My Fans Are Out There

I was having dinner with a dear friend of mine on Monday night in a restaurant on Broadway when I noticed a gentleman looking at me from a nearby table. I looked at him and he reminded me of someone but I couldn't place him.

He then looked at me and said, "Were you at the Riviera?" He saw me wearing a Red Sox shirt I had on, and I said, "Oh yes, I used to hang there." I chatted with him briefly (and made mention of Professor Thom's, of course). He said he was also a Red Sox fan and was there during the Red Sox magical run in October 2004.

Then he said, "I was watching the 2004 World Series DVD the other night and I recognize you as part of the crowd in the Riv shown at the end." It really made me smile, and he explained to me that he had to watch the video, as winter was coming and he really missed baseball. Sounds familiar.

This gentleman is not the first person to recognize me from the 2004 World Series video. I've had it happen 3 or 4 times earlier, and I'm amazed that people remember me from it.

It made think of that sports bar in Japan run by a couple of Japanese Red Sox fans who continously show the 2004 World Series DVD in their place. (That place will be really hopping now that Daisuke Matsuzaka is with the Sox!) I wonder, what would happen if I walked into that bar? Would they recognize me? Would they treat me like a celebrity?

Heck, maybe they would give me a free drink. I still think it's so cool that a bar over 10,000 miles from here shows a film I am a part of.