That is great Moose. Pimpin'. I was on the phone with my girlfriend and i totally stopped talking to her just to read the blog and comment!
wow...that is pretty dope, moose. I really don't like perkins that much because everytime I see him he is freaking mean mugging everyone on the court but based on your story, he seems like a pretty cool cat. Rondo is becoming one of my favorite and i know this is going to be one of the best moments of your young life. Walsh is right. it's like having a baby. only better.
Congrats, little homie. That's an experience you'll cherish the rest of your life. Keep writing and someday maybe you'll be able to do that on the regular. And of course Perk is good people off the court, he's from Texas. :)
Great post! Perk has been my favorite player since we drafted him. I love Rondo also. I have been a Celtics fan since the 60's and only once got to meet any Celtics. It was in 91 and I got tickets to a game in Miami. After the game, we followed their bus to their hotel. They were so classy and nice. They must have been tired but stood around for at least an hour signing autographs, talking, and posing for pictures. I got my picture with the original big 3. Chief leaned down so that his head was close to mine (I'm 5'3") and joked that everyone always cuts his head off in pictures.
Congrats on meeting Perk and Rondo. And thanks for sharing your ezperience.
Hey Moose! Congratulations on meeting Perk on Rondo. Glad you finally got the experience like I did in meeting NBA players. I already know who's next on your list if you know what I mean. :D
@ Justin: Thanks a lot. As a kid my age, I guess it really was the equivalent to having twins. I couldn't shut up about it the whole night and lemme tell you I ain't done. And yes, Rondo's shoulders are just as square, but he really looked like a normal person other than that . . . not very tall and all that. And again, thanks for your excitement and enthusiasm at my luck!
@ DP: Again, thanks for all of that. And Perkins is worth liking. He may give a kind of thug type aura around him during a game, but his dunks are fun. And he was really nice to me and all of that. I kinda just walked up to him and he invited me in the circle. And it was definitely a life highlight.
@ B. Long: Hopefully I will be able to do it for the rest of my life. But last night, I couldn't really contain my excitement. When I walked up to them I was at a huge loss for words, I basically just said, "You're doing a great job, keep it up," With some added words in there. I'll have to work on that, haha.
@ CeltsFan: Thank you for the complements, and also for sharing your experiences! Meeting those three is incredible! And Parrish sounds like a nice guy, that's good :).
@ Roy: Yes I do . . . yes I do . . .
I have met Curly Neal (globetrotter) 2x, i met Deli Curry like 5x, and Nate McMillan/Chris Wilcox all lived about 1 mile from my house, and yet i never got freaked out to meet them, but if Gerald Wallace walked through that door i would probaly pass out then go give him some dap. Good stuff.
I came close to passing out too, BET. I was incredibly excited and all . . . as soon as Rondo passed by the window I was just like "I'm gonna go meet him . . . "
That's... wow. Just crazy. Can you really use any other words to describe it? Major props
Wow and crazy are definitely the words to use, baconator. And it was so out of the blue as well. Nobody was near them, talking to them, following them, yelling at them, nothing-- I just went up and talked to them for a few moments. They were nice and welcoming. Rondo seemed a bit shy, but he was nice anyways.
This is now where it belongs, back at the Top, i am also now where i belong, at Hibachi!
That's a cool experience, especially when its on a one-on-one basis. Most of the time i've just met guys at a game or NBA related events, like NBA all star weekend, but its usually the player meeting several people at a time, so it's less personal. I've ran into Mcdyess about 3 times at The Galleria (big mall) here though. You'd love it down here though since a lot of players make their home here or just come to hang out/workout. Next time you should definitely ask them some questions, if you make them unique you should get some good answers from them.
Man thats great, really nice to hear Moose.
sidebar: I got to meet all the Brazilian soccer team players in 2002 when they came down for an exhibition match in Sydney. I 'talked' to Ronaldo, Ronaldinho etc. They spoke pretty good english too. Still gives me goosebumps. Sadly, I have never met an NBA player... :P oh well.
If I could meet an NBA player, it'd be probably Derek Fisher or any of the guys from the Adidas 'it takes 5' team. tmac, duncan, gil, dwight, billups, kg.
Yep RV, it was just me and Rondo. Then Perk was with about four of his friends, but nobody else was around. Basically just one-on-one. I kinda wish now that I had said something more intelligent or asked more questions, but I was all caught up in the moment and really at a loss for words. Incredibly unexpected and all. And thanks again, Hursty. Now that I've met one, I wanna meet more. Sounds greedy, huh haha. But it was a great experience. I'm going to the Warriors@Heat game on Dec. 23rd, so I'ma try to get to DWade or SJax or someone. Trust me, game notes and a stadium review will be up after the New Year. My second NBA game! I've gotta get to a Celtics' game at some point, just the tickets are so impossible to get.
The best experience I've ever had was meeting Paul Pierce. He came here in Manila back in 2000. I got his autograph (on my Nike backpack, Nike cap, Nike event fliers about 3 of them I believe). He's one of the nicest NBA players I've ever met. The best part of experience, I got to play 1-on-1 with him for a minute in the same Nike event. Of course I lost and never scored a point. How can a 5'4 1/2" dude like me could ever win against a 6'7" cat like Pierce. hahaha.... He just kept blocking my shots and and last shot was an air ball... hahaha... :D
Oh I forgot to mention, I got my picture taken with Pierce at the time. Truly a memorable experience for me. :D
Moose, did you really write "I was face to face with Kendrick Perkins." Are you really 6'10"? You should be balling insteading of writing so much!!!!!!!!!!!! :)
Insteading should be a new word.
Yeah, more like "face to neck", Eboy. Good point there, haha.
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