The other day I got to meet Willie Mitchell and Slava Voynov, both defensemen for the Los Angeles Kings. It was a blast. They were signing autographs at the Staples store in Burbank, about a 20 minute drive for me. (For those of you who don’t know, the Kings play in the Staples Center. The Kings aren’t just choosing an office supply store as the ideal place to sign autographs.)

The balloons indicate the signing area

I can imagine how strange we all looked to the regular shoppers.

It was fun to meet other fans and wallow in our geekiness. It’s almost like having a secret identity and being allowed to shed the disguise for a couple of hours. In “private”, I am a rabid LA Kings fan who owns a card containing a swatch from a Justin William’s game-worn jersey. It is encased in plastic. It is a source of both pride and embarrassment. But at a fan event like the autograph session, I am among my peers. It is refreshing and exciting.

The rules of this signing: we could have one signature per player, we could take a photograph but would have to stay in front of the table.

Bummer. My son, who accompanied me, put his longboard and hat back in the car so that I could get my jersey signed by Slava and Willie. I love that boy so much. He knew how important it was to me to have the advent calendar I’d made signed by players.

I got really nervous as the line moved forward after an hour of waiting. The Ice Crew girls liked my  calendar. Slava signed first. I said hi. He said hi. That was the extent of our conversation. Maybe I should have learned a Russian greeting for the occasion. Good idea for next time.