Life in Five Senses: Stories of Celebrity Sightings and C-Mac!

The blog post Life in Five Senses: Two Stories of Voice Recognition, asks you—the reader—to determine if you have ever voice recognized someone? I recommended bringing it to your Thanksgiving table (or next social gathering). Any good stories out there? Perhaps an easier question to ask a group is Who is a celebrity—an actor or athlete, musician or model, politician or person of import they have seen in public? In other words, name a someone famous you have recognized in person. My sense is that a few good stories will follow.

In the same way that Americans have rules for what constitutes visiting all 50 states, I have mine for a bona fide celebrity sighting. For one, it must be unexpected—nearly spontaneous. If you weren't paying attention you might miss this auspicious encounter. Furthermore, it ought to occur as part of every day life. For example, seeing Aaron Rodgers with Danica Patrick at Tahoe Edgewood during the American Century Classic Golf tourney does not count. Nor does playing Blackjack next to Travis Kelce at Harrah's that same weekend. Who plays in the tourney is public information. Who pays in the casinos...well that is too. But let's use the Kanas City Chiefs tight end as an example.

As much as I love these gatherings, this tourney doesn't count for celeb sightings.

Listening to this story on KNBR this morning got me thinking about vision and sightings. It also reminded me of the joy of those encounters. As written on NBC Sports Bay Area,

Christian McCaffrey and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce have only faced each other twice during their NFL careers, but that didn't stop the 49ers' All-Pro running back from spotting the star running back in passing while the two were in New York City.

McCaffrey shared a hilarious story about this chance encounter with Kelce during an interview on the "B Scar TV Podcast," hosted by his former Stanford teammate Brennan Scarlett.

"Fun Travis Kelce Story," McCaffrey told Scarlett. "I've met him twice. One was in passing over the Super Bowl a couple of years ago. Just like a, 'Hey, what's up, man?' The other, I was in New York. I was picking out Olivia's [Culpo] ring. I was in New York by myself. I'd taken the train from Rhode Island to New York. So, I get off at Grand Central Station. I'm sitting on the corner right there. By myself, I'm looking for a cab because I'm going to the spot- I blend in well, I'm not like a get-the-black car- I'm taking the train. I'll get in a cab and get to my destination just fine. 

"It took me a while. I'm in New York. It's busy. I'm standing on the side of the road, and all of a sudden, I hear, 'C-Mac! C-Mac!' I was like, 'What the hell is that?' That's when Travis was shooting SNL, so he's riding in the car, he's in the back of a black car, and he rolls the window down, and he's like, 'C-Mac! C-Mac!' And I was like, 'Yeah!' And that was it. That was the only other time I've ever met him. Ever since then, I'm like, 'That's the coolest guy ever.' I knew him as much as someone I'd only met once. So much energy out of the window, I was like, 'I f--cking love that guy.' Great energy. Authentic, that's who he is."

And what I love most about this story is how unexpected the event was was to both Christian and me/ the listener. Hearing C-Mac relay this memory, I CAN picture how he would blend into a crowd....The people involved, the place it happens are not entirely unlikely but they are unsuspecting. That's what makes sightings a surprise.

I associate most surprises with something positive, but that might not always be true. In the airport in Belfast, my mom and I saw Ian Paisley. A loyalist politician and Protestant religious leader from Northern Ireland who served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, in the 1960s Paisley led and instigated loyalist opposition to the Catholic civil rights movement in Northern Ireland. That being said, I suppose he is my only celebrity sighting of that tenor. Do you have one too?

I have fiends who have a penchant for seeing people—famous people, semi-famous people and the rest of us—out and about. Their vision fascinates me. Over the years, I have learned and leaned into the power of peripheral vision. I tried to pay better attention and eliminate distraction. I've also learned to trust that vision. My gut instinct is usually on point. For example, this summer I walked by the professional golfer Tommy Fleetwood at Wimbledon. That sighting was confirmed and made sense, given that the British Open began but four days later. Therefore, here are but a few of the other sightings that count.

• Walking down my street in San Francisco, I have seen Joe Montana and his wife Jennifer, longtime Giants outfielder Pat Burrell and former Niners head coach, Steve Mariucci. 
• I have exited the PGA Superstore in Palo Alto only to ask Steve Young if he was getting ready for Tahoe. 
• Right after telling my friend's brother that my golf club doesn't really have celebrity members, I invited him to turn his head to 4:00. Barry Bonds was walking behind us. Just the home run king. NBD. 
• I've wished Steph Curry good luck before his round and gotten the shimmy shimmy from him after yelling nice shot (he was walking toward the green above where I was standing on the fairway). 
• My friend Cort and I have attended two US Opens together. At LA Country Club, he introduced me to former Irish quarterback Jimmy Clausen and at Torrey, I got to meet Niner GM John Lynch. Clearly he has one eye on golf and another on those around us. #Grateful 
• There are plenty more—Festus Azeli, Patrick Beverly, Seal (the musician) but my all time favorite sighting was recognizing Michael Keaton in a tiny pizza place in Mt. Lebanon, PA. As a student at Notre Dame, I did not come home for Thanksgiving. Instead I traveled to the Fronduti home outside of Pittsburgh, PA. I went to use the bathroom in the back of the restaurant and I realized I just walked by Batman. I asked the waiter if that were true. He said "Bruce Wayne, indeed."

Sight and and vision are essential components, core to the curriculum of Sports and Spirituality. The athlete must hone in and never lose sight of the ball. In the spiritual life, we are called to pay attention, to see and take notice of the ways God is at work in our lives. I profess the words of the Nicene Creed with conviction. I believe in things visible and invisible. We can learn to see both. 

How did Travis Kelce happen to see Christian McCaffrey? Why does it even matter? The fact that this story has been told and shared suggests why. We are known. We not invisible, even if we think we might be. We are meant to see and be seen. I would argue, it's a spiritual exercise. Give it a go.

Photo Credits
Batman
Kelce and C-Mac
Tommy Fleetwood