Warning: this post is more bitter and rant-laden than the others. Proceed at your own risk. So it's Christmas Day and I'm excited. I've been waiting for this day for months, and I'm thinking, even though the Chicago Bulls are a really good team (but hit-or-miss on signing), maybe they will be generous given the holiday. This was only my second time attempting to graph the visiting team and given my history, I'm inclined to believe I'm standing in the wrong (sub-optimal) section. Visiting players seem to really love signing for the kids and there's a lot more of them in the section across from mine. The section I'm standing in appears to be more optimal, position-wise, but it also happens to be where the wealthy status-seekers sit (status-seekers up front - SSUF). They occupy space and occasionally get selfies when players walk by so they can name drop, but other than that they really don't do much other than get in the way and take up the player's time. I'll try standing over in the other section next time, and maybe I'll have better luck. Sometimes I wish I were a kid again -- especially when it comes to getting autographs. We didn't have the Thunder when I was growing up in OKC, only the Dallas Mavericks. I hear the Bulls sign for their homers in Chicago but not so much on the road. Can I move to Chicago for a day? Or can we trade for Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler, and Pau Gasol? You guys can have Kyle Singler. First out of the gate, I do a scan on the court -- Rose, "Captain" Kirk Hinrich, and Doug "McBuckets" McDermott were already out shooting. I was able to get Doug McDermott on an 8x10. After him, there was a lull in signing, which was filled when Anthony Morrow and then later Nick Collison unexpectedly came over. I was so sure I wouldn't be graphing my home team that I left those items at home! Side note to the n00b: always be prepared. You never know who you're going to see. I did what no professional grapher would do, and that's let them go without asking for anything. I was fine with it because they have both already signed for me twice this season. I missed out on E'Twuan Moore right before Dougie McBuckets came over because of the lady in front of me who didn't know I was going to try to get him (again, with the folder fumbling -- I'm still working on my technique). She didn't move out of the way in time and I didn't have my photo out in time, but that's all right -- in my mind, all I'm here for is Derrick. Just focus on getting Derrick. If I get no one else but Derrick, it will have been a successful night. The next guy to walk by was Aaron Brooks and he signed one for everyone waiting. Kirk Hinrich may have signed or posed for a selfie with someone at the front, but snubbed the rest of us and ran back to the locker room. Nikola Mirotic came out next, waved, high-fived a few people, and went out on the court. Later on, it was the same story with Taj Gibson. Mirotic ran back when he was done, maybe posed for selfies with the SSUF, and then ran back to the locker room but didn't sign for anybody. Derrick Rose eventually came out and signed for a few people, mostly kids, and totally skipped me. I was the next person in the queue! Same story with Jimmy Butler. Do they just not like signing flats? Do my items look like eBay dealer items (painter's tape)? Is it because I'm wearing Thunder gear? Do they not like me videoing them? Who knows. Despite being stung by both guys, I'm still a fan. At this point, I was sure no one else was going to come out (and there were no other guys on the court), so I was getting ready to head back up to my seat, but Pau Gasol unexpectedly came out and high-fived people while running on to the court. I couldn't leave and neither would anyone else. We were all waiting for him and it was obvious -- no other player (Bull or Thunder) was on the court. Mysteriously, Taj Gibson had exited the court from the side of the Thunder locker rooms. I guess he knew what he was doing. Pau stayed out there a really long time, and it didn't occur to me then that he'd pull a Steve Novak* on us (*see previous entries). Maybe it's his strategy to avoid the autograph hounds. At least that stings less than blatantly skipping me. I don't sell the autographs I get in person, and I only buy them if I can't get them mself. I know they don't owe me anything, much less a signature. From my perspective, them not signing for me feeds the eBay cycle because I don't have other ways of obtaining their signature for my collection.
From doing research online, the consensus is that D-Rose and Butler are hard to get, with some saying Butler is even more difficult than Rose. That's truth! One guy said he's never gotten Rose, and he's tried many times. Good to know I'm not alone, but a little disappointing knowing that other people around me got Rose and I didn't. Pau was nice though, if he had come out earlier and not been the last guy off the court, he probably would have signed. He seems nicer than Rose and Butler when it comes to signing. I will try again next season, and hopefully I'll have better luck then. Brooks 1/1 - signed 8x10 Butler 0/1 Gasol 0/1 Gibson 0/1 - he snuck off Hinrich 0/1 McDermott 1/1 - signed 8x10 Mirotic 0/1 Moore 0/1 - missed Rose 0/1 Next up on the docket is the January 6th game vs. Memphis. See you all next year! Until next time, J.R.
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