who is the nicest athlete you have met in person

[LittleGiants78 0]

Lenny Dykstra- Was at a baseball camp- he was 2 hours late as he overslept-- he looked a bit hungover as well- didnt look like he wanted to be there

 

Roger MCdowell- nice as ######

 

Reggie Bush- total douche

 

Danniel Manning- Nice guy

 

Frank Viola- Sat down next to him at a cafe in Coral Gables- Florida- nice guy

 

Miguel Cabrera- Ran into him at a club in Ft Lauderdale- I caught a foul ball of his the day before-- chit chatted- seemed cool

Hanley Ramirez- Same

[BirdBradyBobbyOrr 0]

Great Guys

 

Michael Jordan - I told him it was an honor to meet the 2nd greatest basketball player of all time. He laughed, continued to shake my hand, he was cordial and said goodbye by name. Great guy with a good sense of humor.

 

Derek Sanderson - Bruins player. He had a box full of black and whites and signed autographs for my whole office.

 

Marshall Faulk - Partied on his rooftop on 4th of July, free booze, hospitality and more.

 

Chris Chelios - Met him at Murphy's Bleachers in Chicago. Great guy.

 

Andre Tippett - Met him September 11 2004 he was doing volunteer work for the families of 9/11.

 

Marvin Hagler - Had a beer with him. Nice guy. Real nice guy.

 

 

Jerks

 

Nomar - What a ######. I was on the field at Petco with my girl and my dog, he was stretching pre game, I was obviously allowed there and was wearing a Nomar Sox shirt. The freaking guy totally snubbed us.

 

Khalil Greene - Was at a huge party on SuperBowl Sunday 3 years ago. Not only was he a jerk but he was wearing a Khalil Greene jersey at the party. Or to be specific a PINK Khalil Greene jersey. Just a total jag off. We were all laughing at him and making fun of his shirt right to his face.

 

Brian Daubach - Anyone from Boston that ever met this fool knows he's a ######.

 

 

I've met a bunch of other guys but these are the best. I can't emphasize how much of a ###### these 3 guys actually are.

[jerryskids 5,209]

I live in an area of Phoenix where a lot of athletes live (close to downtown and Cards training facility), so I've met a bunch. Can't think of a bad experience, but maybe it was because I met them on more equal footing, vs. at the ballpark. I was particularly impressed with Matt Leinart and Amare Stoudemire: Matt stuck out his hand and introduced himself (full name) when I met him, very polite, and Amare is always nice and polite, he took his kids around for halloween. Both come off in the media as prima donnas, but away from the spotlight, they're just... normal people.

[BirdBradyBobbyOrr 0]

Had beers with Cam Neely and Lyndon Byers once.

 

So then you know LB is a maniac, thus you'll appreciate this. Around 2001-02 I was at the Marathon with my buddies and partying all day, as you do on Marathon Monday. We ended up at Daisy Buchanans drinking with Lyndon and his biker boys and getting trashed for like 3 hours. Now it's about 3PM which is LATE for Marathon Monday since you wake up and start saucing at like 9 AM that day and I was trying to hook up so left my buddy with LB and his crew. I ended up just being her escort and continuing in the cab to Watertown. I got to work the next day no problem. When my buddy comes into work he's obviously still drunk, he's got a huge bruise on his body, a black eye and I'm like "WTF happened?".

 

Turns out he went back to some condo in a highrise with LB and his maniac friends and they proceeded to drink ungodly amounts of Jack. This turned into full hardcore pro wrestling with LB and his maniac friends who are all 220 lb monsters. They were doing full suplexes, bodyslams, submission moves, top rope moves etc. Smashing tables, chairs, etc. My buddy said they destroyed this condo and when he looked around he decided to sneak/stumble out the side door at like midnight. He ended up sleeping in Public Garden and just making it to work. HAH!

 

Moral of the story. LB is freaking cool!

[Raider 84 29]

Peyton Manning the nicest player I ever met.

 

Joe Theisman the biggest jerk, but Marcus Allen was a close second.

[Raider 84 29]

Keyshawn Johnson was a very cool guy. He took time to take pictures with fans. I didn't expect that from him, but my hats off to him. Eddie George is one of the nicest atheletes I've ever met. C. Carter was a cool dude, too.

[natomasb 0]

This is a great thread. I like reading about all the personal experiences.

Good Experiences

Joe Morgan - Met him when he was a rookie with the Durham Bulls (Okay, I'm old. I knew that). Of course he had no idea that he would be a HOFfer but he was humble and very encouraging to a kid who was nobody special but who looked up to him.

 

Mike Bibby - When he was with the Kings he was a big part of the town. Saw him with his kids at little league games and saw him at a couple different golf courses. He was always down to earth and friendly.

 

A couple of guys from the PBR (Professional Bullriders) - Cant remember their names but I was sitting with two of them on a plane. Just so humble and down to earth. Their event was in New Orleans. I didnt care much about the bullriding but I made it a point to watch in on ESPN.

 

Not an Athlete - Ed Harris. Got drunk with him in a bar in NYC a few years ago. The guy can drink.

[Ramrock 13]

Johnny Unitas signed a football to my 3 month old son and actually stopped and told me if I induvalize it I won't be able to sell it. I told him it wouldn't be for sale anyway and just wanted to tell my son about who his dad thought was the greatest qb of all time. At this time Mr Unitas asked me if I wanted to come around the table and take some pictures I couldn't believe it. Mr U died on Sept 11th the following year of the twin tower attacks. So sept 11th has even more meaning to me

[JT 137]

Good guy list:

 

Doug Collins: Responded to my 12 year old fan letter with 6 handwritten pages. Invited me to his home. Attended his kids baptism. Still friends.

 

John Wooden: As close to meeting god as I'll ever get.

 

Pistol Pete Maravich: My idol. So star struck I could barely look him in the eye. He ended up hiring me to work at his camp, and getting me into the nightly games with big time pro & college players. Incredible. A bit of a space case, but a wonderful guy.

 

Larry Bowa: Actually thanked me for not outing him in the McD's where I saw him (chased him down in the parking lot for an auto for my kid brother). Talked baseball for a half hour, leaning against his car eating our burgers. This when he at the top of his game and fame.

 

Daryl Dawkins: Chocolate Thunder and I go back a bit. FUN!

 

D1ck Vermiel: Outstanding. Personable, funny. A delightful person.

 

Barry Switzer: If he comes across as the life of the party, it's because he is.

 

Nolan Richardson: Hadn't seen him in 20 years, and didn't want to approach. Encouraged by my gf who had heard stories of my time spent with him. Figured I'd look a fool...when he looks up, booms out my name, and invites us to join his table.

 

Barry Sanders: Quiet, but a super nice guy. Not a bit of pretense about him. Hell of a basketball player in his prime too.

 

Carl Lewis: Grew up with Carl. Shame he's so weird/ghey, or people would give him more due for being the greatest American athlete of the last half of the 20th century.

 

Lots more good encounters. More good than bad. BUT...

 

Not so good:

 

Not a good word to say about

 

Pete Rose

Steve Carlton

Karl Malone

Phil Jackson

Penny Hardaway

Tim McCarver

[Fireballer 2,384]

Johnny Unitas signed a football to my 3 month old son and actually stopped and told me if I induvalize it I won't be able to sell it. I told him it wouldn't be for sale anyway and just wanted to tell my son about who his dad thought was the greatest qb of all time. At this time Mr Unitas asked me if I wanted to come around the table and take some pictures I couldn't believe it. Mr U died on Sept 11th the following year of the twin tower attacks. So sept 11th has even more meaning to me

That's what it all about!

[deejsixer 0]

Two athletes I thought would be a-holes but were great. Barry Bonds and Allen Iverson.

 

I met Bonds at a bar in Scottsdale the year he hit 74 or whatever he hit. I went up to him and said I was a big fan and asked if I could buy him a drink. He said "No thanks, I'm driving, but you can buy me a bottle of water. I got the water and he invited me to sit at this booth with him and 4 girls. The booth was shaped like a horse shoe and another booth shaped like a horse shoe was directly across from it. I sat in one booth, Barry and the 4 girls in the other. I sat there for 15 minutes and nobody said a word to me. I finally got up and went over to Barry and said "Thanks for inviting me over. He raised his water and said "Thanks for the water.

 

I saw Iverson in a hotel bar in Indy when he was a sixer. Nobody would go near him. I went up to him and said I've been a big fan since his Hoya days. He thanked me and I walked away.

 

These stories are nothing big, but sometimes I'm sure people catch these athletes at a bad time.

[ashwiggins 0]

Funny, I had heard this about VJ however, when my daughter and I got the chance to see him during a practice round, he stopped, signed her autograph program, and posed for a picture with her, chatting with me all the while. He was great, not sure where the bad rap comes from, but I think golfers have a different outlook at various times of a tournament.

 

Also, Greg Norman was a total a-hole. He called some small kids(8-9 y.o.) rude for not calling him Mr. Norman and stormed away in his SUV. Couldn't quite firgure that one out....just a jerk I guess.

 

Phil is just great with all everyone.

 

VJ was nice because you were at a tournament. I was standing behind him in line at coffie shop on a resort island, said hello and he turned around and bitched me out for saying hello to him with his son present.

[darwin 0]

Nicest- John Randle

 

Worst- Lawrence Taylor

[gridiron whirlwinds 2]

Nicest....Pro Golfer Jim Thorpe

 

 

Worst....Tim McCarver= ###### Head

[16 and 33 0]

Most of these judgments are based on a chance meeting that last a few moments. Gotta be tough living in a fish bowl.

 

In the '90s I used to work in the tax department of a Big Four firm (it was Big Eight when I started out, and Big Five when I left public accounting). It just so happened our lead tax partner had cultivated a large athlete practice. Virtually every Pistons and Lions player, as well as major sport pros who had Detroit or Michigan ties.

 

You can tell a lot about what people value most by the way they spend their money. Derek Jeter started a charitable foundation before he bought himself a Manhattan apartment; paid for his siblings tuition, started an LLC so he could pay his parents a salary. Lindsay Hunter was the same way; made his dad his co-agent, so even though a lawyer did the negotiating, his dad got a cut (it was something like 3% of 6 million). Alan Houston spent $220K on stereo equipment (circa 1995). Bill Laimbeer was a ###### to everybody. Dexter Bussey and Barry Sanders are two of the nicest and most humble humans will ever meet. Big Cecil Fielder was a happy go lucky guy who made everyone feel great.

 

Derrick Coleman ran through money like it was water; anytime he came into town for a road game, we'd run $10-20K in cash up to his hotel, and after the game, he'd throw a big party in his old 'hood. DC once bought a $300K Bentley, and this was when he was in like his 13th year...its the only time I have ever heard of our tax partner yelling at a client. Think about that...we work for him...and with the door closed, I could hear my boss screaming "You're not a friggin' kid anymore, Derrick!! You're not making this money once you leave the league. Think about something besides right focking now, OK?"

 

I've only met a handful of athletes outside of my professional duties. Arnold Palmer was a big thrill, very gracious. Dante Pastorini (Oilers QB and drag racer) was a big jerk, as was his buddy broadcaster Jim Nantz. I always thought Tiki Barber was a tool, but he donated a high tech interactive playground to our kids school, and stuck around for a couple hours playing with the kids and chatting with parents.

 

Just a few moments or, at most, a couple of hours - and in most cases, its the former - and then we decide 'good guy' or 'jerk'. Imagine what your life would be like if everyday you had to deal with that. I'm glad I never had my 15 minutes.

[Drizzay 646]

Nicest- John Randle

 

Worst- Lawrence Taylor

 

I agree with your assessment of Randle. He's just a down-home country boy. He was at the Medina Ball room with his girl and some other friends. He sat down at the bar by us and we said hello. Then my buddy, who is not the best with sports names said, "Hey look, it's John Rambo!" We all busted out laughing...Randle laughing with us said, "Well, Rambo's first name was John". A couple of us got some autograph and then let him be. He just shook his head and smiled as we walked away.

 

I also had the honor of meeting Sweetness, and his nickname couldn't have been more accurate. I met him at Bears TC in Platteville, WI in '86, the year after they won. A bunch of players were standing behind one of those blaze orange fences, signing autographs. EVERYONE was hounding The Fridge and McMahon and Gault, but Sweetness was standing all alone at the very end. My aunt and I walked up to him and had a nice convo with him. He talked directly to me (I was 6) and asked me about football and school and what my favorite subject was. Got his autograph, which I am NEVER giving away...even though I am a diehard Viking fan.

 

The two men I would want my future son(s) to be like are my Father and Sweetness.

[justforbeer 39]

Because I read every single post...I will share some of my experiences....

 

Mike Ness-Social Distortion. Very nice guy and honest. Back in my college days I worked at a grocery store in Costa Mesa, Ca and he was a regular. Came through my checkstand. I said hey Mike how's it going? He replied "Cool man, hey I think somebody dropped this". ($50 Bill). He then gave it to me....sure enough some little old lady had dropped it. Another day he signed a CD and was always cool. Always been a fan.

 

Joe Montana....Mr. amazing himself. Very nice guy. Got my picture with him and he sent the picture back to me signed too!

 

Dwight Clark. Met him in the locker room when I was a kid. Shook my hand, and was really nice.

 

Brent Jones. He was looking at buying a house....he was very down to earth and nice.

 

Steve Young. Signed my hat, right next to Joe's name without a hesitation......and he was very nice, down to earth.

 

Ricky Henderson- now I know he has not always been cool but right around the year 2001, A's were in the playoffs. I was at the game with my 10 month old son. Ricky was surrounded but he saw my son and he said, hey, let me see that baby. He put my son on his lap and just looked and him and laughed. My son just stared at him.....I was speechless. Ricky asked if I wanted him to sign our hat's. (Both A's). They are in a case with his Rookie card.

 

Most of my stories are good ones.....The thing is money and fame change people and most of the time it is for the worst.

No excuse, but the people that break the cycle are the true heroes.

[16 and 33 0]

No excuse, but the people that break the cycle are the true heroes.

 

Some truth there, I can attest to that (see my post above)...but I saw the whole spectrum in terms of financial management and generosity. It wasn't really that hard to predict, either - guys that a solid base of support, were close to their family and parents, chose their friends carefully, they did good things, lived wisely. Guys that came from disadvantaged backgrounds where the parental support was kind of shady, dudes who had a lot of hangers on around, people they hardly knew mooching off them, not so much.

 

Here's the thing - for most of us, the only thing that kinda sorta approaches what it is like is if we won the lottery. Seriously. Nothing prepares you for sudden wealth. I know people will laugh, say whatevs, who feels sorry for a millionaire, but sudden and unexpected wealth is as difficult to deal with as bankruptcy. It messes people up - they feel guilt, shame, et al, and they make bad decisions because deep down they think they don't deserve it. Or they get all paranoid and shut everybody out, scared they're going to lose it all if they aren't super careful. Its a real hangup for a lot of people.

 

I'm not passing judgment on something I haven't gone through. But I have seen what the difference was: character and integrity. Usually that is developed because someone had a great parent or excellent role model in their life.

 

/rant

[neworleansff2003 0]

michael strahan for superbowl in n.o. (rams/pats...02 i think), anyway, saw him at pat-o's by the outside bar and chatted with him, he was extremely polite and engaging.

 

in the late 90's some of my boys ran into brett favre and his wife on bourbon street at some dive and they were also very nice and chatty

 

i met ron dixon, an obscure NYG wr (but did score a td in superbowl!) at JFK during his rookie year, hell of a nice guy, completely down to earth and like a kid in a candy shop having people know who he was etc.

 

never met baron davis, but from friends who lived near him when he lived in n.o seemed to not think highly of him, but wtf, the dude loves his grandma and takes care of her so he cant be that bad.

 

 

all athletes i've seen have been super cool so far EXCEPT when there is a 40 year old dude asking for autographs with no kid around....you cant blame them for being suspicious and thinking the dude will ebay it.

[kgeorge78 0]

I met Michael Jordon in Florida at the Fairmont Turnberry Island in the golf Pro Shop. Great guy. He actually stopped and spoke with my wife and I.

He was funny and polite. Great guy.

 

I met Barry Sanders at a strip club in Windsor! Quite but polite and I actually had a drunk meaningless converstion with him.

 

Biggest Dicks Ever:

 

Jim Furyk - total ######. Saw him on Vaca at a practice range, total duche.

 

Vinny Castilla - Man I hate this guy. Met him a few times. I know he sucked and was a nobody but he sticks in my mind as such an a hole. He actually faked throwing a ball to me and threw it to Jose Canseco in the Dugout and they both laughed. Kinda funny I guess.

 

Carlos Guillen - A few times in Detroit. Strange fello.

[Colt 45 0]

You saw this with your own eyes? Total opposite than what I have heard about people that have been around him.

 

I did...perhaps he had just had a bad day...we are all susceptable to that.

 

Jim Furyk - total ######. Saw him on Vaca at a practice range, total duche.

 

Opposite experience...Furyk was playing in the pro am on a Wednesday. Saw him on the tee box. My son and nephew asked for his autograph...he ignored them to some degree, or so I thought. After he hit his tee shot and chatted with Fluff for a while, he rolled over to us and signed their hats, chatted with us and took pictures with them. Very nice guy...guess things all depend on where they are and what they are doing at any given moment.

 

Perhaps we should all give these guys a little more slack.

 

Oh yeah, Steve Young was nice enough guy......in High School, though he was a year behind me.

[dbell9 0]

Met Alge Crumpler at a club when I was visiting the ATL during his last season there. He was not as big as he appeared on TV. We stood next to each other and about a 5 minute conversation. Talked about Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. He was definitely high on Brady that year. Pretty laid back and was with some very hot chicks.

 

Also met Walter Peyton on several occasions. We talked in pretty good detail once inside a cleaners near by his home.

[Laurence Maroney's Nuts 2]

This thread specifies "athlete" so can we stop mentioning golfers???

[BirdBradyBobbyOrr 0]

The thing I don't understand about the VJ stories is if I was casual and not drunk and said "Hi VJ" or something real casual like that and he started tearing into me I wouldn't just take it. I wouldn't let anyone just tear into me for no reason. I would not react in a nice way to that. He might get an F bomb in front of his son.

 

************

 

Having rubbed elbows with lot of athletes over the last few years I will just say I can not believe how much money these guys waste at the clubs. It's pathetic. I mean I understand, bottle service, tables, you get chicks at your table and you get laid. God bless em. But I'm pretty sure there are ways other than 2000 dollars a night at clubs to get laid especially if you are a millionaire.

 

An athlete who won't be named, signed a large contract for an NFL team and got a 5 million dollar signing bonus. So we were out to lunch and my brother was like "Are you fired up now that you got that paper" to which he replied "I'm just waiting for the check to come in the mail". He was serious. He thought they were going to mail him a 5 million dollar check. I'm like "Bro that's getting direct deposit and it aint going to be 5 million. Your agent and uncle sam are going to wack about 1.5 out of it."

 

Just always thought that was funny and showed how little these guys comprehend their salaries at times.

[phan a tic 6]

Darrel Green. Hands down.

[Know Doubt 0]

Late 80s playing 3rd base in a fastpitch game in Tucson, AZ.

Black dude comes up. Doesn't look special, just 6'2"-ish and in shape. He hits a routine grounder to ss...

 

And beats the throw by two steps.

 

First pitch he steals 2nd standing up.

Next pitch he's standing next to me at 3rd with no throw from our catcher.

 

I tell him he's really focking fast. He says "thank you."

 

Turns out he's Randy Robbins, a saftey for the Broncos and UofA alum. Guy had 3 AFC Championship rings and was modest, cool as hell, and wasn't brash at all.

 

 

 

 

Bad:

 

Ted Williams but my Dad told me to expect it so no big deal.

He filmed an episode of The Baseball Bunch(w/Johnny Bench) at my Little League park.

 

 

[darwin 0]

I agree with your assessment of Randle. He's just a down-home country boy. He was at the Medina Ball room with his girl and some other friends.

 

His "girl" is my 2nd cousin. They met through her sister who is married to Todd Bouman. John asked Todd for a "hookup" when they were both Vikings.

I've had the chance to talk to both of them a couple of times at family events. John's the funniest guy you'll ever talk to.

[BMoney 0]

just a bit off subject....

 

eugene robinsons wife was super nice..as was steve mcmichaels debra marshall saw her a lot..but never steve...

 

1 time at a game...my dad went to shake eugenes hand and eugene walked right back..his wife yelled at him and told him, you go back there and shake that mans hand!! and eugene was saying..hi, sorry sir etc....so im guessing she was queen of that household..

 

anyway....eugenes kids used to come over to my house and chat it up...

 

1 day my friends were watching a game with me and swearing and the kids gasped...

 

we dont swear in our family...our dad says swearing is bad...

 

 

but i guess picking up a prostitute is ok (this happened 3 years before hookergate)

[enoto 0]

Kirby Puckett in a pet store a bunch of years back....during the big MLB strike. He was with his kids so I let him be after a quick "Hi".

 

And Matt Birk, then C for the Vikings, the day after they broke training camp. We were at the local Zoo/amusement park. Our kids were in line next to each other for a ride....

[enoto 0]

Kirby Puckett in a pet store a bunch of years back....during the big MLB strike. He was with his kids so I let him be after a quick "Hi".

 

And Matt Birk, then C for the Vikings, the day after they broke training camp. We were at the local Zoo/amusement park. Our kids were in line next to each other for a ride....

 

...btw....both were in the "nicest" category

[shovelheadt 62]

The thing I don't understand about the VJ stories is if I was casual and not drunk and said "Hi VJ" or something real casual like that and he started tearing into me I wouldn't just take it. I wouldn't let anyone just tear into me for no reason. I would not react in a nice way to that. He might get an F bomb in front of his son.

 

I was thinking the exact same thing. How does someone not come back with something like "Man, you must have not had your ass kicked lately".

[ILikeTacos 0]

Thanks for the great stories everyone!

I'll add one, though it is hearsay.

My mom's co-worker's husband is a traffic cop in Houston. Story occurs during a Rockets playoff run.

 

During a traffic stop a SUV with tinted windows pulls up behind the cop and just waits (seems like a no-no to me!). Cop finishes giving the driver a ticket and starts back to his car. SUV's door opens up and Barkley walks out. He goes over to the cop, gives him 2 tickets to the playoff game that night (semi-tough to come by at this time), tells him to keep up the good work, and drives off. Pretty classy.

[Mackgee 0]

Ray Lewis, believe it or not was very polite after minor back surgery and took pictures with each of us.

 

George Gervin, me and him talked about his son when he played for Houston. Very cool and laid back person.

 

Tony Dorsett, cool as hell, even signed his name on a Randy Moss Jersey for someone,lol

 

Dominique Wilkins, I met him two times and was very polite I asked him why the Hawks always draft Power Forwards, he just kept saying Chris Paul man, Chris Paul,lol

 

I've met quite a few athletes, but these stand out.

[Yippie Skippy 0]

I grew up next door to Lionel Hollins, the current head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies. At the time he was the starting point guard for the Portland Trailblazers during the Walton years. Looking back, I am amazed at how mature he was at such a young age. He was in his early twenties when he moved his whole family out of the Las Vegag ghettoes. His sisters, their kids, and the the glue of it all was the grandmother. She was an incredible woman and clearly his role model. She ruled with a quick switch. He put 6 kids through an upper class school system to give them an education. That meant he kept the house even after he was traded and provided for them. I became very good friends with Lionel's nephew and the whole family. Lionel took his nephew and I to about 30 Blazer games, and we'd always go to a nice chinese-food place after the games. We took him water-skiing his first time.

 

Great man, great people, great memories.