Post by King Bálor (CM)™ on Jul 25, 2014 23:30:42 GMT -5
Do you smell what The Rock is cookn?! I sure did. Meeting the Rock is just a pure epic encounter. He has an infectious personality that just makes you feel like everything is just awesome in the world. Even when he is riddled with exhaustion, running late and stuck in traffic….he would take the time to sign autographs and take pictures because the man cares. He’s genuine. He gets it. And the man is sharp as a whip!
The adventure begins at 2:30am on July 22. I had awaken at noon on July 21 and never went back to bed. Instead, I stayed up through the night in order to make sure there was no over sleeping. Our first stop in the city was requiring a very early start. So in a VERY rare occasion, I was running early and DJ was running on time. We were off and got into the city. Our first stop was ruined by some boy band I never heard of. Thousands of teeny bopper girls were surrounding the streets and caused for a complete cluster . We in turn, decided to hit spot 2 super early. It turns out we werent the only ones. When we arrived, we found about 10 others already there. The crowd would only grow over the next few hours and it finished around nearly 50 or so. They setup 2 barricades and I was able to get a great front row spot at the 2nd barricade setup. There were about 10 teenage girls who didnt even know who was going to be there and were just hanging out. They would be none to please with the chaos that would later ensue.
The witching hour arrived and Rock was running a good bit behind. Yet the man still found the time to come out and sign autographs. He didnt sign for all and only took one picture, but he was still doing the best he could. One person put their 8×10 over my program, which Rock promptly pushed away in order to sign my program and remarking to me it was good to see me again. He dropped the Sharpie in my program and headed inside. The girls behind me only wanted a picture and were unable to secure it because of how far back they were. They attempted to complain to security, asking to remove those who already got something so they could get closer. Security laughed it off. :huh: I get it. I get why you were disappointed. I get why you are upset over the pushing, shoving and chaos. But this is how the game is played. I wish it wasnt. I wish it was more organized. But its not and never will be. If this was someone who I didnt really care about or someone I had nothing for, no sweat. If Rock signed all 18 items I brought with me and took a pic with me…..no sweat. But that aint happening and you aint gettn to the front. You didnt even know who you were waiting for. AND you kept saying you wanted to call him “daddy” when you found out who was coming.
On the way out, we had high hopes, but Rock wasnt stopping. I saw the light was red from where he was pulling onto and figured he might roll the window down, so I escaped out and went that way. But then his SUV door opened and he came out. There were some small kids waiting for him and he wanted to stop for them. Unfortunately, the ebay dealers ruined THAT by sticking 8x10s all over him, even after his PR team said he was just doing pics for the kids. Hiram grabbed Rock and got him back in the SUV and they were gone.
We headed to spot 3 on the list. Once again, we would be arriving extremely early. We didnt want to chance it with the previous scene. So we hit the spot and were one of the first few to arrive. This crowd would fluctuate. Some people actually gave up and left. Some people wandered off the street when they realized who was coming. And some people just came to this spot. This was a VERY long wait. Even when we thought he was coming…he didnt. He ran late here too. But it was all worth it in the end.
Once he arrived, madness really ensued. No barricades at this spot. Ever the pimp he is, Rock went to the opposite side of the crowd, where an attractive brunette was. The crowd stayed on the one side, as we were instructed to be on this side by security. This girl had arrived a mere 5 mins earlier and didnt seem like she was there to meet The Rock. Once Rock went to the opposite side, whatever order there was turned to complete and total chaos. Nothing security could do. These two goofs were over powered and practically trampled upon. A crowd of about 35 people, most of which were made up passerbys, surrounded The Rock. Anyone who has met Rock before knows, surrounding him is a bad idea. So while the buzzards circled about, I quickly B lined it to get in front of him. He stopped and said, lets do it….I know you came from a great distance. As I went to snap my selfie, the lousy touch screen was brushed up against and the pic snapped was AWFUL! I knew it right away and asked Rock for a retake and he happily did it. This time…perfection. While I was taking my selfie, DJ had the bright idea to stand at the door. That way Rock HAD to come to him. Right he was. Rock went right past me and found DJ guarding the door. DJ got his WWE turnbuckle signed and he was out of the mess as well.
Once Rock was inside, security was PISSED! They immediately started setting up barricades in order to stop the chaos, that would only contain some of the mess for a brief amount of time. Once Rock was on his way out…..IT WAS ON AGAIN! He came over to the barricade and spent a good bit of time signing and taking photos. I scored one more autograph from him right before the REAL chaos took place, as the guard rails were broken down and people were climbing all over him again. Rock stood strong, even pulling some kids and women from the barricades to come over for a picture. These were people in the back that couldnt otherwise get to him. Classy move.
We had 1 last Rock spot to hit, but before that we needed to score a few of DJ’s wants. So we headed to that spot and there wasnt many people there. More people would arrive later on, but this place looked like a ghost town. Ricky Gervais was first. Nice guy. Signed and took photos. Refused to sign a blank from someone though. I got a pic with him. Second was Taylor Schilling from Orange Is The New Black. DJ had heard bad things about her. She seemed pretty nice. She signed and took photos. I got a photo with her, which turned out looking like my head was resting on her shoulder.
We got what we needed and headed for our last spot and last Rock chance. This crowd would be our smallest to deal with, made up mostly of tourists….guessing around 20 people. Rock’s SUV finally came out, but this time it didnt stop! In fact, it came firing out of this garage and onto the street. Normally this street is backed up and the light doesnt stay green long. Unfortunately for us, not this time. He hit the green and was able to get out of dodge long before anyone could catch up to him. Later we would find out he was running late for a special premiere he was having in Harlem with under privleged kids.
Our day was over. Not epic, but damn near close. AND we got to leave the city at a decent time, which means we got home at a decent time. No 3 am arrivals at home or almost falling asleep behind the wheel. We made great time heading home and basked in the glory of another amazing New York trip. Cant wait to see The Rock again. Will I ever get enough? Doubtful.
The adventure begins at 2:30am on July 22. I had awaken at noon on July 21 and never went back to bed. Instead, I stayed up through the night in order to make sure there was no over sleeping. Our first stop in the city was requiring a very early start. So in a VERY rare occasion, I was running early and DJ was running on time. We were off and got into the city. Our first stop was ruined by some boy band I never heard of. Thousands of teeny bopper girls were surrounding the streets and caused for a complete cluster . We in turn, decided to hit spot 2 super early. It turns out we werent the only ones. When we arrived, we found about 10 others already there. The crowd would only grow over the next few hours and it finished around nearly 50 or so. They setup 2 barricades and I was able to get a great front row spot at the 2nd barricade setup. There were about 10 teenage girls who didnt even know who was going to be there and were just hanging out. They would be none to please with the chaos that would later ensue.
The witching hour arrived and Rock was running a good bit behind. Yet the man still found the time to come out and sign autographs. He didnt sign for all and only took one picture, but he was still doing the best he could. One person put their 8×10 over my program, which Rock promptly pushed away in order to sign my program and remarking to me it was good to see me again. He dropped the Sharpie in my program and headed inside. The girls behind me only wanted a picture and were unable to secure it because of how far back they were. They attempted to complain to security, asking to remove those who already got something so they could get closer. Security laughed it off. :huh: I get it. I get why you were disappointed. I get why you are upset over the pushing, shoving and chaos. But this is how the game is played. I wish it wasnt. I wish it was more organized. But its not and never will be. If this was someone who I didnt really care about or someone I had nothing for, no sweat. If Rock signed all 18 items I brought with me and took a pic with me…..no sweat. But that aint happening and you aint gettn to the front. You didnt even know who you were waiting for. AND you kept saying you wanted to call him “daddy” when you found out who was coming.
On the way out, we had high hopes, but Rock wasnt stopping. I saw the light was red from where he was pulling onto and figured he might roll the window down, so I escaped out and went that way. But then his SUV door opened and he came out. There were some small kids waiting for him and he wanted to stop for them. Unfortunately, the ebay dealers ruined THAT by sticking 8x10s all over him, even after his PR team said he was just doing pics for the kids. Hiram grabbed Rock and got him back in the SUV and they were gone.
We headed to spot 3 on the list. Once again, we would be arriving extremely early. We didnt want to chance it with the previous scene. So we hit the spot and were one of the first few to arrive. This crowd would fluctuate. Some people actually gave up and left. Some people wandered off the street when they realized who was coming. And some people just came to this spot. This was a VERY long wait. Even when we thought he was coming…he didnt. He ran late here too. But it was all worth it in the end.
Once he arrived, madness really ensued. No barricades at this spot. Ever the pimp he is, Rock went to the opposite side of the crowd, where an attractive brunette was. The crowd stayed on the one side, as we were instructed to be on this side by security. This girl had arrived a mere 5 mins earlier and didnt seem like she was there to meet The Rock. Once Rock went to the opposite side, whatever order there was turned to complete and total chaos. Nothing security could do. These two goofs were over powered and practically trampled upon. A crowd of about 35 people, most of which were made up passerbys, surrounded The Rock. Anyone who has met Rock before knows, surrounding him is a bad idea. So while the buzzards circled about, I quickly B lined it to get in front of him. He stopped and said, lets do it….I know you came from a great distance. As I went to snap my selfie, the lousy touch screen was brushed up against and the pic snapped was AWFUL! I knew it right away and asked Rock for a retake and he happily did it. This time…perfection. While I was taking my selfie, DJ had the bright idea to stand at the door. That way Rock HAD to come to him. Right he was. Rock went right past me and found DJ guarding the door. DJ got his WWE turnbuckle signed and he was out of the mess as well.
Once Rock was inside, security was PISSED! They immediately started setting up barricades in order to stop the chaos, that would only contain some of the mess for a brief amount of time. Once Rock was on his way out…..IT WAS ON AGAIN! He came over to the barricade and spent a good bit of time signing and taking photos. I scored one more autograph from him right before the REAL chaos took place, as the guard rails were broken down and people were climbing all over him again. Rock stood strong, even pulling some kids and women from the barricades to come over for a picture. These were people in the back that couldnt otherwise get to him. Classy move.
We had 1 last Rock spot to hit, but before that we needed to score a few of DJ’s wants. So we headed to that spot and there wasnt many people there. More people would arrive later on, but this place looked like a ghost town. Ricky Gervais was first. Nice guy. Signed and took photos. Refused to sign a blank from someone though. I got a pic with him. Second was Taylor Schilling from Orange Is The New Black. DJ had heard bad things about her. She seemed pretty nice. She signed and took photos. I got a photo with her, which turned out looking like my head was resting on her shoulder.
We got what we needed and headed for our last spot and last Rock chance. This crowd would be our smallest to deal with, made up mostly of tourists….guessing around 20 people. Rock’s SUV finally came out, but this time it didnt stop! In fact, it came firing out of this garage and onto the street. Normally this street is backed up and the light doesnt stay green long. Unfortunately for us, not this time. He hit the green and was able to get out of dodge long before anyone could catch up to him. Later we would find out he was running late for a special premiere he was having in Harlem with under privleged kids.
Our day was over. Not epic, but damn near close. AND we got to leave the city at a decent time, which means we got home at a decent time. No 3 am arrivals at home or almost falling asleep behind the wheel. We made great time heading home and basked in the glory of another amazing New York trip. Cant wait to see The Rock again. Will I ever get enough? Doubtful.