When I first moved to California, my first taste of the big city life was with a geeky friend that I raced with in the Dakota's. We did quite well there, he rode and I wrenched and consistency was the mantra that paid off. We took first in the state that year. Then came winter.
We moved to CA and the first thing that my friend did was tell me that we had two tickets to the AMA (American Motorcyclist Association) awards banquet being held in Anaheim. Yes, Ok, I think that's cool and let's go. There were no reservervations (other than the tickets) and we found a couple of empty seats with a group of people. They were friendly and we got along well.
It turns out they were from the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company and had come to present a world champion ring to Kenny Roberts, the first American road racing champion of the world. Goodyear was a major sponsor and their tires bested the likes of Michelin at the time. They passed around the ring, it was certainly impressive and heavy too. It's funny because Kenny is not a big guy anyway and the ring all but dwarfed his hand.
World champion Kenney and national champion Bob Hannah were on stage arguing about "their" Goodyear blimp. I had a lot of fun rubbing shoulders with motorcycledom's royalty and wished I had learned quicker how to talk to prospective sponsors.
It would have made my racing life easier, that's for sure. Still, it's a memory that I like.
I love when you just happen to be "in the right place at the right time"! I had a similar situation. I was in San Francisco CA at a movie premier, and I was mainly there because my idol, Sharon Gless, was in the movie. I had loved her for years (since my gram introduced me to the re-runs of 'Cagney and Lacey') when I was about 13. I would record all the shows and watch them over and over. haha, it was the highlight of my day, getting home for 4:00 to watch it. So anyway, She was in a movie and I donated money to the movie, so they invited me to the pre-premier party. I figured I'd never get to meet Sharon, I thought it would be too packed, or she wouldn't show. They kind of left it hanging whether she would be there or not. So we go to the party and it was a very small gathering of people. Me, being the introvert that I am, decided to go find a table in the corner, but my partner (at the time) looked at me and said "you came all this way to meet Sharon Gless, don't hide in a corner. Lets sit up at the bar". So I sit next to a woman who was dressed very funky. We start talking and she asked me what I did for the movie (since this was a private invite only party). I told her I donated money and asked her what she did. She says "I'm Sharon Gless' Assistant...", I'm not kidding when I say my chin hit the counter! I SAT RIGHT NEXT TO SHARON GLESS' ASSISTANT!!! I got to meet her and talk with her for a long time, I have pictures and she autographed a portrait of herself for me! One of the best experiences in my life! Sorry for rambling, but it's such a great story I like to share it. Plus, I understand how you felt meeting all those famous motorcycle people! :)
ReplyDelete