Best BLOWN autograph opportunity

C'mon now, we all have a story where we blew it. I'll start:
Roy Orbison - during Springsteen's "Tunnel Of Love" performance at the L.A. sports arena in 1988. R.O. was walking in the bathroom (ALL BY HIMSELF) as I was walking out, and I had no sharpie, no tour book, no nothing. I ran to my seat, grabbed a sharpie and a tour book but he was no where to be found. He died in December of that year. The only time ever I encountered him and I got caught with nothing in my hand. NEVER, have I been to a concert since where I do not have the goods ready.

Tags: autographs

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Permalink Reply by Robert Plante on February 23, 2010 at 2:56pm

This one is for the hockey fans...
In Detroit in 1993 I got into the visiting Buffalo Sabres dressing room to meet Pat Lafontaine (the greatest American born hockey player in my opinion and a current Hockey Hall of Famer) who was one of my all time favourite players. While that part was fine and dandy, I had the opportunity to talk to others in the dressing room and get some autographs. As I am not really an autograph hound (not a derogatory statement!!) or overly intrigued with athlete's signatures, I opted to take my Lafontaine signed puck and card and be on my merry way.
Ironically, there were other future HOFers in that room in Grant Fuhr (who was a personal favourite) and Dominic Hasek, both were perhaps the most dominant goaltenders of their respective eras. Looking back, it would have been pretty cool to have had those guys sign my program.

That is my story...nowhere near as cool as the Roy Orbison story, though!!

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Permalink Reply by Jim Jacobs on February 23, 2010 at 3:53pm

Good story about Roy Orbison. There have been moments where I ran into a celeb and I'm usually muttering under my breath "Damn, no sharpie, no nothing...." I was at a concert several years or so back at Universal Ampitheatre. It was a DOORS concert. Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, Ian Astbury (The Cult), and Stewart Copeland (The Police) gave an awesome concert, all the classic DOORS songs. Hearing "The End" played live with Ian's vocals which mirrored Jim Morrison's lizard king growls.. was just the topping on the cake. I had a blast. Okay...here's the fun part. While I was singing along, I happened to take stock of who was standing right next to me. It was Bonnie Raitt!!!!!! I'm like: Bonnie Raitt at a DOORS concert???? WOW! Well, I didn't even bother to get her autograph...I was kind of entranced and mortified at the same time...knowing that Raitt was STANDING right next to me, grooving to the DOORS songs.... Then, on the way out, I bumped into Mickey Jones...he was Bob Dylan's drummer in 1966 when Dylan decided to go "ELECTRIC"---Mickey Jones had that unmistakable beard. He was also a recurring character on Tim Allen's "Home Improvement" I know this story isn't as good as Stephen's....but you know...Raitt? At a DOORS concert? Mind blowing!

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Permalink Reply by michael hardin on February 24, 2010 at 7:23am

it has happened so many times to me that i cant even remember them all, but probably the 2 worst are seeing prince and seal in the same day and having absolutely nothing for them as they walked right past me, also i was waiting for sheryl crow and lenny kravitz one day and olivia newton john came walking out i didnt have anything for her and was pretty bumbed but did end up getting sheryl crow and lenny kravitz

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Permalink Reply by Stephen Duncan on February 24, 2010 at 1:42pm

I take a sharpie with me EVERYWHERE I GO: resturants, concerts, places of interest, etc....., anywhere that has the slightest scent that a celeb might be there. Index cards, a tour book and a sharpie. One BLOW IT, is enough.

Bonnie Raitt and Olivia Newton John, .......another couple gems of a celebrity signature!!!!!!

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Permalink Reply by Steve Skalish on March 18, 2010 at 6:01pm

I have one...

How about geting an autograph, but not really?

I used to hang outside of Fenway Park in the early 90's to get autographs before games. I was standing outside one time before a game with the Milwaukee Brewers. I had a few cards with me, and some index cards, with a black sharpie. The players' bus pulls up, and the Brewers come walking out. One of the last guys who came off was Robin Yount, and he started signing for a few as he was walking. I walked with him, and I was the last person he signed for. I had one of his cards, and got him to sign it. Nice catch, right?

Well, he handed me the card back and walked away. That's when I realized to my horror that for some reason the sharpie stopped working right after he wrote the letter R. It looked like he kept going with the autograph, but no ink came out.

I couldn't get him to come back. He was already gone and in the stadium by the time I realized it.

Sometimes, even if you get one, you don't get one.

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Permalink Reply by Jerry Light on June 27, 2010 at 9:07pm

I would have to say Joe Namath and Ali where the 2 that I ran into with out anything to my name to get signed

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Permalink Reply by Janice Knechtel on June 30, 2010 at 7:43am

mine, i would have to say is Trisha Yearwood. We went to a Garth Brooks concert and she was his opening act. At the time, I did not know who she was, and decided not to get her autograph when she came out and talked to us outside her bus. I now could kick myself

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Permalink Reply by Anthony Aguilera on January 23, 2011 at 2:57pm

As a native Arizonan, running into Muhamad Ali is not that special since he is always about town. But when we passed on the chance to go to the Phoenix Zoo lights for FREE mind you I knew i'd be kicking myself, the next day my mom said her friends that went all got Muhamad Ali's autograph and getting pictures. Another missed opportunity was after Super Bowl 43 when the cardinals were coming back from their well fought loss to the terrible cheater steelers. The terminal at Sky Harbor of the cardinals was open to the fans to meet all the returning players, well my ass step father was being pissy and we didn't get to go.

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Permalink Reply by Anthony Aguilera on January 29, 2011 at 10:02am

To be fair the Steelers themselves didn't cheat but there is no way any football fan can look any other football fan and deny the fact the referees didn't have a load of blown calls. Most came on the Harison interception return and ofcourse the still to this day debated Santino Holmes touchdown. Heck the refs in Super Bowl 40 admited blown calls, before you know it the refs of 43 are going to admit their wrong doing.