Random Rants, Vol. I

"You are the one asking for a favour, not the other way around."

Lance Storm couldn't have said that any better than what he did when he shared a post from his personal Facebook account; (read it here). Some of you are well aware of the situation that took place in an Arkansas gym between Randy Orton and a fan; in case you don't, read that by clicking here. Short version is that a fan did what all fans do when they see a famous person in public, they invade their space. Now granted there is a time and a place for everything in life and more times than not you're not going to see someone famous that often, especially in a place that you frequent. I understand the level of excitement you have for seeing someone famous, but as stated before, there is a time and place for everything in life.

That time is not when you deem it is the time, but rather the famous person. I have a soft spot for all people who are truly famous, (regardless if they're a douche bag in real life or not). You have to realize that these folks are humans like us at the end of the day who live highly stressful and active lives. When they are doing things with their families, waiting for connecting flights, working out, eating, hell simply breathing doesn't mean that you are entitled to their time; point blank. That's why you go to autograph signings and if you feel that pressed for an autograph or picture, at least let them finish what they're doing or if they just look like they don't want to be bothered, then just leave them be for Pete's sake. That just goes along with having simple human decency and what not. Some folks won't understand this because we live in a country that most have a sense of entitlement about their lives.

Honestly, I can't believe I'm even talking about this.

It should just go without saying that you shouldn't bother famous people simply because they are famous. It's bad enough that the guy even said he approached Randy and that Randy gave him a fist bump before politely dismissing him. That within itself was the party foul because everyone who goes to the gym knows that proper gym etiquette is not to mess with someone in the middle of a set. And personally, I don't know any person on this planet who enjoys having their picture taken against their wishes, period. So, that's just two fouls right there for him before acting like the victim, which was totally absurd. You just have to be smarter about things like this and in this case the fan wasn't and he got the proper response.

My piece of advice if you just have to approach a famous person, act cool. These guys and gals do a lot like I said before. They don't want to see some fan coming at them like a rabid dog, no matter how many pictures or videos you see of them embracing those kinds of fans. That stuff is staged for that purpose alone; that's not how real life works. For example, when I met Ric Flair randomly while walking through downtown Raleigh when I was in college, my friends and I simply said "oh man that's Ric Flair" to which he replied "you better believe it brothers". That's an appropriate time to approach someone famous, when they embrace you and stop to make time for you. As douche baggy as this sounds, I wouldn't have blamed him for acknowledging and moving on with his business.
 

But that would have been fine and my life would have continued.

The point of this column, (more of a rantish), is simply for me to say, get over yourself. I mean these are hardworking folks, who travel on insane schedules, doing a crazy amount of charity work and other side gigs that they may have. You have to put some respect on their names when you think of the daily grind that they have. And for some people, the gym is the only place to escape a lot of problems, (like me). I respect Randy for acknowledge the guy and giving him a fist bump. I would have done the same thing if I were in Randy's shoes and someone took a picture of me after I politely turned them away. Randy did absolutely nothing wrong here, the fan was in the wrong.

So, the next time you think it's a wise decision to interrupt an athlete at the gym, or in public when they are clearly not in the mood to be bothered; just don't. You have to display some self-respect here and just say and keep it moving. I know we live in an age where documenting every single thing that we do is the norm, but just live with the personal memory of bumping into your favorite star and call it a day. Sometimes having that memory to yourself is more important than ruining their day all because you don't know how to give people their respective space. It's not worth being known as that kind of person in any aspect of life.
 

But hey, what do I know? I'm just a guy who respects boundaries.