I should preface this whole story with the only reason I wanted to go to training camp was to get up close and personal with my FAVORITE Viking, Defensive End, number 69, Jared Allen!!! It was the defensive line who was doing autographs the day we went, but because Jared is SUCH a big deal when you entered the field that day you received a scratch off ticket. If yours said Jared Allen you could get his autograph if not bummer you'll have to settle for a member of the Williams' Wall.
But I ABSOLUTELY knew if I went to training camp I would get to meet Jared Allen. Needless to say after I got a couple pictures of him and his buddies leaving the locker room and like most red blooded women cat called after him when he waived, we made our way to the front entrance where I faced my destiny, the scratch off ticket.
After I received mine I made Craig dig his keys out so I could scratch it off. All I saw was "You Win" and I about hyperventilated! But Craig's also said "You Win" so I knew something had to be up so I kept scratching and found that it said "You Win Jared Allen" and my reply was "WHAT?! Do I get to take him home with me?!?!?!" :) But alas, not today.... However, I was one of the 150 "Golden" ticket holders.
So I turned my ticket in for a wristband and found out you had to provide something for him to sign, and as tempting has having him sign my body would have been, I opted to purchase a photo (as seen to the right!!!). At 10:30 all the lucky wristband recipients gathered and I found myself amid a sea of young boy
s and father's green with envy that their son and this random woman was going to meet arguably one of the best defensive line men in the NFL. The line moved rather quickly so when I was in the group of 20 to go in all the kids took off running, which I wasn't about to do, so they got up there and just laid their items in front of Jared and watched him sign without an exchange of words.
That was not going to happen with me. I was determined to get him to look up from the table and at least acknowledge my presence. So I slowly laid my picture down, to which it seemed he was checkin' himself out in it, maybe he hasn't see this one yet. I proceed with saying "Hi, how's it going?" Which gets him to look up with a slight look of surprise that 1. Someone was actually talking to him and 2. I was a woman, as opposed to a 12 year old boy. He replied with "oh good, how are you?" I say I'm doing well and I notice that the top of mullet he's sporting is all curly from the killer bandanna he wears so I say "are you enjoying this hot weather?" (cuz it was like 90 out that day and humid!) and he says "oh, ya know I kinda like this, I'm from Arizona where it's always really hot so I'm just used to it." At this point he's already signed my photo and the kid behind me was getting anxiously close so I say to Jared "well thanks it was nice to meet you" and he says "have a good one." Then I was on my way, to gloat and decide how frame it and where once it's framed to hang it and down the road how to explain to my husband why there's an autographed photo of Jared Allen next to our bed.... unless of course Jared and I end up tying the knot!
