Meeting The Sports Guy

I have a good story for everyone, as today was a big day for me. I had the opportunity to meet my favorite journalist, Bill Simmons (commonly known as "The Sports Guy"). As mentioned in a post last week, Bill just released his first book titled, "Now I Can Die in Peace", which is about how the Boston Red Sox teams from 1998 through the 2005 World Series championship team, changed his life and renewed his love for baseball.

I'm not a Red Sox fan in any sense of the word, but I was happy when they won last year (I can root for any team that isn't the Yankees). Overall, I'm more excited to read his work in novel form rather than worry about the fact that the content is all about the Red Sox. Simply stated: I love this guy's writing style.

I check his website, The Sports Guy's World, each and every day, and was shocked to find out last week that Stamford, CT, would be one of his stops on the Book Tour (along with Boston, New York City, and DC). Now, you say to yourself, "Well this guy can't be all that popular since he's stopping in Stamford. Why would he choose such a place?" Simple answer...he lived in Southern CT for a while when he was younger, and I believe he still has some family in the area. And when ESPN is paying for your book tour, why not stop in places so you can see your family while you're at it? After all, he lives in Los Angeles, and doesn't come back East all that often anymore. Wow, I feel like I know this guy's life story.

So tonight was the night. Borders Book Store in Stamford, right on the way home from work. The signing was supposed to begin at 7:30pm, but I arrived at about 7:15pm. I couldn't tell how busy it was when I walked in. I was greeted by one of the Borders employees who instructed me to purchase the book first ($25 hard cover) and then get in line for the signing. So that's what I did. There had to have been about 40 people ahead of me in line, and the line wasn't moving too fast. Everybody wants to shoot the shit with Bill, so with each person spending about a minute or so talking and having him sign their book, it took me about 30+ minutes to reach him.

I had been thinking all day about what I was going to ask him. Finally it dawned on me when I was about 10 minutes from the book store. So I finally reach Bill, as I approach the table he is sitting at along side a publicist. I reach out for a handshake and tell him that its very good to meet him. I give him my book and tell him to make it out to Ross. And then the conversation goes like this:

Me: Bill, I have to ask you a question. I'm a lifelong Philadelphia sports fan, and I wasn't old enough to remember the last championship - the 1983 Sixers. Do you have any sympathy for me, after what you've gone through with the Sox?
Bill: [Shaking his head] Yeah, man, I definitely feel for you. Part of the reason I wrote this book is so that my readers would know how I felt after the Red Sox finally got that World Series last year.
Me: You had all of those great Celtics teams, and recently the Patriots dynasty, but the Sox had to have been different.
Bill: You have no idea. But I'm rooting for you man. It's tough not to see any of your teams be a champion for so long. You've seen a lot of great players though: Barkley, Iverson, McNabb...
Me: You think this might be the year for the Eagles?
Bill: I personally don't think so. Best chance might be with the Flyers.
Me: Thanks Bill. Great to meet you. Love your writing.

Call it cheesy if you will, but it really was a big deal for me to meet this guy. He was just your every day super sports fan who loves his teams, loves to write about them, and knows a whole lot about entertainment and pop culture. Definitely a cool thing that I was able to meet him and chat for a moment.

Regarding the fact that I brought up the Philadelphia teams, I had to do it. I was standing in a book store with 100 other people all in Red Sox hats, shirts, and jerseys. I needed to represent.

By the way, they ended up selling out of his books and had to send someone to the store 30 minutes away to pick up more copies. I guess he has a lot of fans in the area....

Oh, so how did he end up signing my book?

"Ross, Keep the Faith with Philly!"
- Bill Simmons