Eric's blog - My brushes with greatness

In the spirit of Woody’s James Best story, here are some (totally true) stories of my own encounters with famous people. And quasi-famous people:

1.  I was at the Great Canadian Cabin downtown for a waterpolo party, and the Flyers were in town playing the Senators. I met Eric Lindros in the bathroom of the Cabin. He looked disgusted at the floors, and asked me ‘are they always this gross?’ I said ‘yep. Always.’ I peed and left.

2.  Another hockey player in another bathroom. Walking home late one night, I stopped into the bathroom of a pub on Bank Street. I don’t remember the name, it’s now gone. Rob Ray was in there peeing. A bunch of bar patrons were trying to get him to fight someone, anyone – when I walked in the drunks saw me and said ‘hey, that guy’s pretty big – you should fight him!’ Rob Ray turned his head, looked at me, and said ‘no’. I peed and left.

3.  I was at Canadian Music Week in Toronto, and a fellow radio guy came up to me and said ‘hey, remember the band Default? Didja like ’em?’ I said ‘I think they are probably on my list of the ten worst bands…ever. At least the ten worst of the last decade.’ Then he introduced me to the guy who was with him by saying ‘uh…okay…well anyway, I wanted to introduce you to uh…this is…um, Dallas Smith…he was uh…the lead singer of Default’.

4.  Brian McGrattan once walked past me at a little deli in Kanata. He looked at me and said ‘hey man, I like your show’. I said ‘thanks man, I like your fights’. He kept walking, and I kept eating with my very confused mom.

5.  I was hosting a meet-and-greet for Randy Bachman at the Civic Centre, and my girlfriend picked up a coffee from the catering table and drank it. Randy Bachman walked up and said ‘hey, that’s my coffee’. It had the letters RB on it. My girlfriend thought that meant ‘roast black’ or something.

6.  I got credentials to be on the red carpet at the premiere event of Blade Trinity in Toronto. I was the only one standing there in a T-shirt, mostly because I had no idea I was going there. Ryan Reynolds saw me and said ‘nice shirt’, but didn’t stop to talk. Jessica Biel stopped to talk, but then got distracted and left without saying a word.

7.  I met Ken Evraire in a changeroom at Carleton university when I was there training for my high school rowing team. He was a star with Hamilton at the time. I said ‘wow, you’re Ken Evraire!’ He said ‘I sure am’. I met him doing the Rogers TV Daytime show last year and told him that story. He said he didn’t remember that meeting at all. I believed him.

8.  I went to the airport to pick up my cousin and I had to go to some special room I didn’t even know was there. He was with Adrienne Clarkson & John Ralston Saul. I went to sit on a chair and Adrienne Clarkson said ‘I don’t think you should sit there, that chair is an antique. For decoration only.’

It’s been an exciting life, folks!