A Boyhood Dream Come True

It was a baseball packed weekend for Chad and I here in Phoenix. Friday we attended the Brewers/Royals game, and Saturday we went to see the White Sox take on the Rangers. What an exciting game! The Sox won it in the bottom of the 9th with a walk-off GRAND SLAM! Awesome.

Sunday, we drove all the way to Scottsdale to see the Giants (Chad's team) play the Royals.

We purchased the usual cheap lawn tickets, but went on the hunt for some better seats. We started off sitting on the first base line, but in the 4th inning, the ticket holders showed up. Since we had made friends with those sitting around us, the nicest guy (Greg Croisetiere, Thank You!) directed us to a friend of his with 2 extra seats... 2nd row behind HOME PLATE! It was awesome. With the laid back nature of Spring Training, guys were hanging out outside the dugout during the game, cutting up with fans.

That was when we saw Him.

Chad's boyhood idol, Will "The Thrill" Clark.

For a little back story, I knew that The Thrill was Chad's favorite player, and I special ordered his jersey for him almost a year ago. (I had to get him out of that Bonds jersey!)

Of course Chad was wearing that jersey when he saw Mr. Clark. Will, as we will now call him. Since we were so close to the field, Will saw Chad and I sitting together. I will now mention that I maintained my loyalty to the Braves, and was wearing my Braves jersey!

Chad called out to Will, and showed him that he was wearing his jersey. He loved it. It was then that I knew my destiny for the day. Get that jersey signed!

I got up and went on a mission for a sharpie. I finally found one at the Clubhouse Store, and after paying $4 for it(!) I headed back down to the seats. It was to be the best 4 bucks I would ever spend.

The following is what I heard when I sat back down...

Chad-"You are not going to believe this. Will Clark and I were just talking about you!"
Me-"Whatever."
Random Fan sitting behind us-"It's true! They just had a conversation!"
Me-"Seriously?! You just talked to Will Clark?!"
Chad-"Yep. He was wondering what I was doing sitting with a chick in a Braves jersey. I told him you bought it for me, and were going to get a pen for him to sign it! He said he wasn't convinced, and was going to keep an eye on us."

It was then that The Thrill looked at me and asked "Did you get a pen?"
I held it up, and sarcastically asked him if he would also sign my Braves jersey. He looked at me, laughed, and gave me a look that could best be described as HELL NO!

To make an already long story short, as the game continued, Chad and Will continued to talk. Fans were even coming up asking Chad if and how he knew him. It was awesome. Chad's excitement can't be described.

As soon as the game ended, the following pictures will display what happened...

Will signing for the fans, and a view from our seats. (we ended up in the front row)

Mission accomplished. :) When we went to see him, he said "So you finally made it, huh?" With Chad standing strangely silent behind me, we talked briefly, and I handed him the jersey. I asked him to make it out to Chad.

After the signature, I gave him a big hug, and that was when Chad thanked him.

Then Chad leaned over, and shook the hand of his boyhood Idol, Will "The Thrill" Clark.