Tuesday Cannon Fodder: celebrities

Good morning, TSFers. It’s Tuesday, generally the worst day of the week, although next season, with Arsenal back in the Champions League, they might get a bit more bearable. Or not, depending on how you do with nerves on matchday.

For today’s CF, I want to talk about celebrity encounters. Someone close to me recently ran into Zinedine Zidane. They said he was really friendly and gracious with everybody. When I was a really little kid, so young that I don’t remember (but I’ve been told this is how it happened), we saw Wayne Gretzky at an airport. My parents recognized him and sent me over to ask him for an autograph. I asked “Mr. Wetzky” for one, and he picked me up, laughing, said something nice, and signed the piece of paper I had.

On Netflix’s “Full Swing,” defending U.S. Open Champion Matthew Fitzpatrick commented that it was nice to not be recognized when he went places, even at home in Sheffield, England. I’ve heard similar things about the European footballers who vacation in Miami or elsewhere in the U.S. during the winter break, although I’d guess that is slowly changing.

The only other celebrity encounter I’ve had that immediately comes to mind is with Colin Farrell. We saw him in a restaurant in Philadelphia the weekend of my sister’s college graduation. She asked him for a picture, he took one, and that was that. He was much smaller than I would have imagined. I think that often happens with actors.

Have you encountered any celebrities in the wild? Did you talk to them? How’d it go?