Asking for an autograph

Anybody in this business who asks for anybody's autograph should be fired on the spot.

It is effing childish, childish, childish.

You want another grown man to sign a piece of paper to prove you were once in his presence?

Loser!!!!!

I will never let my kids to even collect or seek autographs. It would be sending them the wrong message -- that certain people are more special than others because they get media attention and can hit a ball with a bat or make a lot of slam dunks. Stupid.

 

Yeah, it's horrible to have a hero or idol when you're a child. :

 

A bunch of the guys on my beat ask me for my autograph all the time, but I don't do it.

 

That's because they love your Nationwide commercials.
Hey, life comes at you fast.

 

Some people are more special than others. Whether they are genius inventors, sublime artists, highly functioning athletes or people of great power in history.

 

And having them sign their names on something does what?

 

A longtime Milwaukee-area sportswriter was my dad's college roommate and they are great friends to this day, so I learned the do's and don't's of autographs pretty early.

He covered the Brewers of my youth -- Bambi's Bombers, Harvey's Wallbangers, etc. -- and I asked him if he could get me some autographs.

I could tell it was the question he was dreading, he always did whatever he could to foster my interest in sports, and later, in sportswriting, but he had to tell me he couldn't do it because it was against the rules. I'm sure I parried him with the kind of 8-year-old questions that defied an easy answer like, "That's stupid that it's against the rules, can't you do it just once?"

At some point, I got a Cecil Cooper and a few other autographs through him. Today, I hope to God he went through the Brewers PR staff, because I would feel terrible if he let his ethical guard down to please me as a kid.

He was a great influence when I was younger about knowing the do's and don't's of the biz. I knew all about "no cheering in the press box" when I was in my teens. That kind of grounding is really a great headstart as far as knowing what is and isn't professional in the biz.

And I was truly honored when I got to cover some Packers games with him years later when I covered the team.

 

I am asked all the time to get items autographed for sportswriters, mostly for charitable functions that they are involved with or for their fathers or children. Never for themself.

Depending on the situation, I don't have a problem with getting a couple of autographs, especially if it is for a good guy or a good cause. If you are going to be a prick to me and my school then don't expect me to go out of my way to help you.

The same goes for free tickets. I wish I had a dollar for every time a media member (mostly electronic media) hits me up for free tickets. It is almost like they think they are entitled to them. I left tickets once for a radio guy once who went to the wrong will call gate and proceeded to mother-&#*$ the worker who told him that she didn't have the tickets. They tracked me down and I told him where the tickets were and he left without even apologizing to the poor girl.

 

26 years as a sports writer, never once have i asked anyone for an autograph. closest is when i've asked p.r. guys to get autographed stuff to send to charity auctions. i couldn't even imagine asking a player personally for his john hancock. that would make me feel dirty.

 

No reporter should EVER ask for an autograph. Case closed.

 

I bought a couple of NCAA championship retrospectives done by the home team's SI Dept. as holiday gifts one year. I took them to a game and afterwards asked the 2 SIDs who had put the edition together to sign both copies for me. Both seemed to be flattered although I pointed out that as authors, it's customary to sign books.

 

don't do it.