We were standing in line at Starbucks close to the entrance of the Mandalay Convention Center in Vegas. Three kids and one adult came running up and asked the guy behind us for his picture. Okay... I figured out he was famous but after glancing up (he was over 6'5" at least - I am 5'2") I couldn't place him. This isn't surprising for me. I try hard to keep up on my UsWeekly, People and Star Magazine but I do limit my smut to the hair salon and plane rides. Either way, I don't think this guy would be found in either. I turned around and asked him who he was and apologized for not knowing. I grabbed his VIP pass and turned it around to check out his photo and name - it was at eye level for me so I figured why not. I introduced myself and shook his hand. His name was Tait and his VIP pass said promoter. Right after that, another kid came up and asked for another photo. He said sure and kneeled down to smile for the camera. Okay - at this point I am pretty sure he isn't just a promoter. His friends then jest that they had no idea how famous he was. We order our drinks, pay and move to the "pick up" line on the other side of the bar. There is a couple waiting at the end of the bar for him to come our way. They pull out their camera and ask for his photo. Then two more kids come over for autographs. All the while he continues to smile and remain sincere and kind to every person who has interrupted his coffee break. I finally leaned over and gave him the gold star for professionalism. It turns out that he is a previous prize Ultimate Fighter. There was a match that evening - he was not fighting. His name is Tait Fletcher.
I assume he is only a celebrity in his own circle and audience. Alex gave the example that if Jim Allchin walked through a super geek conference, everyone would know him too. I thought that was sort of funny but he did make a good point. What I cannot imagine what life might be like for celebrities that almost everyone has seen or heard of on television or the big screen. Are they as incredibly sweet and sincere as Tait was towards their fans? The part I found the coolest was that he is this super huge, tattooed, pierced, prize fighter who one might assume could be a total ass. Instead he was gentle and kind. I guess the other side is that I could not imagine interrupting someones coffee break no matter who they are... Either way, I thought it was cool.
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