Hey! My Sharpie!!

Last Wednesday, Lance Armstrong came to town for the grand opening of a new 24 Hour Fitness Sport facility at Lowry – one of their marquee locations bearing his name. These particular facilities are top notch and if you ever set foot inside one, it is a veritable shrine to the man himself. Yellow is the dominant color scheme and huge images of him hang everywhere. Powerful Lance Armstrong quotes adorn the walls and inspire greatness, or at the very least one more set of squats, 5 more minutes on the spin bike, one bench press more than before.

As a member of the Lance Armstrong Foundation’s Peloton Project (the grassroots fundraising element of the LAF), I do my best to attend events whenever Lance is in town. I almost feel as if it is my duty. He doesn’t know me, and I have never met him, but still it is a great day whenever I am able to see him in person. Although I have seen him speak on several occasions, I’ve never really tried very hard to get his autograph – just some snapshots with my digital camera and a handful of cool shots with my 35mm and a zoom lens. I always thought that if I avoided the mad rush for an autograph, then maybe it would allow just one more person who was fighting cancer or who was a cancer survivor to get that much closer to the man who had helped them get through their ordeal.

But Wednesday, a golden opportunity was placed in my lap. A door opened, literally, that enabled me to obtain my personal holy grail – the autograph. After watching Lance’s question-answer session inside the facility it occurred to me that it was doubtful he’d be hanging around chatting at length with the staff. Maybe a visit to the restroom, grab a bottle of water, and off he’d go. So I went outside and spied his stealthy black vehicle at the end of a walkway which had been cordoned off with white plastic chain. As my eyes followed the train of people lined up for a brush with greatness, I saw it: the exit door. Somehow, as if the spot had been reserved for me, I stepped right up to the little square of real estate next to the door. If Lance came out and looked to his right, I would be the first person he saw.

There I stood with Lance’s second book Every Second Counts (a highly recommended read, I might add) opened to a page imprinted with a photo of him and his son. My Sharpie was uncapped, ready to go in the event this might be my lucky day. Suddenly, I looked up and some enormous humans emerged through the door – his security force. That meant Lance was next. Out he came into the blinding Colorado afternoon sun wearing some swell mirrored sunglasses that looked like they had been borrowed from Eric Estrada’s “CHiPs” wardrobe collection. He paused momentarily right in front of me, looked down at my opened book, took my Sharpie into his seven-time-Tour-de-France-winning hand, and scrawled his autograph. Then, he proceeded down the line with my Sharpie signing other items as he made his way into the getaway car. I have never been so thrilled to lose a pen.

So there it was. The autograph – sought by many, obtained by relatively few. I stood there, stunned for a moment, completely unable to react; a 40-year-old man suddenly all jittery-kneed and bubbly like a 7th grade girl who was just asked on her first date. Had I been able to speak, my voice almost certainly would have been all warbly and falsetto. I called everyone I could think of with the giddy energy of a new father because in my mind, this event placed right behind my wedding and the births of my children. This was my autographed John Elway football.

Now, some of my friends think I need help. They are searching for a 12 Step program for those who are pushing the boundaries past being a fan, leaning toward over-zealous. Ok, so maybe I was a little more excited than I should have been. Maybe it’s not “cool” for a man of 40 (I feel 28, mind you) to even have a hero. Maybe I am cheesy to shamelessly look like a “me too” member of the Lance bandwagon.

But really – is it so bad to have, as one of my inspirations, someone who has survived cancer and won the most grueling sporting event in the world seven consecutive times? The fact is, this man helps people and in my book that’s someone we should all stand behind.

Now… if I can just get a photo with him…