    |
|
|
Every time I have an "encounter" with one of the guys from *N Sync, I love them more and more. I got the chance to get a VIP Pass to "Frankie Muniz's Hoopla", a CFTC-like charity basketball game. As well as many other celebrities including Nick and Drew Lache from 98 Degrees, Chris was there and appeared to be the coach of his team. Chris was dressed in black and his teammates who included Nick Lache and other people who I can't think of right now, were on the "Agent Cody Banks Team". JoJo Wright from KIIS FM introduced the teams, and he dared all the other players that he would donate a lot of money to the Starlight Foundation, which is the charity the game was for, if someone during the game would de-pants Chris. Sadly for me, no one did, although Nick Lache did try a few times. (As a side note I've never been too excited about 98 Degrees, but both the Lache's were really sweet, so now I like 98 Degrees a lot more.) My mom and I who are both big *N Sync fans, yelled for Chris a lot. In fact, we were the only ones who really cheered anyone on, which is odd because everyone paid a lot of money to see these people. Whenever Chris would even glance in my direction, I would wave vigorously. At first I thought that he couldn't hear our screams, but then he turned around and waved directly to us three times during the game. When all the players started throwing balls into the audience, Chris threw the first one to me, but the guy in front of me caught it! However, just knowing it was meant for me is enough. It was a bit disappointing, because Chris didn't play very much, however, his team did win by a lot, and since he appeared to be the coach, that's great! It was hilarious because every time a referree would make a call, Chris would be there contradicting him with hand signals and yelling. Since we were really close to the action, I realized that Chris was squinting a lot. He must have forgotten his glasses or contacts, because when the action would move away from him, he would walk down the sidelines to get a better view. Poor guy! In fact once in a while, someone from the other team would literally push Chris back into the area for his team. I couldn't hear what he was saying, but I could see that Chris was really cracking up both a Harlem Globe Trotter who was on the opposite team and a referree. I heard Chris yell, "Anyone want to start a fight!?" a few times, and he would yell comments to his teammates and have funny reactions to the plays. Chris really kept the entire game funny and light-hearted. During one of the half-times, the charity had a race between three really little boys. I guess they had to put on some pants and then put on a shirt both that were laid out on the court and then make a basket. One little boy got a slow start, and his pants kept falling down. First Nick Lache ran over to help him, and Chris followed soon after. For a while, all I could see were these big guys trying to help this little boy win the race. It was so cute! In the end Nick Lache ended up carrying the little boy to the end of the race. Chris' team won in the end. Yay! Then I was off to the VIP party which was upstairs. I got there as soon as I could, but I couldn't find Chris although I did run into some nice *N Sync fans. About fifteen minutes later Chris came in and he was just swamped. He was surrounded on all sides by people wanting pictures and autographs. I felt kind of bad for him, because everyone wanted a piece of him. Then I think he recognized me, because he started walking towards me, but he got surrounded again. After watching Chris take pictures with other people for a while , I finally got the guts to go up to him. He reached out and shook my hand, and I almost passed out. After I blanked out for a few seconds, someone else jumped in to talk to him, which was very rude. When he turned back to me he shook my hand again and I stammered, "I've been a fan for…a long time. I was really depressed a few years ago because my parents got a divorce, and I was really sick last year and *N Sync pulled me through, and I just want to say thank you." I don't know what else he said, because I have a tendency to totally forget what happened during the biggest moments of my life. In fact, that's why I'm writing this down. I asked if I could get a picture and of course he said yes. He put his arm on my shoulder and I put my arm on his. When Chris saw my mom who was going to take our picture, he reached out to shake her hand too. My mom said to him something like, "You're a good man. You and your four friends have done so much for my daughter." Chris said to her, "That means a lot to me." After I got my picture, Chris said to me, "That's a great story." He was sooooo sweet and gentle! Chris left a few minutes after he talked to me, and I got the idea to go up to him again and ask him for a hug so I actually followed him downstairs, but he walked out the door before I got the guts to go back up to him. I met Chris before, in the FuMan invasion Meet'n'Greet while he was on the PopOdyssey Tour, but this was even more personal and special. I can't believe what a wonderful person Chris is! You know how some people just give off these great vibes? Well, Chris has some awesome vibes! I only realized later that of all the people he talked to that night, me and my mom were the only people that he clearly made a motion to shake hands with. That made me feel really special. He looked me straight in the eye, like we were equal, not like he's the celebrity and I'm the fan. My mom and I took some awesome pictures, however, my scanner just died, so I can't post them. Too bad. Oh, for those who were wondering, Chris looked almost, (for him anyway), normal. No mowhawks, no chin-dreads, no pineapple, no funny colored hair. His hair was short, because I think he's still growing it out from getting it cut close for the mowhawk. He had a goatee, but a regular one. He look sooooo cute! My final thought is that I wish I had Chris for a boyfriend, brother, father, uncle, or just a friend, because he is so cool and sweet. He was so patient with me as I stammered and tried to keep from passing out. What a great guy!
|