Having been burned before in the past, most recently by the Cleveland Cavaliers, I went into the Warriors game with tempered expectations. One, I don't expect us to win. When your opponent has played 60+ games and only lost 5 of them, your chances aren't good. Given the way we played against Cleveland, I figured we wouldn't be #6 on their list of losses. Two, I don't expect to get Stephen Curry's autograph. I really want one, and he has a reputation for being a good signer despite his star status, much like Kevin Durant, but given the demand, I could understand if he decided to pass us all. I had to work this afternoon even though it was my usual day off. I went straight from work to the game, but arrived at 4:45 for a door opening of 6:00pm. The line at that point was longer than I thought, but I still got a good position in line. Had it been a true day off for me, I would have been much, much farther in the back of the line had I arrived at the time I had planned. Yay forwork. I got in to the arena and headed for my new usual spot where the kids stand. It seemed like a sub-optimal spot as it was similar to where I stood for the Cavs, but I knew it was pretty high up from the ground from the Cavs game and missing all those high fives, so I knew that once the players walked by, I had to crouch down and really position my items as low as possible. Once the crowd arrived, and it didn't take long, they really got aggressive once Stephen Curry finished his rather impressive warm-up routine. I had three items for Steph, 2 photos and a jersey. The jersey I prepped last night on a lark (rubber banded to two pieces of cardboard), thinking well, why not? I spent $75-80 on that Swingman after coupons, I should at least try, right? I decided to only hold out my jersey and it turned out to be a good decision. I nearly got trampled in the process, and my Klay Thompson photo was wrinkled/bent in the chaos, but I GOT STEPHEN CURRY'S AUTOGRAPH! It was very nicely done considering it was pretty taut and held open to the numbers on the back of the jersey. He gave a nice, FULL, well-placed black Sharpie signature in between the zero of the 30. Even though it wasn't in the best position (on the number is best) or in the best marker (paint pens trump Sharpies), it looks so much better than the autographs I've seen signed on the number. I consider myself very lucky and blessed! I heard quite a few of the people around me got skipped! Skipped! Usually when I say that word, it's me getting skipped and not the others. I don't know what kind of items they were presenting, but I saw quite a few programs, jerseys, and a small number of shoes. I've learned something today -- presenting a jersey (or some other item of value) seems to have slightly better results (though if a player doesn't like signing, it doesn't matter what you have). It seems counterintuitive, because if you're a dealer, you could get more money for the big ticket items versus the photos or cards. In any regard, the concept is like diecasts in NASCAR; the drivers know you spent a bit more money on it (versus a $1-5 photo) and that you're at least somewhat dedicated to them, so they're more likely to sign for you. Knowing this, I'm still not going to drop money on Swingmans for players I don't care much about. What do you know, the logic fits! The next guy to come out is wearing a hoodie. No one knows who he is. I don't know why anyone would do that -- we know you're a Golden State player, you're walking out onto the court, you can't hide from us. As he warms up, his hoodie slowly falls off to reveal Andre Iguodala.
Also out shortly thereafter is Andrew Bogut. After hearing the all the drama about Bogut not signing for people he believes to be dealers, I don't have high expectations for him. Neither player ends up signing, though because I'm crouched down low, I don't know if either guy ended up signing for a few before abandoning the rest of us. Klay Thompson, Brandon Rush, Marreese Speights, and one other player (who I wasn't sure who he was, possibly Leandro Barbosa) come out in relatively short succession, but Thompson and the unknown player run by us all and from what I could tell, didn't sign for anyone. Brandon Rush lived up to his name and gives us all a "Rush"-ed signature. I held out two photos for Speights but he only signed one. Oh well, that was my first attempt at trying for more than one and I'll have to do more experimenting to find out how to optimize those results. On a slightly unrelated note, who goes to games trying to get autographs but doesn't bring a Sharpie? Who does that? Bogut 0/1 Curry 1/1 Iguodala 0/1 Rush 1/1 Speights 1/2 Thompson 0/1 Thanks @stephencurry for making my day and putting on a good show. As a Thunder fan first, I'd probably be tarred and feathered by my brethren in orange and blue for saying this. But as a basketball fan, I think we all can agree that what we are witnessing is history in the making -- Stephen Curry is a once-in-a-generation talent and we all secretly wish he played for our team. I'll be hitting up three more home games in a row, so the next game on the docket is the Los Angeles Clippers on March 9th. Doubtful Blake Griffin will be out signing or even in the arena, but I can hope for a Chris Paul, right? Until next time, J.R.
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This afternoon's game is against the Cleveland Cavaliers. For those of you who regularly follow my blog, you may recall the disaster that was the Christmas Day game against the Chicago Bulls. Spoiler alert, this game was worse. Fair warning: this blog is bitter, but I'll be brief. This was probably the worst game I've ever been to, autographing-wise. I thought I saw this coming from the last game, but never did I imagine I'd walk away from a game with the same number of autographs I had walking in the door (0). When I arrived in the queue outside the door, it was 30 minutes early (early for me, as well), and it was already rows and columns deep! I hope this isn't how the Golden State game will be, but I have a sinking feeling it will be much like this, if not worse. Going in and finding a spot was a bit of a challenge. I went over to my new side but the prime spots were already taken and so were many of the ones on the sides. The sides were occupied by kids, so I had hope the players would at least sign for them and maybe sandwich me in between some of them. I found it sad that there were so many delusional fans who thought they had a realistic shot at getting LeBron James' autograph. You made a sign for him? Oh yeah, he will definitely stop to sign for you. Nope, sorry, let's be real. In fact, just watch some videos on YouTube, and you'll see how "often" he signs. On very rare instances, he will sign but they are usually items of little to no value. He knows what he's doing. After obtaining a sub-optimal spot, I looked on the court and the only guys out there that I could see were Timofey Mozgov and Tristan Thompson. I'll save you all the time and trouble, all the players that I saw signed a few autographs for the kids sitting courtside and the SSUF before running past everyone straight to the locker rooms. Most of the players attempted high fives as they ran past, but I didn't get any. Boo.
Richard Jefferson ran off the court and high fived fans on the way to the lockers, but I didn't even know he was out there to begin with. Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving, and J.R. Smith -- all the same story. LeBron James never came out. I'm sorry this recap wasn't very exciting. I don't have much to say and unfortunately, all of my experiences with the Cavs this round were the same. Hopefully the Warriors game is better, but I'm going to temper my expectations on that one. It's games like these where I should really just graph the hotel; I might have better luck there? Irving 0/1 Jefferson 0/1 Love 0/1 Mozgov 0/1 Smith 0/1 Thompson 0/1 The next game is the Warriors game on Saturday the 27th. If I get at least one autograph, it will be better than this one. I'd like to get Stephen Curry, but so would everyone else. Fingers crossed. Until next time, J.R. I'm starting a new series today. I'll be asking you, the autograph community, what your thoughts are on certain topics within our favorite hobby. There are no right or wrong answers, only wholesome debate and discussion. Be sure to keep it clean; this is a family-friendly blog.
The first topic in this series focuses on autograph signing habits in general. Do players get annoyed at fans who want autographs but don't come prepared or are lazy?
Through my personal observations, players tend to give better, bigger, and/or nicer signatures, occasionally with numbers or inscriptions, when they aren't signing a program. Same with unique photos. Nick Collison signed a neat one for me at the Sacramento Kings game earlier this season and even added his number. I remember looking over at the kid next to me, who was holding out a program, and he didn't get a number on his autograph. This brings me to my big issue of the day: I've seen lots of kids presenting to a player the free program they got at the door. Players have to be tired of seeing and signing these all the time, right? Usually they end up quickly scribbling something that looks like their name, knowing full well these kids aren't going to take care of this newly-minted piece of collectible memorabilia, or that the moms will inevitably throw it out well before the kid hits puberty. Kids, if you love basketball, why not bring some cards for the players to sign? I don't buy packs anymore, but I'm sure you can get a few of those for Christmas or a birthday. Let me know what you think! Post a reply in the comments section below, or click here to contact us privately! J.R. Tonight's game is against the Orlando Magic. Going into this game, I'm thinking it's not going to be all that exciting, because I think the Thunder are vastly better than the Magic and the game will be a blowout in our favor. To start things off, I decide to finally go over to the other side to get autographs because that side seems to get skipped less often. My cousin and I got there early enough to where we actually got a prime, front-row spot to watch and wait for the players. I don't want to go back to that other side ever again! I look out on the court and already we've got Victor Oladipo and Elfrid Payton going through warmups. Oladipo comes off first and signs for everyone. Is it just me or does he look like he's hunched over all the time? I get my giant "VO5" signature in gold and I'm a happy camper. I also think to myself, this is how it's going to go for the rest of the evening. Not so. Elfrid Payton comes over and signs a few for us and then when the kids on the opposite side called out to him, he went over there, skipping me and a few others. He signs for a few before presumably something (or someone) offended him and he abruptly cut off the session, saying, "I gotta go." Somewhere between Oladipo and Payton, I noticed Nikola Vucevic warming up on the court, doing stretches and lunges before doing his shooting drills. I don't know if he came out while we were distracted by Oladipo and/or Payton, or whether he was already out there and just off to the side. He comes over once he's done, starting with a few people in my section before again, the kids in the section I used to graph from call him over and he signs straight down that line. I'm sweating bullets here, because his signature is the one I want most of all the Magic, "W Vucfdc #g" and all (see YouTube video in this post). My cousin has already agreed to hold out my photo for him to sign while I ask him if I can get a picture with him. He kindly obliges, but signs the photo my cousin is holding first while I get the camera set up. I get a nice selfie with him and my signed photo, I'm thrilled and everything from here on out is gravy on top. At this point, Evan Fournier and Channing Frye are out on the court. Fournier signs a sloppy, loopy "EF" on my Magic logo photo, and I think he got most everybody taken care of. Frye took his time on the court, and there was definitely a lull in signing after Vucevic, one that seriously made me think these guys are going to pull a Novak on me. He gave us a few false alarms (is he coming off or not?) before scribbling for the kids opposite me and then nearly taking off for the locker room, but not before the dealer-looking guy at the end of my new section calls him over. Frye very quickly scribbles on the young couple next to me's cards and gets my photo last before running down the tunnel. He signed it in the couple's gold marker; I'm not sure what it was but it was nice. It wasn't as sick as a paint pen so far as I could tell, but it was definitely a step or two above my gold Staedtler. I was lucky to get that one! CJ Watson was the last guy on the court, but as we were waiting for him, an older guy in a Magic basketball shirt (like the players wear) walks by, and somebody recognizes him so he signs for a few people. Honestly, I didn't know who he was (thought maybe he was a retired player or probably a coach), but I didn't think he was a trainer because no one wants their autograph (sorry)! He was a really nice, fan-friendly guy who was excited when I presented my logo photo for him to sign ("oh yeah, Magic!") but then jokingly got offended when he looked up and saw my Thunder jersey "aww, but you got Thunder on"). Nice guy (I looked him up later, it was assistant coach Mario Elie). CJ signed a quick "CWt" for me and most everyone else still waiting. The game itself was back and forth throughout, and at no point did it look like one team was running away with the show. Going into the last minute, Westbrook nails an awesome driving layup, Ibaka turns into I-blocka with a nasty well-timed block, and KD drives the nail in the coffin with a 3-pointer that breaks the tie, sending the crowd (and yours truly) in a wild frenzy! Hands down, this was the best game I've been to, both graphing-wise and game-wise!
Elie 1/1 Fournier 1/1 Frye 1/1 Oladipo 1/1 Payton 0/1 Vucevic 1/1 + selfie I managed to score cheap tickets to the Cavaliers game so I'll be hitting that one up before the Warriors game later this month. It's a shame this epic outing is going to be followed up by the Cavs -- LeBron doesn't sign for or take selfies with anyone, and I seriously have my doubts about Kevin Love (but he's the autograph I want most and also the one I can most realistically get, considering the first part of this sentence). I may end up with a handful of Mo Williams and Tristan Thompson, or I may get lucky. A high-five is probably the upper limit for LeBron expectations, so I'm going to try for that. Wish me luck! Until next time, J.R. I had one goal in mind for this game against the Washington Wizards, and that was getting John Wall's autograph (or a selfie, as a consolation prize). I went with a co-worker who opted to graph the Thunder, so I was alone on the visiting side (which is pretty normal for me, anyway). I don't know about you, but when you're not married and have friends that don't have enough time/money/interest in the NBA, it's tough to justify going to games. Oh, who am I kidding, no it's not! When I arrived, I got a prime spot (row FF, I think), and Jared Dudley and Ramon Sessions were already shooting on the court. I didn't have to wait long before the first guy came off, and it was Dudley. He signed one for everyone. Gary Neal came out from the tunnel next and started practicing on the court. Not too long after Dudley came out, and I mean really not that long, probably less than five minutes, Sessions came out and signed one for everyone as well. I don't think either Dudley or Neal skipped anyone, from what I could tell. Bradley Beal jogged out of the lockers next, wearing his Beats. I wasn't sure if he would play or if he would even show up for this game because of a recent injury (he ended up wearing a mask for the duration of the game but he didn't play very many minutes). I was tense during these moments, thinking Beal would be the big prize of the evening if Wall didn't show (and while there was still time left, it made me nervous). Beal didn't sign for anyone, even the guy who begged him to sign "just one" for him. Drew Gooden strutted out next and high-fived a few people as he walked by. Same with Marcin Gortat, but I don't think he really made eye contact with anyone. The graphers around me commented that Gortat is a terrible signer. I'd even heard stories about him giving ridiculous excuses for not signing, like "I don't speak English." Oh well. When John Wall finally came out, I was excited! He said he would sign on his way back, but I tempered my expectations because I've heard that line before. Gooden walked back to the locker room, but before doing so, signed for the first couple of people in my section before skipping the rest of us and signing several, several more for the other side. When am I going to learn my lesson and just go over to that other side?? I keep saying I will, but I don't. Maybe I will next game. No promises though. When Wall was done shooting, he started walking over, and that's when a fan started calling out to him, pleading with, no, guilt-tripping John to "sign for the kid." Come on dude! Stop milking it. Thankfully, John had a handler managing this, because he basically told that guy to shut up and that John would get to everyone, he promised. If we didn't follow his rules of waiting politely and quietly in line, he would tell John not to sign for anyone. John started signing for my side, for at least the first few people before going to the other side. The handler told the skipped fan that he would get John to come back and resume signing right on down the line. I've heard the Thunder advocates say something like that to us before, and you know how that usually turns out. Derrick Rose, anyone? But the handler was good on his word and told John to come back and sign for us. In retrospect, I would have been skipped for sure if the handler wasn't there. Thanks man, whoever you are. While waiting for Wall to finish warming up, Gortat was putting on a show practicing his dunks. Wall dunked once in practice and it was amazing! I didn't have my video camera running but that was totally sick. And to no one's surprise, Gortat said, "Sorry guys" and ran back to the locker room without signing for anyone. I should have known better when everyone else left after getting Wall. I loved it when the Wizards came on to the court to the theme from "Harry Potter." I know, it's probably not original and they've probably heard it before, but I thought it was cool. The game was pretty uneventful but went according to expectations with a Thunder win so we all went home happy.
Beal 0/1 Dudley 1/1 Gooden 0/1 Gortat 0/1 Neal 1/1 Sessions 1/1 Wall 1/1 The next game on the docket is Wednesday's game versus the Orlando Magic. My boss was supposed to give me her season tickets to the Hornets game earlier last month, but didn't realize her husband had already given them away. The Magic tickets are to make up for that. It seems like a downgrade as far as team, but graphing-wise, it should be a good one! Crossing my fingers for a Nikola Vucevic sig and/or selfie! Until next time, J.R. |
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