a holmstrom encounter wuss out

[maltbyrocks18 0]

tonite i took the girlfriend out to the movies, me and her were sitting in line, for tickets at amc 20 in livonia, when i heard some english being demolished. And it clicked in my head instantly with a certain swedish red wing in my head. i swung my head back to see no other but tomas holmstrom, with what must of been his 3 children in line directly behind me. he was wearing what looked to be a winter hat with the zorro zetterburg z on the front..(hmmm) but anyway, most fans i would assume would react with a hey homer! mr.holmstrom! or anything! but not me. i was speechless. i grabbed my girlfriend pacing back and forth whispered, its homer its homer!! she just laughed and said so do something about it. and while awkwardly looking at him even to the point where he must of known exactly what was going on, i still didnt say a word. minutes later i got in to the theatre and homer and his children went to the concession stand. i found a pen and paper to get ready to ask for his autograph and waited till he was checked out. half way towards him i froze again, looking like a fool, and chickened out for the second time. although this left my girlfriend rolliing on the grown laughing, i felt some what mixed on how to feel about not bothering him. although 70% of me was just plain to chicken to say a word, the other 30 felt like a dick to bother him trying to take his kids out for fun with the little time he gets. no one else when up to him, so i believe me leaving him alone prevented a chain reaction of tons of people.

so what i was wondering is....

as fans, does anyone else freeze up like i do??

and also.....

do you feel there are situations where when you spot a player in public it is better to let the player be and enjoy him self with out being mobbed by fans??

[Elshupacabra 0]

Personally, I think you did the right thing by not bothering him. If he was by himself or with other hockey players that's one thing. But the man is with his kids, he's entitled to his privacy too.

In other words, I would have chickened out too.

Cool that you saw him though!

[puckloo39 5,686]

aw, I am sorry you weren't able to visit with Homer. I am sure he would have been very nice if you had gotten up the courage, but don't feel too bad. I bet it happens all the time. I think it's perfectly natural to be a little stunned when you see a player in person.

I sort of agree that fans shouldn't bother players when they are out in public, but I also believe they expect it. Comes with the job... but he was with his kids, so he probably appreciated the privacy, too.

Better luck next time. Hope you enjoyed the movie, anyway.

[maltbyrocks18 0]

haha thanks it rarely happens to me so i think i just forget their human and over react like their a god. silly but, my religion is redwings hockey so i guess it is like seeing a god. The kids really did affect my choice to leave him be, they looked all 5 or younger and im sure during the season its hard for him to get the time to spend with the little ones.

(oh and just incase anyone is wondering yes i am a freak and followed from a distance to see what they bought tickets for, and it was madagacar )

Edited December 10, 2008 by maltbyrocks18

[shannyfan1414 0]

Oh how i feel your pain. Lets see, ran into Shanny many times and i couldn't even thin about aproaching him. I have seen Drapper many times and still have not even said hi to him yet. Mac i use to see about once a week and never was able to do a thing. Stevie Y, how ever i did end up talking to him the third time i ran into him in public because i was his salesman. And then their is Gordie who i have now meet twice and i stumbled over my words like i was not even able to speak english.

If i did have the balls to talk to any of them i wouldn't talk hockey with them or ask for an autograph. I would try and treat them like regular people and hope maybe they appreciate that. I'm sure they get mobbed all the time and i'm sure that it is a pain in the but.

[Rivalred 630]

He was taking his kids to the movies. The guy has a right no be bothered.

[rage 24]

I probably would have said "hi" or "thanks for bringing the Cup home," in the line. That's as far as I would have taken it.

You did good. And you have nice story now!

[maltbyrocks18 0]

i feel athletes are a little different than other entertainers like actors. i feel athletes should not have to deal with it as much as actors because playing a sport doesn't really have to do with the players personalities like acting does.

[Zata fan 40 6]

You did the right thing. Maybe should have said a hello,but other than that leave him with his time to his children. Cool story.

[Sebastian 0]

You did the right thing by not saying anything. i would have probably just said hey whats up and thats it

[CanadaBoy 151]

I don't think I would ever ask someone in that situation for an autograph.

I would however say hi or something.

:hockeysmile: :allemon:

[CapnSmitty 39]

I think you did what pretty much any of us star struck fans would do, I see Stevie Y everytime he comes to GR as he walks right by me heading to the Griffins Locker room, and I always say...this is the the time I talk to him...he has said hey to me a couple times, but i just nod and say hey back...it is about all i can do not to just smile and stare at him like a dumbass.

The only thing I think I would have said, and say quite regularly to some of the players, Other than McGrath, Helm and Ericsson whom I actually have had good conversations with, would be Good Luck tonight...(or tomorrow night as it would be in your case)

[Mikeal 60]

I totally froze up when i met Ken Holland. Not because I was afraid to to talk him but I didnt want to interupt his night. i waited till he was done with his dinner and friends before I said anything to him.

I really think its a good idea to respect there space. They are people, with jobs, and lives, just like us.

[maltbyrocks18 0]

im glad to see others have this problem too, even at a practice skate ment for autograph signings i couldn't ask datsyuk with out my sister calling him over, and my english never comes out right with these people either, i believe i tried to say your an amazing player and i just studdered "ur..ur..dats..ur awesome..dats.."i think even datyuk pitied my english that day!!

[SouthernWingsFan 854]

tonite i took the girlfriend out to the movies, me and her were sitting in line, for tickets at amc 20 in livonia, when i heard some english being demolished. And it clicked in my head instantly with a certain swedish red wing in my head. i swung my head back to see no other but tomas holmstrom, with what must of been his 3 children in line directly behind me. he was wearing what looked to be a winter hat with the zorro zetterburg z on the front..(hmmm) but anyway, most fans i would assume would react with a hey homer! mr.holmstrom! or anything! but not me. i was speechless. i grabbed my girlfriend pacing back and forth whispered, its homer its homer!! she just laughed and said so do something about it. and while awkwardly looking at him even to the point where he must of known exactly what was going on, i still didnt say a word. minutes later i got in to the theatre and homer and his children went to the concession stand. i found a pen and paper to get ready to ask for his autograph and waited till he was checked out. half way towards him i froze again, looking like a fool, and chickened out for the second time. although this left my girlfriend rolliing on the grown laughing, i felt some what mixed on how to feel about not bothering him. although 70% of me was just plain to chicken to say a word, the other 30 felt like a dick to bother him trying to take his kids out for fun with the little time he gets. no one else when up to him, so i believe me leaving him alone prevented a chain reaction of tons of people.

so what i was wondering is....

as fans, does anyone else freeze up like i do??

and also.....

do you feel there are situations where when you spot a player in public it is better to let the player be and enjoy him self with out being mobbed by fans??

I would've shaken his hands with one of those prank shocker things, but that's the dorky prankster in me, so that wouldn't be wise. It would've also resulted in me getting an butt-whipping.

Joking aside, I've had very little encounters with celebrities or athletes I at least know from my favorite teams, and I cannot recall any since I turned adult age, but I'd like to think I wouldn't freeze up or anything like that. I'd be awe-strucken at first I think, but would probably quickly get over it I'm usually pretty serene and controlled in my appearance and stuff.

In these types of situations I'd just tell them hello, a quick line or two how I admire the way they play or something like that, shake hands and let them go about their business. They probably expect some attention and some crazy people as well, but I bet they just want to be treated like the average Joe on the street.

Icebreakers/greetings don't really cross the line doing that.

Bearhugs or tackles, that's another story and not the wisest of ideas I think.

[HoustonWingsFan 0]

You did the right thing. A guy at the movies with his kids should be cut some slack. My sister has a great story. She walked into a Target years ago and ran right into Stevie Y and family.

She tensed up and gasped when she recognized him. Which caused Stevie Y to tense up at the coming encounter. When she realized that, she just smiled and walked on down the aisle. Later she glanced up and saw them leaving and Stevie gave her a wave and smile in appreciation.

[IceMunkee 15]

I don't think you did the right or wrong thing. I think he expects to have some attention towards him as do all famous people. I don't support being to bothersome. When I met Pavel I did not go up to him, I was chicken s***. My friend kept telling me too but I felt like I was bothering him too. My friend did the initial approach and he seemed all about the company. Had you have gone up and said hi or asked for a quick autograph there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. Now there is something creepy about the guys that start following around people like that. I looked at it as when will I have the oppurtunity again to tell my favorite Red Wing how I respect his skill...

[Saran 1]

i would have sat beside him, even nudging his kids aside to get a seat right next to him.

[Chelichic 12]

How cool. I would have at least said hi to him lol. But to bug him for an autograph while he is with his kids, im sure, would have annoyed him. I think you did fine. Best of all you gave your girlfriend something to poke fun at you with.

[skacore 2]

I think it would be appropriate to give him a smirk or a nod if he looks your way, but don't go out of your way to get him to recognize you. I've never understood the point of getting an autograph (with all due respect, at least from Holmstrom anyways) on a piece of paper. Is it just for proof? I don't know. I can see jerseys, maybe a picture or poster but just to have the name written on a paper seems weird to me. Unless maybe it's Yzerman or Gretzky or something haha.

[Seraph 240]

Okay, well if he's DIRECTLY behind you in line, I don't think it would have been a crime say hey and throw in a comment, like "good work bringing stanley home." If I noticed something about an ordinary person in line, like a cool shirt that they were wearing or something, I'm make a comment about that too. I don't think it would have been a big deal.

It's out of line and invading privacy if you're going up to his dinner table or something. That's kind of messed up.

When I was in elementary school, my dad delivered one of Darren McCarty's kids. I was always upset with him that he didn't get me a damn autograph, but I understand now. Gotta let people live their personal lives. It's not all about you.

Edited December 10, 2008 by The Nephilim

[Holmstrom96Screens 0]

tonite i took the girlfriend out to the movies, me and her were sitting in line, for tickets at amc 20 in livonia, when i heard some english being demolished. And it clicked in my head instantly with a certain swedish red wing in my head. i swung my head back to see no other but tomas holmstrom, with what must of been his 3 children in line directly behind me. he was wearing what looked to be a winter hat with the zorro zetterburg z on the front..(hmmm) but anyway, most fans i would assume would react with a hey homer! mr.holmstrom! or anything! but not me. i was speechless. i grabbed my girlfriend pacing back and forth whispered, its homer its homer!! she just laughed and said so do something about it. and while awkwardly looking at him even to the point where he must of known exactly what was going on, i still didnt say a word. minutes later i got in to the theatre and homer and his children went to the concession stand. i found a pen and paper to get ready to ask for his autograph and waited till he was checked out. half way towards him i froze again, looking like a fool, and chickened out for the second time. although this left my girlfriend rolliing on the grown laughing, i felt some what mixed on how to feel about not bothering him. although 70% of me was just plain to chicken to say a word, the other 30 felt like a dick to bother him trying to take his kids out for fun with the little time he gets. no one else when up to him, so i believe me leaving him alone prevented a chain reaction of tons of people.

so what i was wondering is....

as fans, does anyone else freeze up like i do??

and also.....

do you feel there are situations where when you spot a player in public it is better to let the player be and enjoy him self with out being mobbed by fans??

You did the right thing. I'm the biggest holmer fan and as a big fan I have too much love and respect for him to bother him when he is with his family (if I ever visited there and got the chance to see him) He's a father, and a husband, and deserves time out with his family privacy.

He signed my cards for me through the mail so I 'm happy with that though.

[Guest nutz2u]

I'm telling my age but I had the same thing happen to me with Mickey Redmond when was still playing!

[Doc Holiday 0]

I was on the same flight as Gordie ******* Howe and I couldn't even approach him and say hello.

I was so mad after that. The guy was on the same wing as my second flight too.

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

That's probably a good thing, players do like their privacy. I remember my aunt telling me she saw D-Mac and one of his little girls at a Toys R Us a few years back but didn't say anything.