Met a few celebrity types when I was working in a tourist trap while attending College of Charleston. Some of the ones I remember: Tori Spelling, Robert Davie, Tom Berenger, Cliff Robertson, Robert Jordon, Sandra Bullock, and some more I am drawing a blank on. Most of them I treated just like any customer and they were pretty cool. I haven't met anyone who totally star struck me yet but there is always a chance for the future.
LopRacer wrote: Met a few celebrite types when I was working in a tourist trap while attending College of Charleston. Some of the ones I remember: Tori Spelling, Robert Davie, Tom Berenger, Cliff Robertson, Robert Jordon, Sandra Bullock, and some more I am drawing a blank on. Most of them I treated just like any customer and they were pretty cool. I haven't met anyone who totally star struck me yet but there is always a chance for the future.
Robert Jordan was my wife's uncle. She was living at his house when we met. he was an amazingly Iinteresting guy. Dinner at their house was a hoot.
Jaxmadine wrote: I idolize no one. Respect yes. But no idols. nifty meeting slash tho.
i agree with this, but i did run into 3 time superbowl champion defensive back Jerod Cherry at the water park a few weeks ago, we both had our kids there for the day. cool dude.
and i met Bernie Kosar at cedar point in june. not an idol, but that man is my childhood hero.
Me, Hélio Castroneves, Hélio's girlfriend, and Ryan Briscoe in my Miata at the Petit LeMans. We were getting ready for the parade lap and this was the morning after Hélio was released from the Miami Jail.
Lesley wrote: There I was, shoulder to shoulder with frigging Slash, and I couldn't say a word. Sometimes I am sooooo lame.
Should have said "You could be mine" 
Then depending on his response, run with it, or tell him that's your favorite GNR guitar riff.
patgizz wrote: and i met Bernie Kosar at cedar point in june. not an idol, but that man is my childhood hero.
Growing up as an Oilers fan, I hated that goofy footed dude. But I hated Boomer Esiason more.
Rob_Mopar wrote:Lesley wrote: There I was, shoulder to shoulder with frigging Slash, and I couldn't say a word. Sometimes I am sooooo lame.Should have said "You could be mine"
Ooooo - I like that!
There's just something about Slash that I find both hot and repulsive all at the same time ;-P
I met Dave Mirra, Bucky Lasek, and Sverre Isachsen (you probably won't know that last one) at an Apple Bee's after one of their global rallycross races. Very down to earth guys, Bucky was very sincere about how he thought of his own skills and how the racing is. All seemed like good guys.
I'm a bit like oldsaw, several of my idols from the old days died (Clark, Donohue, etc), I still respect the survivors (Stewart, Gurney and Jim Hall), but never met them. These days I'm pretty objective and enjoy my racing, but don't have any current hero drivers. That said, though, there are a few racing-oriented heros that I have met:
1) Rick Mears - always a huge fan. the year after he retired I was covering Pikes Peak for GRM, and he was there with his brother and father, who were driving Dodge Trucks. In those days, after qualifying there was a "Mom Unser Memorial Chili Luncheon" in the park in Manitou Springs, and when I was there I saw Rick standing on the sidelines, wearing a Mears Gang Polo shirt. I'm not really an autograph guy, but this was Rick - so I headed in this direction, only to be cut off by a "fan" who had spotted the shirt, and proceeded to tell Rick that he had been out on the course watching, and that he could give a few pointers to the team drivers, on and on. Rick caught my eye over the guy's shoulder and sort of gave the Rick Mears twinkle in the eye. After the guy left, I came up and said to him "the guy never had a clue, did he?" and Rick said "Nope - isn't it great!" Truly a down to earth, nice man.
Other stories later, don't want to run off at the keyboard.
2) Peter Brock. I was always a big fan of the BRE 510s and John Morton's driving. Met Peter after qualifying at Pikes Peak one of the last years I covered for GRM, so it was around 2005 or so, we sat around in the Ski area parking lot for nearly an hour and talked cars - the BRE days, Shelby stories, his new Superperformance "Daytona", Andy Pilgrim's transfer form the Corvette ALMS team to the Caddy World Challenge team, every topic under the sun. A charming guy who lived up to my pre-existing image. Quality time.
3) Bobby Unser - while I rate Bobby very highly as a very fast driver, my observations over several years at the peak are of possibly the largest ego on the planet.
4) Jimmy Clark - had a reputation of hiding from the public and chewing fingernails before a race. Sure enough, found him sitting in the back seat of a Thunderbird with Team Lotus stickers before the USGP at the Glen in either '66 or '67 when I was an awe-struck teenager. Tapped on the window: "Please Mr. Clark, if you'll sign my program, I won't tell anybody where you are." He grinned, signed the program, and then went out and won the race.
End of my idol stories.
I was at DefCon, and went to one of the more technical talks (the use of NOOP sleds in buffer overflow exploits.) I was VERY excited to find myself sitting next to Hobbit. (The author of netcat who, of late, is known for hacking cars.) He's the real deal....and I was trying not to act like a fanboy.
The talk was over my head, and I was VERY tired (it was Sunday morning.) I ended up falling asleep next to him.
I think this is about meeting an Idol in a odd place... I Met Ron Jeremy, at my place of work!!! A few years later I met Hacksaw Jim Duggan at a Peeler bar!! Unfortunately he didn't yell HOOOOOOOOOOOOO at the ladies on stage...
Also, I met Iron Sheik, who is one of my all time Idols!!! But it was a planned appearance that I attended. According to the rules of this thread.. It doesn't really count but I thought I would mention it..
drsmooth wrote: I Met Ron Jeremy, at my place of work!!!
Dare I ask where you "work"? 
petegossett wrote:drsmooth wrote: I Met Ron Jeremy, at my place of work!!!Dare I ask where you "work"?
No, DrSmooth is NOT going to help you get a job as a fluffer.....
petegossett wrote:drsmooth wrote: I Met Ron Jeremy, at my place of work!!!Dare I ask where you "work"?
Plumbing business.
You know... where they lay pipe.
I met Lesley yesterday at COTA... 
Maroon92 wrote: I met Lesley yesterday at COTA...
You win! 
/thread
I met McLean Stevenson at a beergarten in St. Louis in the late '80s. Doesn't really qualify as an idol, but he was cool enough.
Maroon92 wrote: </cite I met Lesley yesterday at COTA...
Does this mean your real name is Slash?
I ran into Randy Hawkins ( 7 time AMA national enduro champion and member of the AMA hall of Fame) at a local Wendy's. He was eating lunch with Jan Hrehor (another off-road guy except he was from Czechoslovakia). I spoke to him for a moment and he was a super nice guy. Ran into him again several years later when a friend bought one of his old factory Suzukis. He showed us around his garage with lots of factory enduro bikes. It's hard not to be a bit awestruck by meeting someone that has your dream job.
Being a monster truck nerd, it was really cool meeting some of the drivers that I grew up watching race on TV.
During my short stint driving in 2008, I spent a late evening in the Hall Bros Racing shop with Tim Hall talking about MT racing, where its been and where its going, and his brother Mark, 18 time world champion (among multiple sanctioning bodies) fixed our wagon. Totally cool guys.
Also, getting driving tips and instructions from other veteran drivers is just surreal.
I'll try to make this short. Not my idol (knew the character but didn't know actors name) but defiantly my roommates idol.
Two college kids from AR got a summer internship (indentured servitude) on a "hobby farm" in NY, a few miles Northeast of Poughkeepsie. Farm primarily raised Belted Galloway cattle, the ones that look like Oreos. Farm owner lived in NYC during the week, and his weekend home was the giant house on top of the hill on his farm. We lived in a nice apartment on the end of a converted horse barn and worked directly for the farm manager, with a schedule of every other weekend off. The apartment was directly across the street from the main barn and office.
During one of our working weekends, we were taking shifts every couple of hours going across the street to check on things, and check any messages on the answering machine. I went first, and had a message from some guy named Sam, wanting our boss' advice on Galloway cattle, because they had just bought some, blah, blah, blah. I went back telling my roommate that Sam Water--something wanted our boss' "expert" advice, kind of laughing to myself. My roommate perked right up, "Sam Water-what?" I didn't remember, but my describing his voice was enough for my roommate who is the biggest Law & Order fan to go back down to the barn and play the message for himself.
He came back to the apartment literally giddy, proclaiming, "Holy, crap that was Sam Waterson!" "Do you know who, he is?" At the time I didn't, he was discribed to me as the AD on Law & Order, to which I responded, "the guy with gray hair, and beady eyes?"
Anyway, over the course of the summer, we got to meet with Mr. Waterson several times, both at our farm and his. My roommate was beside himself most of the time. Mr. Waterson was a pretty cool, laid back guy. He was genuinely interested in our advice on raising his cattle, he purchased a few cows from us, and he even offered to bring us to a taping of the show. Unfortunately our schedule for returning to school, and their taping schedule didn't work out.
Oh, I did get to drink & hang with Charlie Robison after one of his shows one night. He played at George's in Fayettevile one winter when I was in grad school. His show was during Christmas break, all the undergrads had left already, so it wasn't a very crowded show. Folks were buying him drinks all night and given them to him on stage.
After the show he came came down by the kiosk selling CDs & T-shirts, and stayed signing autographs, taking pictures, drinking, and BSing with the handful of us that were still in the bar. I don't think of him as an idol, but one of my favorite Texas Country singers.
poopshovel wrote: A couple months ago, I sent Henry Rollins an email regarding one of his blog posts...I got an email back almost immediately, and we spent the next 6 hours going back and forth on politics. Kind of cool, but kind of disappointing.
Because his positions were off the mark, or because he seemingly had noting better to do than to play internet with you for six hours?
jg
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