Twitter-graphing!
I the past few years, the Buffalo Bills have gone from a team that I followed, to becoming my favourite team. While the Leafs may be number one in my heart, the Bills are now my '1B'! This may have to do with the fact that Corinna and I are season ticket holders, to the Bills.
If you've never been to a Bills game...or an NFL game in general, you're truly missing out on something great! The atmosphere in truly incredible! The tailgating, the vendors, the game...just the whole spectacle!
The love that Buffalo has for their Bills, isn't like anything I've ever scene in a sports setting before. Personally, I suggest catching the Bills playing the Miami Dolphins. That is one heck of rivalry game! Much like the Leafs and Habs rivalry, except 10 time louder! Remember, the Bills' stadium can hold over 73,000 people...so when the Bills make a great play, it gets REAL loud!
Over the past few years, I've had the chance to meet a couple of 'former' Bills and get their autographs. I've recieved Jim Kelly and Thurman Thomas' autographs on a full size Bills helmet. It's actually one of my favourite autographed pieces, proudly displayed in my glass case, located in my basement. I hope to get other Hall of Fame Bills on the helmet on it one day. Bruce Smith is on the top of that particular list.
As a Bills season ticket holder, I have to admit that it did kind of bother me to watch the likes of Trent Edwards, Marshawn Lynch, Lee Evans, and (now) Terrell 'T.O.' Owens, and not ever try to get their autographs. In fact...I have no current Bills autographs.
Why, you ask? Simple...I live in Canada.
Trying to get current Buffalo Bills' autographs isn't difficult at all...if you live in Buffalo and the Western New York state area. In fact, there are signings every week. The Bills are very 'out and about' in their community. The hard part for me, is the fact I reside in Guelph, Ontario. Guelph is less than 2 hours driving time away from Buffalo...which isn't all that bad to meet my favourite team.
The tough part is two fold.
First, the border crossing. Getting into the States isn't that difficult, the line-up to get in...is. There always seems to be a half-hour wait for us, regardless of time of day! Returning to Canada, hasn't always been easy either. You can always bet on an extra hour of travel time, in dealing with the border crossings. But, hey...everyone has a job to do, and border security is a tough one.
The second (and most important) fact, is that the autographs signings are during the week. Most of these Bills appearances occur Monday to Thursday, from 5ish to 7ish. That is incredibly difficult for me, as I work shift-work. When I'm on the 'days' rotation, I finish at 4:30pm. So, if there was a signing to happen in Buffalo at 7pm, I would have 2.5 hours to make it. Is is possible? Mathematically, the answer is yes. However, the truth is with distance, border crossing, and (most importantly) traffic, it's EXTREMLY difficult to pull off. Because of the difficulty, I always dismiss Bills signings...regardless of who's signing.
By the way...99 of 100 times, those signings are free. Which makes it all the more frustrating as an autograph collector, to be missing out on meeting my favourite team's players (for free)!
Earlier this year, after Terrell Owens signed with the Bills, I heard that a few of the Bills post messages on Twitter for their fans. I found this information out on buffalobills.com. Owens was a very active person on Twitter, the Bills website mentioned, and that was enough for me to create a profile on Twitter! After I created a profile, I began to follow a few Buffalo Bills...including the superstar, T.O.! Kawika Mitchell, James Hardy, and Aaron Maybin, all had profiles and were available to communicate with. A few former Bills, even have accounts including Darryl Talley, and Hall of Famer Thurman Thomas. Thomas is incredibly active, and seems to respond to every question posed to him by fans. Including a few of mine! Thanks Thurman!
After getting a few responses from Terrell Owens, about his signing habits and his television show...more and more Bills players and Bills organizational profiles started to pop-up on Twitter...all with appearance information! Donte Whitner, former first round pick, posted a couple of his signings. As did, the previously mentioned, Terrell Owens. The only problem was this...I was finding out about these appearances, the day of the event...often 2 or 3 hours in advance! That is just not possible for me, as travelling and scheduling interferes with my personal life too much.
One day, while reading Terrell Owens' posts, I noticed he followed Lee Evans. Lee Evans is the other star receiver on the Bills team, and has been a fan favourite since he was drafted in the 1st round, back in 2004. He is one of most productive Bills of all time, and has set a few Bills records. So, when I saw that Evans was availble to follow, on Twitter, I did just that.
After adding him to my following list, I sent him a message.
On October 24th, 2009 I sent this message to Lee Evans' profile; 83, do you have any autograph signings coming up?. Plain, simple, and to the point!
After that message, the next day there was no response from Lee Evans. In fact, a few days passed, so I forgot about it.
On November 2nd, 2009, at 11:07pm to be exact, I was reminded that I sent a message to Evans.
Lee Evans responded directly to me, about his next upcoming signing!
This is what he said; I have an appearance coming up on Nov 10th from 11am-1pm in Williamsville at a Sprint store. I'll def tweet & blog the location.
I was both suprised and jubilant! I quickly told my wife, Corinna, that Lee Evans sent me a direct message on Twitter, about a signing! Afterwards, I began to think about the signing more. My first thought was; it's a morning signing session...what shift am I on? When I checked the 10th, I saw it was a Tuesday...and that I was afternoons. I started work that day at 5:45pm, so the trip could be possible. The only draw back, was the fact it was a Tuesday. You see, I would work the day before from 5:45pm until 3:15am (Tuesday morning), leaving me without decent sleep if I were to consider this trip.
If he started signing at 11am, I'd have to be on the road for 9ish...leaving me with about 4 or 5 hours of sleep.
Gut check time...do I come home and sleep normally or do I come home, sleep for abit and make a road trip...and hope for a hour or so nap afterwards?
This was simply, I signing I wanted to do. So, I talked to my better half about it. Corinna was a little concerned about the lack of sleep, but realized it was cool opportunity to meet a great player. We both agree that the fact that Lee Evans told me personally about this signing, was the icing on the cake!
After I made up my mind that I was going, I had a week to find something to get signed.
Here we go faithful readers...another 'what to get signed' story within the story!
I decided early that I wanted a Bills mini-helmet to get signed, the only tough part about that idea was the limited amount of Bills merchandise available in Canada. I called a few stores in the local area, searching for a mini-helmet. I called Framed Memories in Cambridge, On, a place that I knew carried mini's...but they had no Bills' helmets. I called a few other places...to find a store, here in Guelph that had one.
When I asked how much they wanted for the helmet, I was shocked. The reply was $40 dollars. I thanked him for his time...in which he commented "That's what they go for, you know!". I finished the call, and turned to Corinna and mentioned the price. She laughed and said; "You're better off picking one up in Buffalo for $20US, when you go down...'cause you're just going to get ripped off here (in Canada)!".
She was right (as per the norm), and that's what I decided to do. I would get close to the signing location, and search for a sports and/or collectables store. If you know Buffalo & WNY at all, there are plenty of Bills souvenir stores!
On November 6th, 2009, Lee Evans posted a message on Twitter, for all his followers (this time); I will be signing autographs Tuesday, November 10 from 11:00-1:00PM at the sprint store 7974 Transit Road Williamsville NY. Aright, with that update, I finally had an exact location, so I could figure out the travel time and distance.
After plugging in the info into mapquest.ca, I saw that it was about 2 hours to the Sprint store. I checked for sports stores in the immediate area, finding a 'Dick's Super Sports Store' across the street from the Evans' signing spot. After checking online prices, I was happy to find that they sold Bills' mini-helmets for $24.99USD. After a quick conversion, I figured it would cost about $27 and change in Canadian. I laughed to myself, at the idea of buying the same helmet for $40 here in Guelph!
I was secretly hoping that the Sprint store would be giving away free 8x10's of Lee Evans. I've read online, that many Bills appearances include free photos for fans. Some signings even have free jerseys for the first 10 people in line! This is something the Bills franchise does, to keep their fans happy and interested in their team and players!
Ever heard of the Leafs or Canadiens doing that?!
When the Tuesday morning alarm clock went off...I was in bad shape. Having put in a hard night's work, making the Corolla and Matrix, I was pretty tired. I opened my eyes, turned off the alarm clock, and began to contemplate the whole idea again. I was awake on just a couple of hours of sleep, and not in good shape to begin this adventure.
Corinna, who was walking out the door for work, asked if I was going to able to do this? I put my feet on the floor, looked at her, and said; "Let's go Bills!" We both laughed, as I headed for the shower. After showering et al, I was on the road about 9am. Traffic was pretty good, as my GPS guided me towards New York state. I arrived at the Queenston-Lewiston border bridge, to find the line-ups about 5 cars deep.
When I got to the American border guard, I was bound to tell him the truth about my trip. No cheesy excuses like...I want to see the Falls from America or something! After declaring that I was Canadian, he asked where and why I entering the states? "I'm going to Williamsville to meet Lee Evans of the Buffalo Bills, sir". Instantly, he smiled. "You're not playing hooking are you?" I laughed, "No, just a hardcore Bills fan!". After a few more border patrol-type questions, I was on my way.
I got in Williamsville around 10:50am, and started searching for 'Dick's Sports'. When I arrived at sports store, I looked across the road...and saw the Sprint store. I was a little suprised to see, just a few vehicles in the parking lot. I felt a moment of panic, thinking that Evans cancelled or something, but quickly refocused to the task at hand.
I walked into the giant retailer, and realized that 'Dick's' is huge!
*insert laughter here
I saw their large Bills section, full of jerseys, shirts, and other items, and headed for it. I quickly spotted the mini-helmets, grabbed one, and headed to the check-out. After buying my mini-helmet (finally) I walked back to the Highlander, realizing how nice it was outside on this November day. It must of been 18 degrees out...just beautiful! I got in the Highlander, and drove across the street to meet number 83.
When I pulled up in front of the store, I spotted a huge vehicle that just separated itself from the 4 or 5 other cars in the lot. I parked in front of a huge Escalade, 'pimped right the heck out!'. It was really cool to see! Of course, I knew that this was Lee's truck...so I put it in park, right in front of it! I like being close to greatness, you know!
I reached for my mini-helmet, and took it out of it's box and casing. I then prepared my camera, and got the tool that's the most important item to any autograph collector...my Sharpie! I chose my silver sharpie, figuring it would look the nicest of the colour scheme of the Bills' mini-helmet. With my mini-helmet, silver Sharpie, and camera, I left my truck and walked for the Sprint store's door.
When I opened that door, it was about 11:20am, and I saw something that I've never seen before at an autograph signing. Twenty minutes (or so) into this signing...
NOBODY WAS HERE.
I stepped into the store and 25 or so feet away was, the Buffalo Bills star wide-reciever Lee Evans...sitting behing a table, doing nothing but texting on his phone!
I was kind of stunned!
One thought ran through my mind...this signing was not advertised properly, or at all!
I slowly walked into the store, and I guess since nobody should up for the signing...an employee got up from behing their desk to help me! I lifted my mini-helmet, to let them know why I was here. He smiled and sat back down.
I approached Lee, and he noticed me coming.
He put his phone down, and said hello to me.
"Hi Lee, my name is Chris, and I just wanted to say thanks for responding to me on Twitter about this signing!"
"Oh, was that you?! No problem!" He answered.
"I just came down from Toronto, to meet you..." I was saying, when he spoke up.
"Toronto?...Toronto?...I think I have another appearance in Toronto next Monday!" He said.
My heart sank. You mean...I just travelled to another country, spent this all time, and am missing out on sleep for this...and you're going to be in my neck of the woods! I thought all this, in that nano-second, as I handed him my mini-helmet and silver Sharpie. I quickly got over it.
I decided that I was going to ask him to inscribe it, with his autograph and with something extra. I was hoping that he would add 'first round pick 2004' or '265 yards vs Houston' or just a simple 'Go Bills!'. So I asked him, as he signed my mini-helmet.
"Would you mind adding 'first round pick 2004?'?" I asked.
He looked at me strange, as if he didn't understand what I was asking him.
"You were a first rounder, right?". "Yes..." Lee Evans said. "Okay, would you mind putting down '265 yards vs Houston' instead then?".
Same look.
He then kind looked at the mini-helmet, and then said; "I'm sorry man, but I can't do that".
I quickly sensed that he doesn't like adding inscriptions, which is fine. I felt bad for asking, though.
I then asked if it was okay, if I got a photo with him. He stood up, saying sure!
One of the Sprint employees, came over to take our picture when I asked Lee the obvious question...
"Bro, where is everyone?!" I questioned about the lack of fans.
"No clue!" He laughed.
The Sprint employee who was about to take our picture, spoke up; "They're all working!"
Right. Working. Try lack of advertising!
Lee Evans and I smiled for the camera, and click...our picture was taken.
I shook his hand, and thanked him for his time.
As I began to leave, I took one close look at the table that Lee Evans was signing at, to see if there was any freebies for fans. Nothing, just some undistributed flyers of the event!
I walked towards the door, still shocked that nobody was here, so I decided to take a picture at the whole scene...to prove that nobody was here for this star-NFL player! In fact, I took two. A close up of Lee,
and a pulled back picture...of where a line should be!
I walked out to my truck, taking one final look at that sweet Escalade. I put my stuff away, and headed for home.
I got about 3 lights away, when I noticed Dave and Adam's Card World on my right. I immediately turned into the parking lot.
Dave and Adam's Card World has the reputation of being the best sportscard in North America. Their prices are untouchable in the world of collectables...it's just too bad that they don't have a Canadian location. After parking, I walked into the store, hoping for a Lee Evans 8x10...or a greatly discounted Evans jersey!
The place is stacked with Bills and Sabres apparel. I quickly walked around checking out things. Jerseys, shirts, signed stuff...it was all there. I was impressed. I noticed some Bills mini-helmets, and I got mad! Here are Dave and Adam's, they were $20.00...5 bucks cheaper than Dick's! Argh!
I couldn't spot any 8x10's, so I went to the counter to ask for some help. That's when I noticed a customer purchasing a big load of 8x10's. And of course, you can guess who that player was pictured in those 8x10's right?!
Yup, this guy was buying a stack of Lee Evans 8x10 photos!
I got the attention of a young employee, and asked him to point me in the direction of the Bills unsigned 8x10's. He led the way, and asked who I was looking for? I told him Lee Evans, and he quickly opened their Bills photo binder turning to the Evans section of photos. There were two photos left, so I took them both. One for my son, and one for my collecton of 8x10's, I figured. I went back to the counter, and made small chat with the two employees. I told them that Evans was signing just down the street, for free. They didn't seem all that surprised, as they explained that they get people coming in all the time, for unannounced signings all the time! The staff, who worked that day, were very helpful and I hope to return soon.
I left Dave and Adam's, and headed back to the Sprint store for one final time. When I arrived, the guy who picked a stack of Evans 8x10's was there, getting all his photos signed. He was getting some personalized and some just signed. When he finished, I stepped up again. I greeted Lee again, and asked him if it was okay to get my 2 photos signed? He said sure, and I asked him to personalize one to my son, which he did kindly. He signed the second one...adding a "Go Bills!" notation for me. I thanked him again for his time, and left the store.
This time, when I got in my truck...I really headed for home this time.
I flipped on AM550, listened to Bills talk all the ride home.
Go Bills!
Chris
PS #1; I did make it work...on time, and worked just fine that day.
PS #2; My article 'Going to the Hall' about Larry Walker's induction into the Canadian baseball hall of fame, was published! The September edition of 'Insider's Edge' features a 3 page spread of my adventure! How cool is that?!
PS #3; The next blog will be entitled; "My Magnificent Weekend". I should have it done in abit, and you can probably guess who the celebrity is!
