Back From Heaven

I got back last night around 10:30pm. I spent 2 glorious days in Pittsburgh attending the MLB FanFest. It was awesome. Check out my last post for a little recap of day 1. I got to check out all of FanFest but i didn't really take part in any of the events. I wish I were still there, but hanging out getting autographs doesn't pay the bills. Stupid job, I hate you.
Day two was pretty much the same as day one. A lot of standing around and waiting. I wasn't alone though. You spend 10 hours on your feet standing in line next to the same people and you make friends. I got to FanFest yesterday around 8:15am and waited in a decent sized line for the 9am opening. 9am rolls around and I quickly make my way to the MLB Legends autograph area. That's really the main reason I was there. I'm in line no later than 9:05 and I'm probably a good 30-40 people or so back in line. Not bad. It guaranteed me the first autograph group and it put me in good position to get the others that I wanted. 10am finally rolled around and the first pairing came out: Andre Dawson and Earl Weaver. I already had Earl's auto but "The Hawk" was a nice addition. He signed the ball around 10:30 or so and I got back in line. The 12 noon group was Orlando Cepeda and Juan Marichal. I ended up getting the autos at about 1:15. I had Cepeda from the day before but he had only signed it with an O and a C and some lines. He was signing a little better so I had him sign another ball, but still no induction year. I got back in line and waited what seemed like forever. The 2:00 group was Luis Aparicio and Bob Feller. Lucky, I had them both already so i could afford to miss getting them. Which I would have because I was so far back in line. The 4pm group was the best pairing of the weekend: Harmon Killebrew and Phil Niekro. 5:15 rolls up and i got them. Killebrew has a really nice signature and I only had Niekro add his induction year to a ball I already had signed. I then walked around for a little bit and eventually got back in line for the final pairing: Dock Ellis and Buck O'Neill. I wasn't interested in Dock's auto but I really wanted Buck's. Most people think he should be in the HOF and I agree. Unfortunately, he didn't make it yesterday. Bummer, but at least I got to leave check out a little more of FanFest and I could leave earlier than I thought I would. I ended up leaving around 7:15 and made it home by 10:30. Boy, did my feet hurt. The ride home went by real quick. I got to catch about 6 inning s or so of the White Sox/Red Sox game. I was pleased with the outcome.
So all in all, it was a great weekend. The city was decked out rather well and it's one of the best cities around. Nothing beats coming in on 279 south and turning around the bend and boom, there's the city. Awesome.
As for the autos, here is a weekend synopsis: Jim Leyritz, Fred Lynn, Andre Dawson, Bill Madlock, Ron LeFlore, Luis Aparicio, Orlando Cepeda x2, Juan Marichal, and Harmon Killebrew. And I had Earl Weaver and Phil Niekro add their induction years. Not bad. I'm going to take some photos later and add them to the photo album.
I suggest if you ever have the means/time to check out a FanFest, you do it. If you've ever been to the NFL Experience at the Super Bowl, it's pretty much the same, but better because it's baseball-themed. If only I could have stayed for the Derby and the Game. It sounds and looks like a great time.
Enjoy the Derby!
J