masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgSo what is your take on FanFest and what is your take on getting baseball autographs?

With Friday’s announcement of the lineups for autographs for FanFest, it’s a good time to revisit these topics.

Feel free to share some stories and opinions here this weekend. For those FanFest veterans, what do you like most about the day? What advice would you give fans that are going for the first time? How could the Orioles improve the event and make it even more fan-friendly?

The aspect of getting…So what is your take on FanFest and what is your take on getting baseball autographs?

With Friday’s announcement of the lineups for autographs for FanFest, it’s a good time to revisit these topics.

Feel free to share some stories and opinions here this weekend. For those FanFest veterans, what do you like most about the day? What advice would you give fans that are going for the first time? How could the Orioles improve the event and make it even more fan-friendly?

The aspect of getting autographs has always interested me, despite the fact that I got very few as a kid. The last time I actually got one that I can remember was at a Super Bowl event about 20 years ago, when I got in line to get Muhammad Ali’s autograph.

Now, getting autographs has become a big business to some and fans pay good money to get them often. I’ve always felt that what happens in that very short interaction with a celebrity or pro athlete provides what may be your lifetime perception of that person. Was he nice or not? You’ll probably tell the story of that short, one-time interaction many times over many years.

Baseball players get bombarded for autographs, before and after every game, heading into the ballpark, and heading home each day and night, 162 times per year, not counting spring training. No one should feel sorry for them and it comes with the money and fame, but I am sure they just can’t sign for every fan every day. If you are among a group in line that never makes it to the front, you are probably not real thrilled about that when it happens.

So share some thoughts and stories here this weekend on the autograph topic. Maybe the best one you ever got or best experience happened many years ago or just last week.