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Permalink Reply by Chad B on January 16, 2015 at 5:40am

Thanks for sharing the link. As fans we can sometimes forget the celebs are people too and don't owe us anything. He seems like a caring guy.

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Permalink Reply by Null on January 16, 2015 at 7:51am

Very interesting to see his perspective. And yes, I'm sure it gets old for them.  Once again the fat old nerds with binders of stuff to sign are ruining it for everyone... 

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Permalink Reply by Terry G. on January 16, 2015 at 9:47am

Rude, nasty generalization that serves no purpose in this discussion. It's easy to judge based on appearances but many times, that judgement is in error. By posting nonsense like this, you only perpetuate the myth that only lonely losers collect autographs, when in fact, the hobby covers a wide spectrum of interest, from young and old, rich and poor, white and black, families and singles, intelligent and not so much. A fan is a fan, and that's the whole thing for me. I learned my lesson regarding this subject many years ago when I too judged someone and was embarrassed to find out after the fact I was more than wrong about them. It's not the "fat, old nerds" that are ruining this hobby, it's the guys who do it for money and they come in all shapes. If you've ever sold or traded an autograph you got yourself, then you too are a dealer and you are no better than the professional dealers who seek multiple sigs from the same stars every day only to sell them for profit. 

I once saw a guy at spring training in Florida that i judged badly. He had a cheap bag hung from his shoulder, chock full of binders, baseballs, bats, posters, cards, you name it, he had it. His hands were full of sharpies and pens, yearbooks and photos. He had a camera slung from the other shoulder. He ran from field to field, trying to get a signature from players- and he had something for everyone. There goes John Franco, he had a jersey for him. Todd Hundley? He had photos and bats. Every guy, he had something for, and pulled it with great accuracy out from his bag each time. I witnessed this and instantly thought "dealer" and selfishly rued that he might ruin the day for me by being pushy. All afternoon he pulled sig after sig, and I finally wised up and went and stood right near him and my collection multiplied quickly after that, as they signed for me after they signed for him. After hours, I was exhausted and went to sit on some bleachers next to the practice field. He soon joined me. We began some small talk about the great haul we had gotten that day, and son enough, it became clear that he knew everything about the team and players- I mean EVERYTHING. He was what I called  an Uberfan. We talked for over an hour about all things Mets, and in the course of the talk, he let slip that he was from New York and this was his vacation- he had saved up money to fly down and stay for 2 days in Florida to meet his heroes. He worked a crummy job and lived a lousy lifestyle- small apartment in a bad part of town, not much of a social life outside of watching the Mets. His paycheck was spent on rent, food and the Mets. Turns out he had a learning disorder when it came to school stuff and never got much of a chance to make something of himself, but he was smart when it came to the Mets. Knew every uniform number of every Met all-time (I tested him, lol and he KNEW them!). He was flying back out the next morning so I didn't get the chance to know him better, but I did take him to dinner that night, and from his reaction, Applebee's was fine dining to him. Later that night, back in my hotel room, I pondered why I had judged that guy so badly. Sure, there are dealers who look the same way. But are there more dealers than fans? No. That guy was packing a lifetime experience into 2 days, something I've never had to do. Wherever you are, Paul, I hope you still love the Mets, and still cherish your wonderful day of autographs. I know I cherish the day for what it taught me.

Judge not lest ye be judged.

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Permalink Reply by terrier8HOF on January 16, 2015 at 10:31am

I seriously doubt the player would confuse an ebay hound with this example of a sincere, loyal Fan/collector.  they know the difference.  and I do agree with Ryan that those bounty hunters are the ones that spoil it for the real fans.  

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Permalink Reply by Null on January 16, 2015 at 12:13pm

My definition of "rude" is the fat old man with a handful of photos shoving kids out of the way to get an autograph that he is going to sell immediately. 

It's pretty easy to spot the dealers from the real fans. And my point is that the dealers are ruining it for everyone. Not all are fat old men obviously, but the vast majority are from what I have seen at many baseball games/concerts! As they say, it's not a stereotype if it's true.  You can just tell they are out of place, and GOOBERS. 

I would never judge a person with a learning disability running around chasing their favorite team. I'm going to Spring Training this year and I'm sure I will have several cards/balls on me, but I won't be harassing players, shoving kids out of the way, or trying to get multiples over and over.

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Permalink Reply by ABlackmore on January 16, 2015 at 2:04pm

Beautiful story!

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Permalink Reply by Mike Kaminski on January 16, 2015 at 10:07am

I'm pretty sure Ryan was referring to autograph hounds rather than honest collectors looking for pieces to put in their collections.

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Permalink Reply by Dan Gregory on January 16, 2015 at 11:22am

I agree with Brian May here. The dealers do get annoying. I recently waited for Sixto "Sugarman" Rodriguez and was joined by others wanting his signature when he came to New Zealand late last year. 

I had 1 photo to sign and 1 of the others had 1 album but the other two people had bags of albums, picks, DVD's etc and said they were just fans but said they would sell anything he signed.

We waited for a while and after about 3 hours he came out at the venue and said he would sign 1 item for each of us. I was over the moon as he is someone I have been after for years.

1 of the others said what use was 1 item and pushed him to sign more before he was moved away. After the concert the 2 people with many items tried again and then again at his hotel and no doubt again the next day.

True fans do not need many items signed as Brian says!

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Permalink Reply by Ian Baldock on January 16, 2015 at 1:51pm

I wouldn't have the nerve to ask for more than one .The dealers that harass these people really do ruin it for fans. What many do now is use "runners", younger people who are more apt to get sympathy than adult fans/collectors . And I have seen  pairs of large men block out others and teams of guys crowd others out when the stars appear. you can see some of the stuff on you tube,a feeding frenzy when Sir Paul arrives and grown men begging for a signature.

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Permalink Reply by a pug called eva on January 16, 2015 at 10:57pm

Thanks to Peter for sharing Brian May's tweet, blog or whatever it was - I'm a caveman when it comes to social media.

Brian is obviously a learned and caring man and makes some excellent points. Ultimately, stars owe most of their stardom and wealth to the people who appreciate what they do and buy their "product", so it is only right that they give something back. As Brian says, however, that doesn't necessarily mean signing countless autographs after an exhausting stage performance, while out shopping, or in the middle of a meal. 

I really enjoy my collecting but I am very much a secondary market collector. As most of the people I am interested in are dead that is just as well.

When I was knee high to a grasshopper I used to hang around the stage door of our local theatre and collected quite a few in-person autographs. At that age the concept of market value was totally foreign to me. I still have all the autographs I collected. None are what I would call "A" league at the international level but there are one or two interesting ones, such as the cast of Monty Python (early 70s?).

At the ripe old age of 52 I couldn't imagine hanging around stage doors these days and, to be honest, I couldn't name anyone whose autograph I would be that desperate to get in-person. Apart from being a caveman re social media,  I am also a dinosaur when it comes to music, television and the movies. If someone I admire still happens to be breathing I would much rather have a vintage autograph from the days when they were in their prime and really making a statement than a sharpie scrawl from a "living legend" who has been forced on the road to boost their pension.   

It was a bit ironic that Brian's name came up today. I listened to "Sheer Heart Attack" for the first time in around 30 years last night. I had the vinyl as a spotty teenager (and still have it somewhere) but I went on a nostalgia trip and bought the CD a few weeks back. The music now seems a bit derivative in places (Rolling Stones, Beatles psychedelic-period and even Black Sabbath) but it still got the old fingers and toes tapping. 

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