A Chance Encounter with a Hero...
I've always kept a statement in my mind from Eddie Vedder. He was explaining to 'Rolling Stone' about how fearful he was when he met one of his idols, Pete Townsend, at a chance encounter when Pearl Jam was rising through the ranks in the early nineties. Now I'm paraphrasing here, but Vedder said that he didn't want to meet his "true idols" because of the fear that if they were asses to him, it would destroy the image that he had of them...I've always kept that in mind.
With a few of those incidents in my past that have tarnished the mental trophies that I keep in my mind of their greatness in mind, I do have a short mental list of people that if I were ever to encounter them, I would definitely walk the other way quickly.
Well last night, I had one of those moments last night with former NBA legend, Bernard King...And after thinking about it today, I'm glad that I didn't walk away because I took away a lot from the bump-in.
Sports Illustrated Poster Photo
'Nard became my man after I watched him run the court at West 4th in 'Fast Break' with Gabe Kaplan in 1978. When I was a kid I tried running with my chest out and on the balls of my feet so I could run like 'Nard...It didn't work too well neither with my speed, my lateral movement, nor hops, but hell...at least it's gave me a fairly good running form.
Whether hearing about the legendary "The Ernie and Bernie Show" at Tennessee, or watching 'Nard drop 50 in a half on a quiet Christmas night against the Nets, he always played the game with that sprinter off the blocks type explosiveness on the wing...He played strong with a bad-ass look as he moved around the court like a super-pogo. The man's first step was mesmerizing, and I think that's why I loved his style of play.
So, after a night of long conversation with some very nice neighborhood girls at 5 9th St. restaurant, my cousin and I hit up Joe's Pizza in the West Village. While waiting in a line with about ten people deep, who busts into the shop into the front of the line yelling out "I'm Bernard King...I'm Bernard King..." None other than #30 himself.
I always thought he was smoother than that. A definite shift in mood switched on at the the counter in the place, which had it's fair share of people that were not happy and had absolutely no idea who the hell Bernard was. So, I couldn't resist it, and I yelled out to him "Hey do you that in Atlanta too?!" (Bernard supposedly lives in Atlanta right now)
He pretended not to notice. However, when he shot me a stare, I responded back with a smile and yelled to him that the "Hustler is in the front of the line, you got to let him through."
He eyed me down, and then bursted out laughing and presented me with a dap and a hug. In my mind, I didn't know how to really react..Honestly, the moment could have gone in a number of directions, but it did turn into one of the more odd 2 minute conversations that I've had in a while.
We talked a bit about 'Fast Break', what was going on in '78, and what he's doing in Atlanta, which was very cool...His build has expanded a lot and the suit that he had on definitely has seen it's day. However, what did hit me is that he tried to boost two pizzas to go from the guy at the counter becuase he was Bernard King. The poor guys at the counter probably thought he was Leon Spinks.
Overall, I can say that the moment of meeting "The King of Brooklyn" was a medium one. Strange...yes, but it didn't end up with me getting thrown through the window either by my boyhood hero. As we watched him head down Carmine St. while avoiding the one-way traffic, we couldn't help but chuckle...
Everyone knows that Bernard has had some troubles in his past, and let's just leave it at that...He dapped me up, and hey what can you say...'Nard prancing down Carmine St. with two pizzas in hand...Remember, when you meet your heroes, you need to prepare yourself to see some things that may make you cringe a bit...I'm definitely cool with that, and let's hope that you get my drift on that one.
It was funny to watch "Hustler" do his thing...I'm glad that as I'm rising in years I can now distinguish what it really means when you say "You can take "The King" out of Brooklyn, but you can't take the Brooklyn out of "The King".
When are they going to retire Bernard King's Number at the Garden?
BD
With a few of those incidents in my past that have tarnished the mental trophies that I keep in my mind of their greatness in mind, I do have a short mental list of people that if I were ever to encounter them, I would definitely walk the other way quickly.
Well last night, I had one of those moments last night with former NBA legend, Bernard King...And after thinking about it today, I'm glad that I didn't walk away because I took away a lot from the bump-in.
Sports Illustrated Poster Photo
'Nard became my man after I watched him run the court at West 4th in 'Fast Break' with Gabe Kaplan in 1978. When I was a kid I tried running with my chest out and on the balls of my feet so I could run like 'Nard...It didn't work too well neither with my speed, my lateral movement, nor hops, but hell...at least it's gave me a fairly good running form.
Whether hearing about the legendary "The Ernie and Bernie Show" at Tennessee, or watching 'Nard drop 50 in a half on a quiet Christmas night against the Nets, he always played the game with that sprinter off the blocks type explosiveness on the wing...He played strong with a bad-ass look as he moved around the court like a super-pogo. The man's first step was mesmerizing, and I think that's why I loved his style of play.
So, after a night of long conversation with some very nice neighborhood girls at 5 9th St. restaurant, my cousin and I hit up Joe's Pizza in the West Village. While waiting in a line with about ten people deep, who busts into the shop into the front of the line yelling out "I'm Bernard King...I'm Bernard King..." None other than #30 himself.
I always thought he was smoother than that. A definite shift in mood switched on at the the counter in the place, which had it's fair share of people that were not happy and had absolutely no idea who the hell Bernard was. So, I couldn't resist it, and I yelled out to him "Hey do you that in Atlanta too?!" (Bernard supposedly lives in Atlanta right now)
He pretended not to notice. However, when he shot me a stare, I responded back with a smile and yelled to him that the "Hustler is in the front of the line, you got to let him through."
He eyed me down, and then bursted out laughing and presented me with a dap and a hug. In my mind, I didn't know how to really react..Honestly, the moment could have gone in a number of directions, but it did turn into one of the more odd 2 minute conversations that I've had in a while.
We talked a bit about 'Fast Break', what was going on in '78, and what he's doing in Atlanta, which was very cool...His build has expanded a lot and the suit that he had on definitely has seen it's day. However, what did hit me is that he tried to boost two pizzas to go from the guy at the counter becuase he was Bernard King. The poor guys at the counter probably thought he was Leon Spinks.
Overall, I can say that the moment of meeting "The King of Brooklyn" was a medium one. Strange...yes, but it didn't end up with me getting thrown through the window either by my boyhood hero. As we watched him head down Carmine St. while avoiding the one-way traffic, we couldn't help but chuckle...
Everyone knows that Bernard has had some troubles in his past, and let's just leave it at that...He dapped me up, and hey what can you say...'Nard prancing down Carmine St. with two pizzas in hand...Remember, when you meet your heroes, you need to prepare yourself to see some things that may make you cringe a bit...I'm definitely cool with that, and let's hope that you get my drift on that one.
It was funny to watch "Hustler" do his thing...I'm glad that as I'm rising in years I can now distinguish what it really means when you say "You can take "The King" out of Brooklyn, but you can't take the Brooklyn out of "The King".
When are they going to retire Bernard King's Number at the Garden?
BD
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