"Touch Down Raiders"
"Touch down Raiders" was the cry shouted from the back of the plane when our flight touched down at 5:30pm in Akron, Ohio. A soft round of respectful applause broke out upon our landing and people rose to gather their belongings.
A suprise greeted us next: Somehow John Madden dodged security and made it out to the plane to personally welcome our flight into the Buckeye State.
"This is the first time I've been on a plane since 1979," Madden deckared as he welcomed our merry band of revelers to the Hall of Fame celebrations.
I would like to say the flight was uneventful, but that is not true. I spilled an entire 16 ounce coffee on DH and I before we ever left the ground in Oakland. Nothing like spending 4+ hours in pants soaked in coffee. I dressed wisely for such an occasion, my pants were kind of a gray color made from fast dry fabric--I am a Mom, after all. DH didn't fair so well. At least the hotel has laundry service.
At the airport we also had our first experience with something I have never seen before: Autograph Coyotes. These are grown men who carry around a variety of memorbilia hoping to get someone, any one, associated with pro-football to sign their objects. It was sort of amazing. These guys materialized by the dozens from the mecca of the Akron airport and mobbed former Raider great Jim Otto by baggage claim. I decided they must just be living at the airport with the assumption that this is the only way into town.
Once Otto started signing autographs, he was ringed 3 deep by the hounds. And it wasn't like they were little kids after a hero's signature. These guys had a greedy gleam in their eye that gave me the creeps. After a few minutes, security scattered the scavengers and they resumed their vigil by fading back into the walls, probably waiting for the next Hall of Famer to get off a flight and try to collect his luggage. I have a feeling we will be seeing a lot of these types over the next few days.
Since festivities start in earnest tomorrow night with a welcome dinner, we are heading to Cleveland tomorrow for a visit to the other local Hall of Fame: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I will give a full report of the day and dinner tomorrow night.
A suprise greeted us next: Somehow John Madden dodged security and made it out to the plane to personally welcome our flight into the Buckeye State.
"This is the first time I've been on a plane since 1979," Madden deckared as he welcomed our merry band of revelers to the Hall of Fame celebrations.
I would like to say the flight was uneventful, but that is not true. I spilled an entire 16 ounce coffee on DH and I before we ever left the ground in Oakland. Nothing like spending 4+ hours in pants soaked in coffee. I dressed wisely for such an occasion, my pants were kind of a gray color made from fast dry fabric--I am a Mom, after all. DH didn't fair so well. At least the hotel has laundry service.
At the airport we also had our first experience with something I have never seen before: Autograph Coyotes. These are grown men who carry around a variety of memorbilia hoping to get someone, any one, associated with pro-football to sign their objects. It was sort of amazing. These guys materialized by the dozens from the mecca of the Akron airport and mobbed former Raider great Jim Otto by baggage claim. I decided they must just be living at the airport with the assumption that this is the only way into town.
Once Otto started signing autographs, he was ringed 3 deep by the hounds. And it wasn't like they were little kids after a hero's signature. These guys had a greedy gleam in their eye that gave me the creeps. After a few minutes, security scattered the scavengers and they resumed their vigil by fading back into the walls, probably waiting for the next Hall of Famer to get off a flight and try to collect his luggage. I have a feeling we will be seeing a lot of these types over the next few days.
Since festivities start in earnest tomorrow night with a welcome dinner, we are heading to Cleveland tomorrow for a visit to the other local Hall of Fame: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I will give a full report of the day and dinner tomorrow night.
posted by One Lucky Mom @ 6:51 PM
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