Gushing: I got to meet Rex Ryan!

Any of you who know me at all know that I’m a very avid Jets fan. And if you didn’t know me, now you know that I’m an avid jets fan. I’m also a very big fan of reading as a hobby. So when I found out that Rex Ryan, head coach of the Jets, had a book coming out, of course I was interested in reading it.

And then I found out that Ryan would actually be at a bookstore not too far away, signing copies of his book. Hmmmm….

Again, for those who know me, you’ll know that patience is not one of my virtues, and waiting in line for just about anything is not something I do willingly. But I figured, why not? For all his arrogance, I like Rex, and thought it might be fun to see what a book signing was like, since I’d never been to one before.

I called the bookstore in the afternoon to find out the procedure. I was told that I should purchase the book on the phone, which would guarantee me a spot in line. I took that advice, bought the book, and was then told that my ticket number was 618.

What? 618? Does that mean there would be 617 people in front of me?

Well no, that wasn’t exactly the case. While 618 books had been purchased, I would be roughly 400^th in line, as some people had bought multiple copies of the book.

To be honest, that didn’t sound much better, but since the town council and school board of Jefferson were kind enough not to have meetings on Thursday night, I figured I’d give it a shot. If it got too crazy, I could just leave with my book.

I showed up at the store, and was immediately impressed. I was first directed to go into the store and pick up my copy of the book. Then I was to go outside and find my place in line by where the store had taped up number signs. It was all so organized and smoothly run, I couldn’t help but think good things about the store.

I have to say, overall, I couldn’t have asked for a more pleasant experience. The people in line, all Jet fans, of course, were just as nice as could be, and the nearly two-hour wait passed by more quickly than I could have anticipated.

And then, finally, it was my turn to meet the star of the show. Mind you, but the time I got up to him, Rex had been signing his name and making nice with people for close to two hours. But when it was my turn, he was every bit as nice to me. He smiled, said hello, shook my hand, and signed the book. I left with a smile on my face.

One could argue that he has to be nice to the people who are buying his book, and that may be true. But he was very engaging, more so than was probably necessary. So say what you will about Rex’s arrogance, to his fans, he’s a really nice guy.