They say "Never meet your heroes" - and then there is Josh Allen...

[JakeFrommStateFarm]

2 hours ago, 0017 said:

Nicely said!! We don’t live far away from Tahoe, and Wednesday was our first time going, it is now going to be a yearly thing for us, unbelievable how awesome the Allen family is!! Seems like a good place to share a few pics from our experience. 

Great photos !!!

[stevewin]

6 hours ago, Alphadawg7 said:

This is going to be a long post about an incredible experience for anyone who wants to read it - if you don't want to read the bulk of it you can skip to the most important part - look for the bolded header below.

 

Quick back story - Lake Tahoe is a special place to me and my wife, we both spent a lot of time up there when we each were growing up.  Now we are blessed to live about 90 min from there, and my mother-in-law recently bought a house in Truckee (about 20 min from the Lake) where we will be spending lots of time with our 2 boys throughout the years to where they get to grow up with it also being a special place for them.  

 

My wife surprised me for my bday (which is actually today) with tickets to the practice rounds on Wed and Thursday to the ACC Golf Tournament, something I have never attended before, and just so we can try and see and meet Josh.  She is a die hard Niner fan and even with some of her favorite Niners there too like Kittle, she made this all about Josh - shout out to my amazing wife.  I moved to Southern California in 1997, so I had not gotten to spend too much time in Tahoe after that and never been to the ACC, nor did I even realize how big of a deal it was in South Lake Tahoe.  I spent most of my time in west Lake Tahoe around Tahoe City and Truckee growing up, so it was a treat to spend time in an area only been a couple times in passing.  

 

NOTE:  We will be making this an annual event for us and cant wait to bring our boys who were too young this trip with my oldest just turning 2 and my other son 9 months.  I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend this event to anyone who has thought about going.  Players are so accessible, event is so much fun, and its on the Lake.  

 

The ACC Golf Tournaments - Josh's tee time was 1pm on hole 16 - his group showed, but no Josh.  Great group of 4 guys telling the fans there to see Josh he was late (his flight was delayed and landed late), but is still coming, so to follow their group if they want to see him as he was going to join the group once he got there on whatever hole they were on.  Steph Curry was the group behind them, also not there on his tee time, but due to arrive as well.  So we used this time to go check out Austin Reeves (I am also a Lakers fan) in the group in front of Josh's and lag back and watch Steph arrive and follow him a couple holes before catching back up with Josh's group a few holes later expecting Josh to arrive soon.  

 

I spent a lot of time approaching any Bills fan I saw on holes who were not there to get the info telling them they will never see him if they stay on that hole, to follow the group that just passed if they want to see him.  It felt good as a Bills fan to share the news and excitement, especially for kids, but it was also just so much fun meeting so many fellow Bills Mafia too.  Makes me wonder if I met anyone from here without knowing it lol.  

 

It was on hole 2 where I got to meet Josh's mom, who was following the group with Josh's clubs and stuff.  My wife and I talked to her for probably 10 min, and my wife and her mom'd out talking about raising Josh, us raising 2 boys, etc.  Listening to his mom talk about him, raising him, the adversity he went through, saying god always had a hand on him through all the struggles to get seen and taken seriously was incredible.  She oozes class, warmth, love, pride, humility, and just kindness.  We had a great couple of conversations with her.  

 

Then as my wife and I are walking from the tee to the green after Josh's group tee'd off and were half way down the fairway, my wife says look out, there is a car coming - ITS JOSH - and we don't realize until he is passing the two of us where we shouted out GO BILLS and he yelled back GO BILLS as he passed us with Sam Darnold.  Kids start racing up the incline to the green, kids who had been trickling around following the group who were lucky enough to know.  

 

The best part about the practice rounds is that it isn't crowded, makes a more intimate feel for everything, like you are watching your buddies play.  Josh took the time to acknowledge all the kids, even sign things even though he kept telling everyone he will sign after the round as he had to keep the round moving, especially since they were a large group.  Other people we saw were not like this, they were not giving much time to the fans or kids, even in a practice round.  Josh was different, and it was majorly apparent just how different he is as a person and his full awareness of just how important he is to the kids there to see him.  

 

First green, hole he joined mid way, he was chipping maybe 2 feet in front of me, thats how close you could get in such a causal setting.  Got a great video of it.  He kept making time for kids in between, telling adults who were IMO inappropriately trying to get Josh's attention to sign their stuff "Just the kids right now guys".  There were some adults inappropriately IMO trying to get in with the kids to get stuff signed even though Josh kept saying just the kids right now because he really didn't have a lot of time to do much with the pace, so he wanted to use that for the kids, and rightfully so.  

 

Funny story - his mom and one of the guys from the original 4 some who I had spoken to a lot were driving up to the next hole and she hit me in the arm with her golf cart (at a slow pace, it was funny, nothing other than that).  When we got to the next hole I told her "Well we should probably exchange information now and have my people call your people and get this worked out" and we had a big laugh about it.  So next few holes anytime she passed me in the cart she would swerve at me like she was gonna finish the job as we kept laughing about it - again, his mom is awesome.  

 

My personal best moment with Josh came when he passed by me walking to another hole and I just congratulated him on his marriage and he gave me a fist bump.  My wife got in on camera on her iphone, it was awesome (also congratulated Sam Darnold on his season and new contract and also got a fist bump from him).  My instagram stories post was a shot with Josh reaching out for the first bump and a shot below of it of us fist bumping and in between was my caption that said:

• "I went to the ACC Golf Tourney and all I got was fisted by a GOAT"

 

WHY JOSH IS DIFFERENT AND A MVP IN LIFE

 

After hole 9, there was no break as they didn't start on 1 remember, so they had to get rushed over by golf cart to the 10th tee.  Josh and Darnold were walking the course, so they brought a golf cart with a back seat that faces out the back to shuttle them with the rest of the group quickly over to 10.  As they were driving right in front of us the most incredible moment happened that says EVERYTHING you need to know about Josh.  

 

They were passing someone in Bills gear standing by themselves with the person they were there with.  Josh yelled to the golf cart driver STOPPPPP as they passed him recognizing this person was a special needs person with Down Syndrome.  Josh jumped out of the cart and went over to him and gave him a huge hug, signed his stuff and took pictures with him.  I want you to realize that the person did NOT ask him to stop, the cart Josh was in was just driving down this path and Josh saw him and immediately demanded they stop and let him out so he could go to this person.  It was one of the most impressive and touching moments I have seen in person from someone of his stature.  

 

For comparison sake - Aaron Rodgers in a recent year refused to sign a kids stuff or take any pics with him who was there to see him wearing his jersey and told him "I am too hot right now, I need to stay locked in" in terms of the tournament - a celebrity tournament these guys play for fun mind you.

 

We were walking at this point just behind where they stopped, as we walked by this person who was so blessed to have Josh stop, someone was talking to him about how cool that must be and he said "Yeah, we are like best buds now" and it was one of the sweetest things and my wife was tearing up just amazed at who he is.  Mind you, he showed a ton of fun, class, humility, etc the whole time, this moment was just different.  In a rush, rest of his group already ahead of him, he still demanded them to stop to take the time and make an unforgettable special moment for this person.  And we felt blessed to have a front row seat to just witness it.  

 

They say never meet your heroes - they will just let you down.  And while this is true in many cases - JOSH BREAKS THE MOLD.  He is an MVP in life, he does the little things, important things, untold things...things when there are no cameras to capture it...things that are bigger than anything he has done or will do on a sports field.  

And on top of that - I can proudly and legitimately state "My wife got me fisted by Josh Allen" - Best. Wife. Ever.

 

 

 

Awesome story - and Happy Birthday!

 

Your comments about his Mom made me think of my son meeting his family at TC one year.   My Dad, son and I were sitting in the VIP section of the bleachers at TC (when there used to be such a thing) and we noticed that some members of Josh's family were sitting a few rows down - his Mom, Dad, sister, grandmother (not Patricia, the other one), and Britt.  We had brought the pic in my avatar, which was from a previous TC Josh's rookie year (my Dad and son in photo) hoping to get near him again and see if he would sign it (we tried to play the old man card later - propping my Dad up by the fence waving the pic - or rather more accurately, stoically holding it aloft like an 85 yr old Lloyd Dobler - but alas Josh did only sign for kids that day, and not old men)

 

As a joke I told my son he should go down and get Josh's family to sign the picture, not thinking he would do it - but sure enough my son popped up and went right down and struck up a conversation with them about the picture, and how we were going to try to get Josh to sign it later - maybe they all could too?  Instead of acting put off by this kid coming out of nowhere with this goofy request - they all just good-naturedly went along with.  Especially his Mom and Dad struck up a conversation with him for a few minutes, talking and joking with him.  I came away with such a good impression of his family from that brief encounter - just seemed like such genuine, good, down to earth people.

 

Below is a pic of them on the field after practice that day with Josh - and their sigs on the back of the pic

 

 

Edited July 11 by stevewin

[Alphadawg7]

1 hour ago, SF Bills Fan said:

I met him at the same tournament when it was year two with the Bills. I saw him in the casino and on the course. I had a hunch as to where he would be and timed it right and ran right into him. When he got done playing he made a bee line right over to me since I was wearing a Bills hat. At the time he was far from the MVP of today and while recognized, he was not swarmed.  He was the nicest guy and took time to chat. you could tell he was different than most celebs and players. I remember joking and asking if he had 30 TDs in his arm for the coming year and he said "No- I got 35" and I could tell he meant it. Anyway, that next year I think he had 37. He really is a great person.

 

If you have young kids and they want to meet Josh Allen, that is the place to do it. You are mere feet away from tons of celebs throughout the day. Some are more much more fun and interactive and approachable with the fan than others. Some approach you. Sean Payton saw me drinking a beer and walked up and asked if I had another for him, which of course I did. I talked with Al Michaels while he paused on the course while the group ahead finished. It's that kind of atmosphere. 

 

Awesome story and spot on, its an incredible event to meet people like Josh.  Its loaded with celebrities, athletes (past and present), etc who all are all regulars annually and they genuinely love the event which is cool.  All kinds of podcasts were going on the past few weeks where they would mention "Tahoe" and its this tourney they are all talking about.  And they ALL want to win it which is cool.

 

Alphonso Ribeira (Carlton from Fresh Prince) was in the casino floor bar singing with the house band for at least an hour I saw with big crowds around him.  Funny thing is Alphonso got pissed at me like 20 years ago while we were playing Pinball at a friends house when I asked him about the train on "Silver Spoons".  He was mad I would even mention Silver Spoons, and I was like dude it started your career you should be happy anyone even remembers you were on the show lol.  That aside, he was rocking the casino bar and told some funny stories in between songs too about the tourney and stuff.

[stevewin]

8 minutes ago, Alphadawg7 said:

 

Awesome story and spot on, its an incredible event to meet people like Josh.  Its loaded with celebrities, athletes (past and present), etc who all are all regulars annually and they genuinely love the event which is cool.  All kinds of podcasts were going on the past few weeks where they would mention "Tahoe" and its this tourney they are all talking about.  And they ALL want to win it which is cool.

 

Alphonso Ribeira (Carlton from Fresh Prince) was in the casino floor bar singing with the house band for at least an hour I saw with big crowds around him.  Funny thing is Alphonso got pissed at me like 20 years ago while we were playing Pinball at a friends house when I asked him about the train on "Silver Spoons".  He was mad I would even mention Silver Spoons, and I was like dude it started your career you should be happy anyone even remembers you were on the show lol.  That aside, he was rocking the casino bar and told some funny stories in between songs too about the tourney and stuff.

The random "20 yrs ago I was playing pinball with Carlton from Fresh Prince and he got mad I mentioned Silver Spoons" story might rival the Josh story 😛

[HappyDays]

Thank you for sharing this Alpha. Made my day.

[PonyBoy]

Early 90's I was a young man & met Jo Jo White, G for the Celtics. Just me and him at a blastoff charity tournament practicing alone on a court.

 

I didn't like the Celtics, but loved what I thought was his seemingly endless jumpers from the corner, which I practiced as a kid because of him.

 

I shared this story with him, I was part of this charity event as a leader. For lack of a better word, he was a D bag to me. 

 

He wasn't my hero, but soured my memories for sure. 

 

It doesn't take much from these athletes, glad Josh has the true It factor in so many ways 

[Kwai San]

Is it a little dusty in here or is it me??  Awesome telling @Alphadawg7 Many thanks and a Belated Happy Birthday!!!

[Draconator]

Happy Birthday, and fantastic story! It's always great meeting your hero's, and they turn out to be everything you always hoped for! 

[Alphadawg7]

15 minutes ago, Kwai San said:

Is it a little dusty in here or is it me??  Awesome telling @Alphadawg7 Many thanks and a Belated Happy Birthday!!!

 

Ha, thanks!  And not belated - we celebrated Wed and Thurs, but my bday is actually today ha

1 hour ago, stevewin said:

The random "20 yrs ago I was playing pinball with Carlton from Fresh Prince and he got mad I mentioned Silver Spoons" story might rival the Josh story 😛

 

The full story definitely does - if you want me to share it, I will, I was trying to spare more reading after my OP was so long haha

[Alphadawg7]

This was my Instagram story I posted about the fist bump lol

 

 

[Albany,n.y.]

Here's what Aaron Rodgers does at golf courses: https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/aaron-rodgers-refuses-to-sign-autograph-for-fan-because-he-didn-t-know-enough-details-about-a-2005-game/ar-AA1IrqBC?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=HCTS&cvid=a5921315422a44dc9afea7afd817e0a2&ei=18

 

Rodgers got into a tense exchange with a fan he claimed was an "autograph hound" during the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament on Thursday.

The veteran quarterback was signing autographs on the course at Edgewood Tahoe Resort and bumped into the male fan, who claimed he was at a Packers-Saints game "20 years ago."

According to the New York Post, the fan had a ticket from the Green Bay Packers' 52-3 win over the Saints in 2005, when Rodgers was a backup for Brett Favre.

"I remember the score; it was a blowout," the fan said.

"Who'd we play?" Rodgers asked, and the fan replied correctly, saying New Orleans.

Not convinced, Rodgers said, "Yeah, it's on the ticket," pointing to the stub. The fan then incorrectly guessed the score by 2 points, saying the game finished 50-3.

"And I played?" the 4-time MVP retorted.

"One pass, though," the fan responded. "I remember you threw a pass … I don't remember it like that, I was 16, 20 years ago."

Rodgers, however, highlighted that he remembered the game and who he connected with on that pass, leading the fan to compliment his "great memory."

Their conversation dragged on as he advised the fan to "look it up," referring to the game stats.

"You can look it up, though, and I would believe you then I would sign your thing," Rodgers said, "but since I don't believe you, I'm not going to sign it."

The fan's face fell dejectedly, and he started walking away, insisting he was at the game.

[Sierra Foothills]

At the "Return of the Red and Blue" event a few years ago I yelled out to Josh from the upper deck and he didn't even turn in my direction... so I'm really not convinced that he's anything special as a person.

 

Seriously though, on the idea that one should never meet his/hers heroes, a common thing that happens to most people who were big sports fans as kids is that you age out... you get jaded and maybe a bit cynical and the way you view the big stars is less as heroes and more as mercenaries. It's partly losing your innocence, partly the pervasiveness of media coverage exposing the flaws and tearing at the mystique of these guys... partly being older than the rookies instead of younger than them... there's a bunch of factors.

 

And yet I know that many of us feel about Josh, the same way we felt about about the iconic superstars of our youth, which is to say as a hero in the eyes of a kid. In today's world Josh is almost unique in that regard.

 

[Don Otreply]

That must have been so awesome to be there for such a special day, the Allen’s it appears, are a sold family,  folk like Josh with all his money that still make time for fans that are kids and with special needs are to few and far between, very happy for you and your family! 
 

GO BILLS!!!

[Fr. Jerk]

I met him at training camp one year. It didn't start off well. We got into a heated debate about the best Cam'ron album, which started when he saw my Dipset T. He's a Purple Haze guy, while I prefer Killa Season. It got so heated 'ol big Joshie looked like he was going to try and get froggy. Then I asked about his favorite Bieber album. When we both agreed on My World 2.0 everything changed for the better. We hugged and as I was walking away he said "You know, as tough as it get on the field, I would never fool with the Dips!" 

 

Great guy! 

[BillsFooteball]

Happy birthday! What a great day and celebration!

[BillsPride12]

1 hour ago, Sierra Foothills said:

At the "Return of the Red and Blue" event a few years ago I yelled out to Josh from the upper deck and he didn't even turn in my direction... so I'm really not convinced that he's anything special as a person.

 

Seriously though, on the idea that one should never meet his/hers heroes, a common thing that happens to most people who were big sports fans as kids is that you age out... you get jaded and maybe a bit cynical and the way you view the big stars is less as heroes and more as mercenaries. It's partly losing your innocence, partly the pervasiveness of media coverage exposing the flaws and tearing at the mystique of these guys... partly being older than the rookies instead of younger than them... there's a bunch of factors.

 

And yet I know that many of us feel about Josh, the same way we felt about about the iconic superstars of our youth, which is to say as a hero in the eyes of a kid. In today's world Josh is almost unique in that regard.

 

Well said man!  I couldn't have said that any better but that really articulates my feelings as I am continuing to grow older and become a bit more jaded in life.  One of the best pleasures in life right now is being a Buffalo Bills and Josh Allen fan

[RyanC883]

I love that JA loves being who he is.  Like he is who most people would want to be in his situation.   

[NoHuddleKelly12]

Alpha, simply amazing story, thanks for sharing—all I can say is…

oh, and Happy Birthday!!!

[0017]

3 hours ago, Sierra Foothills said:

At the "Return of the Red and Blue" event a few years ago I yelled out to Josh from the upper deck and he didn't even turn in my direction... so I'm really not convinced that he's anything special as a person.

 

Seriously though, on the idea that one should never meet his/hers heroes, a common thing that happens to most people who were big sports fans as kids is that you age out... you get jaded and maybe a bit cynical and the way you view the big stars is less as heroes and more as mercenaries. It's partly losing your innocence, partly the pervasiveness of media coverage exposing the flaws and tearing at the mystique of these guys... partly being older than the rookies instead of younger than them... there's a bunch of factors.

 

And yet I know that many of us feel about Josh, the same way we felt about about the iconic superstars of our youth, which is to say as a hero in the eyes of a kid. In today's world Josh is almost unique in that regard.

 

I was so worried about seeing Allen on Wednesday I could hardly sleep on Tuesday, only because I kept thinking what if he’s closed off and cold to us, I didn’t want to ruin how much my family absolutely loves Josh. But afterwards as a family all we could do was talk about how awesome the whole experience was!! I’m so proud to be a Bills fan and have that guy as our QB1!!
 

[Guffalo]

10 hours ago, Lost said:

 

Hey Gunner, how did you ever get into American football and more specifically the Buffalo Bills?

He has cricket as a sport, I think that may be the answer (just kidding GB, I have colleagues that are big cricket fans)