Page Nine........Man, there was a lot to write about.....including the reception afterwards. Anyways, before the show, I still had two backstage passes for the reception, two tickets for on-ice seats and two gifts bags. I gave the one on-ice ticket to a lady whose husband was stuck outside and couldn't get in (they only had two tickets for the show....the lady and her daughter who was in love with Tara!).
En route up to the meeting place with about 30-40 other fans who had backstage passes, I was searching for someone at random who wanted to go up and meet the skaters....and, lo and behold, I bumped into a lady by the name of Linda Marx.
Linda told me she had seen me get Rosalynn Sumners' attention outside Reunion Arena after the 1998-99 show.....and LINDA WAS LITERALLY FLOORED with this opportunity of a lifetime. She kept asking me, "You're joking......you are joking!" I believe she was more nervous than I was!
About a few minutes after the show had finsihed, and a few minutes after all of us had crowded into a meeting room above Reunion Arena, some of the skaters showed up. Sorry to say that Kurt, Kristi, Scotty and Yuka didn't attend, but Jenni Meno was the first to show up....followed by Steven, Denis, Renee, Gorsha.....and Tara!
I missed out on meeting Steven (who was in a bit of a hurry to get back to the hotel) and Jenni again (she went with her parents for an aftershow dinner meeting)....BUT....
....I got to meet Denis Petrov, who looked more like a Russian athlete in another sport than figure skating.....and Linda took a couple of shots of Denis alone signing autographs :o) .......
......got to meet Gorsha Sur, and told him I enjoyed the Tunnel Vision skit....
......met with Renee Roca. I told her that a friend of mine, Ally Cunningham, had last year emailed me and others about Renee's birthday coming up and that I had sent Renee a homemade birthday card.....and Renee said "Thank you!" I also gave her (and the other skaters either in person or in handing them over to an SOI official) a thank you card for all the hard work and effort in making this year's tour a success.
This was, by far, the most nervous moment of my night. I had been impressed with Tara, not only as a skater in her development as a professional, but also as a person. So this meeting her for the first time ranked up there with getting to meet Rosalynn Sumners for the first time.
I patiently waited my turn while Tara autographed programs from other fans......hoping she would like the two gifts I had for her in a Target shopping bag: A Casper doll and a book of inspirational Bible Scriptures designed for women.
Finally, she met me.......and autographed my copy of the "Stars On Ice" book I had had autographed already by Renee, Gorsha, Denis, and Rosalynn Sumners. Then I presented her with the gifts and she was a bit surprised, adding "Thank you!" in a Texas-style accent.
After the photo opportunity, I wished Tara well, adding, "God bless you, Tara!" She smiled back at me! (Yeah, I know my smile was goofy in this photo, but who cares????)
It was close to 11 p.m. when the skaters left the meeting room and headed back to their hotel rooms to rest up and enjoy a day off from traveling.....while watching Baltimore blow out the New York Giants in Super Bowl 35 the following day.
For me, I wished the night had never ended. But it did rather quickly......and I promised to get the photos developed and mailed to Linda as soon as I could. Linda thanked me again for the opportunity to meet the skaters in person.....and I returned the thanks back by saying, naturally, "You're welcome!"
As I left Reunion Arena on a cold and wet night, I was on a natural high....what else could I say? This was, by far, the best experience I had ever had at Stars On Ice....and it was worth every penny! And....I thank God for the opportunity for just being there!
Well, I hoped you liked this nine-page review and photos. Let me know what you thought of this site by emailing me at the address listed at the bottom of this page. Take care and may God bless you always!
