Football Fandom and Autographs...

Growing up, I was a huge Redskins fan. As was my buddy, Chuck (I'm the hirsute one).

Twice, we made the day trip to Carlisle, PA to visit the Redskins summer training camp facility.

The second time...I became famous...for a few minutes.

Chuck had an uncanny ability to recognize players who, in my estimation, had a greater likelihood of swimming the English Channel than of making the team.

He would see one of them and say, "Hey, Gregory Williams! You went to Johnson C. Smith College! Can I have your autograph?"

The player, stunned that anyone would know him, would, of course, gladly oblige.

Soon, the other fans there would say, "hey, it's a player, let's get his autograph!" and Chuck had begun a tidal wave of attention on this guy whose career in the NFL ended 2 weeks later.

While at lunch, we were talking to the brand new coach of the team, Richie Petitbon, and some teenager comes up to him and asks, "are you with the team?"

Chuck, livid at the diminishing appreciation for the game and the commercialization of the autograph experience, yells at the guy, "you IDIOT! He's the head coach."

Seeing the widespread ignorance, and being wiseass college kids, we sense an opportuntity.

After lunch, the players returned to the practice facility, walking through some gates. As they do, people approach them and ask for autographs.

Chuck goes inside the gate. I wait a few minutes and, dressed as I am in the lower left picture above, walk into the practice facility.

Chuck runs up to me and says, "Hey, Coach! CAn I have your autograph?"

"Sure," I say.

Within seconds, I am swarmed. I'm signing hats, pennants, footballs. One lady asked me to sign the shirt she was wearing.

I hear someone say, "what's his number?"

And another person yells, "he's a coach!!"

I'm having a blast, but nervous as hell that any one of the real/authentic players around me will expose me and the mob will turn against me.

Soon, I say, "sorry, I've got to get to practice."

And I break away from the crowd, my football career over.

(Another pic from the scrapbook inspired the post.)