Incite Full

Today, at Starbucks, I met Brian Wilson. Oh, you don’t know who Brian Wilson is? Maybe you know his beard:

No, it’s not King Leonidas, but he may as well be. Brian Wilson is the closer for the San Francisco Giants. They are in town playing the Dodgers, but Pasadena isn’t really near their Los Angeles hotel. But regardless, I was surprised by just how cool of a guy he is.

I was was walking down California, on the phone with my dad, when I arrived at the Starbucks on the corner. I was standing outside, wrapping up my conversation when I saw a giant, hulking man walking towards he coffee shop with a small, khaki clad kid in an over-sized white polo. I told my dad that I thought it was Brian Wilson, and reminded my dad of the “the guy with the beard” from the World Series. He immediately remembered and I told my dad I wanted to go, and see if it as indeed him. My was fine with this, but when on and on before letting me go- normally I’m fine with this, but I didn’t want to miss the chance to meet this guy.

After he hung up, I am ashamed to say, I ran-walked to the door and went in. At first I saw khakis hanging out, then I saw BW grabbing his coffee from the counter. I ish I had heard the name called, to see if he was trying to go under the radar, but I missed out on that. I looked at him, and he looked like a guy who’s been recognized a million times before. I asked if he was Brian Wilson, and he said he as actually his brother.

To be honest, I pretty much believed him, but before I could look like a jackass, he said no, it was him. I am sure I was gushing at that point, but I shook his hand right away and told him, immediately, that my friend, Alex, was a huge Giants fan and was going to die when I told him I met him. I also think I told him that Alex loved him, too, but I think that guy, in particular,  gets it a lot.

I then went completely amateur and asked if I could take a picture of him. He looked really annoyed at that point, but said sure, and I took a quick one of him making his coffee.

Built for speed, like me

He must have thought I was filming because he went straight up into Brian Wilson mode, and started describing his coffee making. “It’s  red-eye, which means… a single shot? It’s built for speed,” looking dead into the camera, “like me.” Which, obviously, is where this post title comes from.

I don’t meet a whole lot of celebrities. In fact, I think I’ve met maybe 4-5  athletes outside of sports stadiums/games- and I’m referring to famous athletes. I still have an autograph from Don Davey, but I doubt most people will have any idea who that guy is.

Or maybe I have met a few, but I never recognize them because it’s usually something I don’t really care about. But sports figures? I’m all over that.

And what was probably the most surprising is how cool the guy was. He was obviously getting coffee- a red-eye no less- because he just needed to wake up. Hell, he probably came to Pasadena in order to avoid running into someone who might give him away. I can understand that completely, but he also understands that celebrity is a full time job, and I’m just some guy who’s seen him on TV, winning championships, no less, and it made my day to see him.

I guess I’ve been jaded by all of the reports of asshole athletes out there, or guys getting drunk in bars and causing trouble, that it was refreshing to see a guy who was fine with me taking a quick pic. Hell, maybe he goes out and causes fights and trouble of all sorts, but I know he’s got his cool side to him also, which is more than I can say for a lot of people. Between this and the ridiculousness of most Dodger fans, I think I’m turning into a Giants fan- too bad everyone will think  I’m doing this because they won a world series.

Are you kidding me? I’m a Packer’s fan, and until this year, I had to deal with Brett Favre and also Colin Cowherd calling “my” QB  overrated for not having won a playoff game.  I like the Brewers, Seahawks, and I would love the Supersonics if they still existed.  I generally like teams with no chance of winning championships, so it’s beyond that.

The guy was cool, and hey, maybe if he ever searches his name, and clicks through the thousands of links before mine shows up, he’ll feel the same amount of satisfaction seeing this here, that I did meeting him. I wish Alex had been there to meet him, but even though he wasn’t, I’m still using it as my birthday gift to him for the next five years.