Happy 10th Birthday SCF! Why not celebrate with a contest? Details inside

[pghin08]

In honor of SCF's 10th birthday, we're going to be conducting contests all over the site! I've worked up something special for our family here in the Chit-Chat forums.

What I would like to see are your stories of your favorite personal encounters with a professional athlete. You have until Sunday, March 3rd at Noon EST to post your experiences in this thread. Once we've collected the stories, I will create a poll in this thread where people can vote on their favorites. The winner will be announced on Monday, March 5th at 6 PM (at which time the poll will close), and we'll have a nice little prize for him/her.

A few ground rules:

1. The story has to be yours. No "Oh my friend met Carmelo Anthony and he was so cool" stuff. This has to be your OWN encounter.
2. Professional athletes only, no collegiate athletes (just because I have to draw a line somewhere). This can include professional wrestlers, and any organized pro sport with a league.
3. You can only submit one story. This should probably go without saying, but I'll say it regardless. Pick your best and submit it.
4. Don't lie. It takes the fun out of it.


I wanted to take a moment and give special thanks to all of you. The reason that SCF has been able to survive and thrive for a decade is because of dedicated and trustworthy members. We all have a common love, and it's my sincere belief that SCF will continue to do well because of the community that you all have built. It's an honor to be a part of it.


Have fun with this guys, hopefully it brings back some good memories! Feel free to PM me if you have any questions or concerns.

[wogman56]

Growing up a diehard Detroit Red Wings fan, I had heard many tales of the legendary Gordie Howe from my Dad. After hearing that Gordie had a summer place about an hour and a half from us, I had my mind made up that one day I would meet him. Every time we would go shopping at the mall up there, I would have my Gordie Howe Proset card and a red pen in tow in hopes that one day I would meet him and have him sign it for me. After about 10 trips and three years of getting shut out, I had just about given up any hope of meeting him since rumors were swirling around that Gordie's house was for sale. Finally, while checking out at the Target store in the mall, I saw a white haired man and a tall, younger man walking with him. Being 10 years old and having no shame, I double checked to make sure that the man I was speaking with was the same one on the card. I asked, "Are you Gordie Howe?" He acknowledged that he was and then I asked him to sign his card. The man he was with, who I learned was his agent, told me that if I wanted it signed I would have to attend the show there the following weekend and pay $40 to get it signed. I was devastated. While in the parking lot and loading up our groceries, I noticed that his agent was in the vehicle so I ran over and asked him one more time. This time he agreed, shook my hand, and made a 10 year old boy's dream come true. That card has been in a case and will not leave my collection no matter what.

[Dodgersalltheway]

Growing up in Los Angeles, I've been A Dodger and Laker fan my whole life. Once upon a time, 2012 to be exact, my father called me to tell me to apply at the Rose Bowl for the 2012 UCLA football season. I went down to the stadium, applied, and they hired me as a warehouse/stocker. My dad worked there too so he put in a good word for me. The company that handled the concessions over there is called Sodexo Magic. It wasn't bad working there and the extra money didn't hurt either. Anyways, about halfway through the season, they put on a special catering event for the company's Board of Directors in the UCLA locker room. I didn't expect to be working it but because I had only been there a few months. It just so happens that my dad does the catering for all the cheerleaders during the football games, so the boss decided he needed a hand this time and picked me for the job. So I worked the luncheon, mainly setting up the room the day before and washing dishes the day of. What I learned a few days prior was that Magic Johnson would be in attendance; after all is it was his company that handled operations there, Sodexo Magic. So the day of, I was excited to have a chance to see or even meet Magic Johnson, and I did! Once everyone was done eating lunch, I got to see and listen to him make a speech about him playing in the 'Showtime' Era and talk about everything that he has gone through since. It was truly an experience I soon won't forget. After his speech and a few other speakers, Magic went to each table to meet everyone and took pictures with all the people that wanted one. He even took a picture with the staff that was working the event. I popped my head out of the back where I was slaving away doing the dishes and made my way to where he was taking pictures with all the waiters and cooks. He took a lot of pictures with everybody, group shots and one on one pictures too. When all the waiters cooks had gotten their pictures, I was standing there, patiently waiting for mine. "Do you want a picture too?", he asked. I replied with "Oh, yes please!". We took a picture together and shook my hand. I couldn't (and still can't) believe that I had just met and took a picture with the greatest Laker(besides Kobe) ever.