Meeting Browner and Sherman

[springscohawk]

I took my family to Big Al's in Vancouver, WA on Saturday evening for the 12th Tour event with Brandon Browner, Richard Sherman, and Blitz the mascot. I took my wife, son, aged 5, daughter, age 3, and niece aged 13. My son took his Seahawk Helmet to get autographed.

My son asks me every so often why I like the Seahawks so much. I tell him I am so attached to the Seahawks because my dad (his grandpa) began taking me to Seahawk games at age 7 in 1977 and we were season ticket holders thru 1990 or so. Watching the Seahawks involved a son connecting with his Dad and enjoying an interest together.

Yesterday, we arrived about 6:45 PM and waited for over two hours in a long line to get autographs from Browner and Sherman. Brandon Browner came out of Big Al's several times and walked down the line greeting people, signing autographs, and posing for pictures. He was very gracious and posed for pictures with my two children and signed their helmets. My daughter aged 3, and son aged 5 really enjoyed pictures with Blitz, the Hawk Mascot.

We kept on waiting in the long line to meet Richard Sherman. After we finally made it into Big Al's the line went faster. Unfortunately we then heard from some ahead of us that his time for signing was up and Sherman would be coming out. Sure enough, Sherman came walking down the line for awhile greeting people and signing autographs. He came about 10 feet from us, but then headed off for a special longue room reserved for players, staff, touring crew, etc. When my 5 year old son realized he was not going to be able to meet Richard Sherman and get his helmet signed, he began crying. (My son is very competitive and intense in his attachments. For example, he cried intensely for about 5 minutes last year when the Seahawks lost to the Falcons in the Playoffs.) I was attempting to console my son with reminders he had met Brandon Browner, a Pro Bowl player, and blitz, when a member of the event team, I am pretty sure his name is Hermando, noticed my son crying and came up and asked him what was wrong. When he understood my son was upset about not getting to meet Sherman and get his helmet signed, he told us he believed he would be able to get his helmet signed. Hermando went off to the lounge and then came back with instructions for my son and I to follow him. He brought us to the lounge door and then brought out Richard Sherman so we could meet him. He shook my hand and signed my son's helmet. I told Richard Sherman I loved watching him play and thought he was very funny (I was thinking of his interview video on Bourbon Street). I had my camera but was too shy to ask for a picture of Sherman and my son.


I was blown away by the awareness of others and act of kindness shown by Hermando, to notice my son crying, and make the special effort to arrange this short meeting between Richard Sherman and my 5 year old son. We got an opportunity to see Hermando a few minutes later as he was taking down displays. My wife, who was also amazed by his kindness to my Son, insisted we pose for a picture with Hermando, which I was delighted with.

I am also thankful to Brandon Browner and Richard Sherman for coming to Vancouver, WA and giving the fans here a chance to meet them. Thanks for giving us an opportunity to share our enthusiasm for the team and build excitement for the coming year.

If I can figure out how to post photos on this site, I will post pictures of family with Brandon Browner, Blitz, and also a picture with Hermando.

 

[bigtrain21]

Thanks for sharing that with everyone. Very cool. Big props to Hermando for noticing your son crying and asking why and then taking care of it. They definitely didn't have to do that but what a great memory they created since they did. Thanks again for sharing that.

 

[Sports Hernia]

@ OP, Wonderful story! Shows that the Hawks have classy people work for them on and off the field.
On a side note Big Al's is the nicest bowling center I've set foot in, and I've been in a ton of them in the western US! Coolest sportsbar I've seen as well!

 

[hawker84]

Went to the PUB in Kennewick thursday for the 12th man tour, it was crazy packed, this place holds 3, 4 hundred people then there was at least 100 people waiting in line in 100 degree heat to get in.. they all showed up, did the usual meet and greet, sign autographs thing.. doug Baldwin, Brandon Browner were awsome, my buddy had a homemade seahawk sombraro, and a 2005 NFC championship replica ring with him, managed to call those two over to him and exchange some words about them, get an autograph and pic's, they were very cool, especially Baldwin..

Mr. Sherman on the other hand, was how should i put this, a bit stand offish, and kind of a dick.. I understand it gets taxing doing these type of events, but he would ignore people, kind of like look through a person when they were trying to talk to him, at one point he sat with his back to the crowd and pretended to be looking at the menu, while the other two were acknowledging the crowd..

I'm not sure if the fame is getting the best of him, but i wish he could have been a little more personable like the other two, after all we were there to see him, not the back of his dreadlocks.. was a little disappointed to say the least.. On a side note, there was avery cool article in the papaer about how they paid a suprise vist to a wounded vet and spent 2 hrs at his house talking to him and his family, and sign a bunch of swag they brought for for him, thought that was pretty cool.

 

[RobBaker7714409]

What an awful life lesson for your son to learn: if I cry about something, I will get what I want. I hope he has a lot of Hernando's in his life, or else he is going to be in for a lot of disappointment over the next few years.

 

[TaterHawk]

Great read Springs. Thank you. Would love to see the photos

 

[GeekHawk]

What an awful life lesson for your son to learn: if I cry about something, I will get what I want. I hope he has a lot of Hernando's in his life, or else he is going to be in for a lot of disappointment over the next few years.

The kid's 5 years old. Don't be a penis. :roll:

 

[Cartire]

Hey OP, would love to see the pictures. Heres a quick tutorial.

1. Upload to an image hosting site. Any will do. I use http://postimg.org/ (its free)
2. Once the picture is uploaded, you will see a "Direct Link, Copy to Clipboard button" Push it.
3. Paste the link in your post in between [ img][ /img] tags. (remove the spaces after the brackets)

Viola!

 

[cacksman]

Went to the PUB in Kennewick thursday for the 12th man tour, it was crazy packed, this place holds 3, 4 hundred people then there was at least 100 people waiting in line in 100 degree heat to get in.. they all showed up, did the usual meet and greet, sign autographs thing.. doug Baldwin, Brandon Browner were awsome, my buddy had a homemade seahawk sombraro, and a 2005 NFC championship replica ring with him, managed to call those two over to him and exchange some words about them, get an autograph and pic's, they were very cool, especially Baldwin..

Mr. Sherman on the other hand, was how should i put this, a bit stand offish, and kind of a dick.. I understand it gets taxing doing these type of events, but he would ignore people, kind of like look through a person when they were trying to talk to him, at one point he sat with his back to the crowd and pretended to be looking at the menu, while the other two were acknowledging the crowd..

I'm not sure if the fame is getting the best of him, but i wish he could have been a little more personable like the other two, after all we were there to see him, not the back of his dreadlocks.. was a little disappointed to say the least.. On a side note, there was avery cool article in the papaer about how they paid a suprise vist to a wounded vet and spent 2 hrs at his house talking to him and his family, and sign a bunch of swag they brought for for him, thought that was pretty cool.

I was at the Pub too. As far as I could tell, all 3 players were great. Sherman, being one of the top players in the league, was obviously bombarded for autographs more than the other 2. When I was in the bar, Sherman was the one signing autographs to a hoard of fans while Browner and Baldwin were doing something behind him. You could tell Sherman was very tired and sweaty but he was still doing his best to smile, take pictures, and sign as many autographs as he could.

 

[Cartire]

What an awful life lesson for your son to learn: if I cry about something, I will get what I want. I hope he has a lot of Hernando's in his life, or else he is going to be in for a lot of disappointment over the next few years.

The kid's 5 years old. Don't be a penis. :roll:

Seriously RobBaker. 5 year old kid. Completely understandable. Especially for a kid waiting for 2 hours in a line to just end up disappointed at the end. Show some heart.

 

[Sports Hernia]

GeekHawk wasn't the Richard Cranium, it was the Rob Baker guy, re-read the posts.

 

[kamikazehawk]

What an awful life lesson for your son to learn: if I cry about something, I will get what I want. I hope he has a lot of Hernando's in his life, or else he is going to be in for a lot of disappointment over the next few years.

My guess is you don't have kids. I have 3 and am very adamant about teaching them that crying will not get them what they want. This doesn't mean they cry to show disappointment or sadness or pain. The lesson this kid learned was that there are good people that care for others feelings. I doubt if the kid was throwing a fit and stomping his feet that Hernando would have cared quite as much.

 

[Cartire]

GeekHawk wasn't the Richard Cranium, it was the Rob Baker guy, re-read the posts.

Good catch. My bad Geehawk. I fixed the original post.

 

[mikeak]

What an awful life lesson for your son to learn: if I cry about something, I will get what I want. I hope he has a lot of Hernando's in his life, or else he is going to be in for a lot of disappointment over the next few years.

I wasn't going to post but since you did and other slammed you I will

I feel the same way AND my son is 5. If it had happened to us as much as it would have pained me I would strongly have considered not going into the tent. It would totally have been depending on how the crying was and how my son acted out in general so I am not going to critize the OP but I understand where you are coming from even when the kid is 5 which others apparently think is a reason for a kid to cry to get what they want.......

EDIT: Saw kamikazehawk's post - and spot on depending on how it was expressed hopefully equalled the response. A sad crying because they look forward to something is more showing the level of how they wanted something and is normal. Throwing a fit / crying & screaming about it like I have seen kids in the toy store should equal getting out of there and no reward. But to each their own and glad the OP had a good day

 

[Cartire]

What an awful life lesson for your son to learn: if I cry about something, I will get what I want. I hope he has a lot of Hernando's in his life, or else he is going to be in for a lot of disappointment over the next few years.

I wasn't going to post but since you did and other slammed you I will

I feel the same way AND my son is 5. If it had happened to us as much as it would have pained me I would strongly have considered not going into the tent. It would totally have been depending on how the crying was and how my son acted out in general so I am not going to critize the OP but I understand where you are coming from even when the kid is 5 which others apparently think is a reason for a kid to cry to get what they want.......

It may have just been me, but I didnt read it as the kid was throwing a tantrum for not getting what he wanted. I read the he was just crying because he was sad. Its ok to be sad and its ok to cry when you are, especially at 5. And its also ok for someone to take notice of that and try and uplift someone.

I think their is a big difference between a kid wanting something and being told no and throwing a tantrum. And a kid waiting in line for 2 hours and at the end being told no.

 

[TriCHawk]

I was at the Pub this year and last, and I thought both times Sherman was by far the most personable. He came out of the little roped off area more than any of the other players, at least while I was there. And last year, when my wife and I got our pics taken with him, he jumped down off the stage to just to shake our hands and say hello.
This year, I didn't get to get a photo with Sherman or Browner. It was just too much of a mess, and waaaay too many people. I did manage to get a pic with Baldwin though.

 

[springscohawk]

What an awful life lesson for your son to learn: if I cry about something, I will get what I want. I hope he has a lot of Hernando's in his life, or else he is going to be in for a lot of disappointment over the next few years.

I had this thought afterwards as well, I hope he didn't just learn just because he was crying and disappointed he will get what he wants in the futrue. I agree a child learning if he cries he gets what he wants would be a bad life lesson or behavor pattern to establish. Believe me, we don't operate this way. He wasn't thowing a fit or tantrum, but I believe was just crying in disappointment.

I know my son as a five year old is still learning lots of things, including you often don't get what you want and how to deal with not winning. I hope he also continues to learn from Hermando, myself, and others that we can make a difference in the lives of others by showing kindness and doing what we can to help.

 

[springscohawk]

Hey OP, would love to see the pictures. Heres a quick tutorial.

1. Upload to an image hosting site. Any will do. I use http://postimg.org/ (its free)
2. Once the picture is uploaded, you will see a "Direct Link, Copy to Clipboard button" Push it.
3. Paste the link in your post in between [ img][ /img] tags. (remove the spaces after the brackets)

Viola!

Cartire, thanks for the information on how to load pictures. I look forward to posting the pictures in the next few days.

 

[Decimation]

Great story man, sherm is such a class act. Props to that Hernando as well.

 

[mikeak]

What an awful life lesson for your son to learn: if I cry about something, I will get what I want. I hope he has a lot of Hernando's in his life, or else he is going to be in for a lot of disappointment over the next few years.

I wasn't going to post but since you did and other slammed you I will

I feel the same way AND my son is 5. If it had happened to us as much as it would have pained me I would strongly have considered not going into the tent. It would totally have been depending on how the crying was and how my son acted out in general so I am not going to critize the OP but I understand where you are coming from even when the kid is 5 which others apparently think is a reason for a kid to cry to get what they want.......

It may have just been me, but I didnt read it as the kid was throwing a tantrum for not getting what he wanted. I read the he was just crying because he was sad. Its ok to be sad and its ok to cry when you are, especially at 5. And its also ok for someone to take notice of that and try and uplift someone.

I think their is a big difference between a kid wanting something and being told no and throwing a tantrum. And a kid waiting in line for 2 hours and at the end being told no.

I agree 100% and edited my post probably when you were writing this

One should want things so badly that you cry when they don't happen. We all do it as you get older you cry more on the inside. The next time a kid cries because he is sad he won't get something coming to him and then the time after that when there is a signing he will get up at 6am and say - time to get out and get in line

springscohawk was nice enough to elaborate on something that really isn't our business and appreciate that