Dodger Centerfielder Matt Kemp made an appearance today at the Metro PCS Store in Baldwin Hills. He was scheduled to meet with fans and sign autographs from 11:00am to Noon and only for the first 200 people in line.
I had been planning on going to this event for the last few weeks, and I knew I was gonna have to arrive early. Matt made an appearance at Living Spaces a couple of weeks ago, and people began lining up for that at 7pm the night before. I knew people would do the same thing this time around even though it was a Friday. And I was right. I got a call from my buddy Greg, who lives close to the Metro PCS Store, at 9:00 letting me know there was already 30 people in line. It was time to start heading down there. This would be my first time camping out for an autograph.
I drove drove down there with Teresa, and we arrived at around 10:00. We were about 50 people back at the time. That number was going to change as it got closer to meeting Matt Kemp.
We were about 13 hours away from meeting Matt, but the time flew by because a group of us chit-chatted all night. We really entertained ourselves. Out of all of us in the group, I was the only one to get some shut-eye. And I needed it after a long day at work. I don't think I would have been in good shape if I hadn't taken a nap.
Before I fell asleep though, we were all surprised with a little treat, a free midnight snack courtesy of the man himself, Matt Kemp. A group of very smart people at the front of the line were in communication with Matt via Twitter. They let him know we were camping out all night for his autograph, so he treated us to pizza. There were about 80 to 100 of us there at the time, and we all were munching on Papa Johns. Thanks to Matt and everyone who made that happen. After I ate, I passed the hell out.
It was about 6:30 am when I woke up. There were a few hundred people there, and the line was starting to get messy. The Metro PCS staff got there at 9:00 and started handing out wristbands at around 9:30. When I arrived the night before, I was about 50 people back. My wristband number was 111. It just goes to show how many people cut or had spots held for them all night long, while the rest of us toughed it out. Once the wristbands were given, the line straightened up. A few of the assholes who decided to cut in line were pointed out, and sent back to their original spot in line.
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| Matty signing my poster |
Matt arrived on time, and the line started moving as soon as he got there. We were told one signature per person, and no pictures with him. Matt's agent, former Dodger pitcher Dave Stewart, was there too, and signing autographs. I brought my "King of Swing" poster for Matt to sign, and my Clinton Dodgers bobblehead for Dave Stewart to sign. Both of them were very nice. Matt signed the poster with his name and number in blue Sharpie. Dave signed the bobblehead in silver Sharpie. This is the third time I have met Matt, so I didn't care to chat with him or take a pic, even though other people were getting pics with him. I just wanted the auto after such a long night. I was a bit excited to meet Stewart though, who I hadn't met before. Not only did he sign, he took pics with people too.
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| The auto turned out crappy |
Congrats on getting the autos. I hate when people cut in line or a person holds a spot for like 15 people. You know when someone is holding a spot for 15 people it's usually a dealer or someone trying to get way more auto's than needed.
ReplyDeleteWhen I met Hunter Pence earlier this year in Houston I lined up maybe 4 hours before the signing and was #100 something as others had spent the night (never thought they'd spend the night for an autograph on a weekday). All that matters in the end is you got the auto I guess, so congrats again.
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ReplyDeleteDude, thanx for the quick blogpost! Sounds like a great adventure. If you want something bad, you just have to wait for it (a long time) :)
ReplyDeleteI heard about the signing a few weeks back. The atmosphere was not good, so it was a good bet to go to this one.
Don't bet me started about the kids. People think, because they are little they can get away with everything. "he's just a kid". Ow well, you got your auto and the pic with Dave. They even won while Lilly was pitching later that day.
Ah, good times. Granted, because of it I slept through Matty's 30th bomb. But still. Good times.
ReplyDeletewow DB, your a soldier!
ReplyDeleteDutch - Next time you're in LA, you need to come to a player appearance with us.
ReplyDeleteGreg- Great times bro. I was awake for Matty's bomb. Probably because I got sleep the night before.
Format - Thanks!
@DB, CORRECTION IT'S 5 FREAKIN KIDS. 4 GIRLS, 1 BOY, MY WIFE & I. TO BAD MY OLDER DAUGHTER COULDN'T MAKE IT, IF NOT I WOULD OF HAD "7" AUTOGRAPHS. SO IT'S NOT "6" KIDS IT'S "5" BUT THAT DAY I ONLY HAD "4" KIDS MY WIFE & I, SO GET YOUR STORY STRAIGHT FROM TERESA. IT SEEMS TO ME THAT YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH US GETTING AUTOGRAPHS? JOSH, TALK ALL YOU WANT ABOUT ME BUT WHEN YOU ARE TALKING SHIT ABOUT MY FAMILY & CALLING MY KIDS BRATS, WHEN YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW ME, NOW YOU HAVE CREATED A PROBLEM. MY WIFE IS PRETTY UPSET. SO I WILL TALK TO YOU WHEN I SEE YOU EITHER AT D.S. STADIUM OR AT AN EVENT SO WE CAN IRON THIS OUT!
ReplyDeleteCome on @32koufax32 . . . don't you think it's ok to sleep at a parking lot, be there for 13 hours and then 30 minutes before giving the bracelets see 4 girls, 1 boy and a lady appear all bathed after a nice sleep at night in their beds get there and take 6 spots from people who had to be laying in the floor or sitting in chairs to see their favorite player? Wouldn't it kill you to be number 201, 202, 203, 204, 205 and 206 because a guy that let their family cut in line? I know I'd be pissed, would you? Funny how at 3 am I was number 60 and at the time they were giving out the bracelets I was number 106.
ReplyDelete@ HARRY RUIZ- I WAS THERE BETWEEN 9PM-10PM SO MY KIDS DONT HAVE TO WAIT AT NIGHT. PLUS I WOULDN'T BE THAT DEEP IN LINE I KNOW BETTER THAN AT. NEXT TIME I'LL TAKE 7 CHAIRS ONE FOR EACH. OH, AND 2 MORE FOR MY NIECE AND NEPHEW. ONCE AGAIN WHATS YOUR PROPLEM WITH ME HOLDING A SPOT FOR MY FAMILY.
ReplyDelete32Koufax, I don't know you and I don't know if you're the person I was accusing of cutting. But if you are, I sincerely apologize for calling your kids brats and for stirring any hard feelings. After camping out all night, I was tired and cranky, and I probably said things here I shouldn't have said. I have kids too and wouldn't want ANYONE saying a word about them.
ReplyDeleteAs you can see, my comment has been removed.
Either way, this all gonna end tonight. I don't write any of this to point fingers or talk shit, I do it for myself, because I love the Dodgers and I love getting autographs. I am sure everyone else is at these events for the same reason.
32koufax - PLease email me.
dodgerbobble@yahoo.com
@32koufax32 What's my problem? Believe me . . . my problem is people like you, I don't do autograph signings that much because I know that there are people (like you) that reserve spots in line and make it hard or impossible to get an autograph if you get there 6 hours before, and instead you have to sacrifice sleeping in bed and change it for sitting in a chair for 13 hours and still be in the limbo for getting your autograph.
ReplyDelete@db-Thank you, that shows us what kind of person you are. I will email you later.
ReplyDeleteNOW @ HARRY RUIZ- WHEN YOU SEE ME AT A SIGNING EVENT COME & HIT ME UP, SO WE COULD HAVE A TALK.
ReplyDelete@32koufax32 Should i talk with CAPITAL LETTERS like you? I'm not a collector and I rarely go to autograph signings and when I go I do it by myself, just because I only need 1 autograph. I hope you understand what number 201 felt, fortunately it wasn't me . . . . but someday I might be number 201, that's why I'm telling you.
ReplyDelete@HARRY RUIZ- WHAT I HATE IS THAT THIS SHIT WAS BETWEEN DB & I. SO WHY R U GETTING INTO IT, JUST TELL ME IN PERSON. TRUST ME I AM NOT MAD AT YOU,I HEARD TERESA WAS TALKING SHIT, BUT WHEN SHE WAS HANGING OUT WITH ME AT THE SIGNINGS SHE WAS EVEN ASKING ME TO BORROW MY KIDS TO GET AN EXTRA AUTOGRAPH FOR HER, BUT I KNOW WHO THE CANCER IS. I'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR YEARS SO IF PEOPLE WANNA TALK SHIT SAY IT FACE TO FACE NOT THE CHEAP WAY "ON A BLOG". IT'S A SMALL WORLD PEOPLE THAT WERE AROUND YOU GUYS TOLD ME WHAT TERESA WAS SAYING "OOH HERE IS THE WIFE & HIS KIDS".
ReplyDelete@32koufax32 You're writing in a blog, anybody that has access to the internet can read it! As soon as you wrote your comment you made it a public matter, so don't whine about that. If you wanted to have a conversation with DB you should've looked him up at facebook or twitter.
ReplyDeleteI quote what you wrote earlier: "SO I WILL TALK TO YOU WHEN I SEE YOU EITHER AT D.S. STADIUM OR AT AN EVENT SO WE CAN IRON THIS OUT!", wouldn't it be sad to be in the necessity to have cops at the signings (just like at Dodgers Stadium), or even worse . . . have those events cancelled? You know there's people who will do dumb stuff just because you say "Get out of line" or "Your cutting". I just want to make my point that I don't agree with you or any person cutting in line? Hope you read it right, it's not personal (I generalized when I said "any") but you seem to say it's "ok" to hold spots in line for other people.
Hope you have a excellent Sunday, that your family is great and that the Dodgers win.
P.S.
Let me know if you want my personal e-mail, I ain't got nothing to hide.
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ReplyDelete@ HARRY RUIZ- THE REASON I DID THAT WAS BECAUSE HE PUT ME ON BLAST SO I WANTED TO SEND MY MESSAGE ACROSS. TO BE CLEAR I DIDN'T CUT I WAS THERE WHEN THE PIZZAS ARRIVED N THE DRINKS. EVEN DB SAID HE WAS "TIRED AND CRANKY" AND THATS AN ADULT SAYING THAT, JUST THINK FOR A MINUTE HOW MY KIDS WOULD OF BEEN 10x WORST. I'M GUESSING YOU DON'T HAVE KIDS. OOH! AND I'M NOT HOLDING SPOTS FOR POEPLE JUST MY FAMILY!!! GET IT RIGHT!!!
ReplyDelete@32koufax32 Worst part is that I didn't even have a chance to read the post that was deleted.
ReplyDeleteI repeat, I hope you have an excellent Sunday, that your family is great and that the Dodgers win!
@HR- DONT WORRY I HAVE IT I'LL SHOW IT TO YOU. ONE THING WE HAVE IN COMMON, WE BLEED BLUE!!!! LET'S GO DOYERS!!!!
ReplyDeleteWell I hope we can come to an agreement on one thing: We love our Dodgers. Please people, I don't want any fighting. I've never had any problems at an event, and I don't want any now. Evertone has always been nice to me, and I would like to be nice to everyone in return.
ReplyDeleteIf I insulted anyone, I'm sorry. If I said anything stupid, I'm sorry. Like I said before, I was cranky and tired and people tend to do and say stupid things when they're tired.
Harry, 32Koufax, please let's just put this behind us.
You guys are just hilarious! How old are you guys? At what age do people grow up and stop collecting things that dont even mean anything the second you store it away with your other autographs? I was once like you guys waiting for hours and overnight and then I had felt that tired and cranky feeling that DB felt. Thats when you just question yourself, for what? For this? Sure its nice to meet Kemp and get his autograph but at the end of the day, it really meant very little. Spend some time with family (and that doesnt mean bringing your family to help you get 5 extra autographs). God bless you all so you can find better ways to spend your time.
ReplyDelete