Sara Evans – Turner Field

That’s right, Sara Evans.  Sara had been scheduled to do a post-game concert for the Braves after the game.  As we were hanging around the players’ parking lot prior to the game, her tour bus came pulling up and eventually Sara and her entire family jumped out and began tossing around the football in the parking lot (her husband is former Alabama QB Jay Barker).  I’m not usually the type to bother anyone while they are with their family, but eventually several other people got up the nerve to go over and talk to her, so I just jumped in line.  She was very sweet and allowed me to have my picture taken with her.  It was a pretty cool experience.  I immediately called my wife and told her that Sara and I were “leaving the suds in the bucket..” and would be back later.  I slept on the couch that night.

Bobby Cox – Turner Field

This particular weekend I headed down to Atlanta for a free Chipper Jones autograph signing (more on that later).  By the time the event was over I decided that I had time to head on over to Turner Field and see if I could beat Bobby Cox there (not easy to do since he often arrives at 1 pm for a 7 pm game).  Fortunately I made it by about 15 minutes and was able to get an autograph on an old 1980 Braves team yearbook that I had picked up earlier in the summer.

Dale Murphy – Smokies Park II

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, living near Smokies Park has been a tremendous resource. For the second time in as many years, the Tennessee Smokies held Dale Murphy appreciation night. I’m not really sure why they’ve had these for the last two seasons (no product to promote, no real tie to the team, etc), but I’m not complaining. As a rabid Atlanta Braves fan I wasn’t going to miss another opportunity to get a couple autographs from one of our team legends.

Just like the last year, the plan was to have Dale at the game that night to sign for a couple of hours, but you could also go to a luncheon preceeding the game for only $25. Instead of waiting in line forever at the game in 95 degree heat, I decided it would be a no-brainer to shell out the $25 and go to the luncheon. It was a fun event. Dale told a few funny stories, and we got to go through the line a couple of times to get some autographs. I ended up with a couple of signed magazines, a jersey number and an 8×10.  As always, Dale was cordial and the autographs turned out great.