It was kind of strange. As most of the vets here know, I used to be stationed in Colorado and would travel to Denver to watch the Warriors play if they were in town. I was able to meet a lot of the players most of the time. I got out and moved to Dallas this summer. As I was getting ready to walk into the gym I work out at I looked up to open the door for someone and it was Damp! He was wearing a Mavs shirt and I said something like... "Eric Dampier. How are you doing man? I am a huge Golden State Warriors fan. I met you up in Denver a few years ago. How are you liking it down here?" That was about the extent of it. You know how athletes in public are. For the rest of my workout I was pretty pumped up. As I was working out on the bench press he was warming up on the elyptical. I guess one of his "friends" is a regular there. I think I have seen them before. Then right when I was getting done with the bench press and moving on to my 2nd or third exercise they used the bench I was on. I dont know what kind of weight or reps he was working out with besides putting up 225 like it was pretty light and 245 for some reps. I was kind of hoping he would say something but he never did. I was even thinking about working out in my Jrich jersey that morning.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Warriorfansnc93:</div><div class="quote_post">It was kind of strange. As most of the vets here know, I used to be stationed in Colorado and would travel to Denver to watch the Warriors play if they were in town. I was able to meet a lot of the players most of the time. I got out and moved to Dallas this summer. As I was getting ready to walk into the gym I work out at I looked up to open the door for someone and it was Damp! He was wearing a Mavs shirt and I said something like... "Eric Dampier. How are you doing man? I am a huge Golden State Warriors fan. I met you up in Denver a few years ago. How are you liking it down here?" That was about the extent of it. You know how athletes in public are. For the rest of my workout I was pretty pumped up. As I was working out on the bench press he was warming up on the elyptical. I guess one of his "friends" is a regular there. I think I have seen them before. Then right when I was getting done with the bench press and moving on to my 2nd or third exercise they used the bench I was on. I dont know what kind of weight or reps he was working out with besides putting up 225 like it was pretty light and 245 for some reps. I was kind of hoping he would say something but he never did. I was even thinking about working out in my Jrich jersey that morning. </div> Boy that must be awkward telling him you are a Warriors fan since he left on a bad note. So he didn't say a word? Yeah, I'd imagine it'd be tough to say hello back when everybody knows who he is and everyone's getting all excited like, "Are you Erick Dampier!!??? Holy crap!" right out of nowhere. If I were rich and semi-famous I'd watch out for obsessed fans or people wanting to blackmail me for money. For some fans, sports teams are all they got going for them so they could be disturbed, so that's probably why some athletes aren't very approachable. So whether or not someone is normal or obsessed, they'll still act cautious and try to avoid getting into too much conversation. I'd imagine Dampier is pretty strong. The guy guards Shaq pretty well, I think that's why Shaq is always taunting him saying he's soft. He's trying to get into his head.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting custodianrules2:</div><div class="quote_post">Boy that must be awkward telling him you are a Warriors fan since he left on a bad note. So he didn't say a word? Yeah, I'd imagine it'd be tough to say hello back when everybody knows who he is and everyone's getting all excited like, "Are you Erick Dampier!!??? Holy crap!" right out of nowhere. If I were rich and semi-famous I'd watch out for obsessed fans or people wanting to blackmail me for money. For some fans, sports teams are all they got going for them so they could be disturbed, so that's probably why some athletes aren't very approachable. So whether or not someone is normal or obsessed, they'll still act cautious and try to avoid getting into too much conversation. I'd imagine Dampier is pretty strong. The guy guards Shaq pretty well, I think that's why Shaq is always taunting him saying he's soft. He's trying to get into his head.</div> Yeah, but I told him as we were walking away he was still one of my favorite players. He said a few words, but he was real quiet. You know how it is. I did not want to bother the guy, I just wanted to let him know I admired him in certain ways. Thats it. Damp was in great shape as he always has been. When he did his bench press though, he used a pretty narrow grip for his size. It was like he was awkward...
I think it's awesome that you showed him some respect and just gave him some quick props without trying to hold him up or bust out the autograph book. Hope you're liking Dallas, get ready for a bizarre winter. Some days there will be like a 25 degree shift within hours. Also, even though you aren't specifically a Mavs fan, there's a scrimmage at the American Airlines Center on the 9th. It's free and a nice way to get your NBA fix before the season starts. Check out: NBA.com/Mavericks
"Hey! It's Erick Dampier! Wow you're like my favorite basketball player! Can I have your phone number? Maybe we can hang out? How about one of your sweatbands? Wow, I'm so glad I followed you here! By the way how is your wife and kids? I saw pictures of them inside your house, they are very nice!" creeeeeepy I'm just joking around. I recently saw that movie with Robin Williams where he plays this photo developer clerk that's all like that. Wow, talk about convincing.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Culperfect:</div><div class="quote_post">I think it's awesome that you showed him some respect and just gave him some quick props without trying to hold him up or bust out the autograph book. Hope you're liking Dallas, get ready for a bizarre winter. Some days there will be like a 25 degree shift within hours. Also, even though you aren't specifically a Mavs fan, there's a scrimmage at the American Airlines Center on the 9th. It's free and a nice way to get your NBA fix before the season starts. Check out: NBA.com/Mavericks</div> Dallas is alright. It was very intimidating at first because of it being a huge city. I live in Carrollton, so I just kind of stick to my own area and do not venture too far out of it. I have only been here for about 2 months now. I moved here to go to Parker chiropractic college. Let me know if you wanna meet up sometime at a sports bar to catch a game this season. Are you a Warriors or Mavs fan?
<font color="navy">Should have gone to Life Chiropractic College in Hayward... could have been close to the Warriors and far away from Texas.</font> <font color="#000080"></font> <font color="#000080">Oh and... it's fun to see the Dallas fans down on Dampier. We tried to tell them that he only plays hard in contract years... they wouldn't listen.</font>
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Warriors Redux:</div><div class="quote_post"><font color="navy">Should have gone to Life Chiropractic College in Hayward... could have been close to the Warriors and far away from Texas.</font> <font color="#000080"></font> <font color="#000080">Oh and... it's fun to see the Dallas fans down on Dampier. We tried to tell them that he only plays hard in contract years... they wouldn't listen.</font></div> That is where my dad graduated from. I could not go back to CA for a few different reasons, but #1 was because I told my wife we would move back to OK and near her family. This was the closest we could be to her family.
