Forever Young

Rod Stewart had a hit song in 1988 titled Forever Young. The main theme of the song is what pathway you choose to take in dealing with people. One of the lyrics says, “And do unto others, As you'd have done to you.” The Golden Rule. While the song has a nice tune and a solid chorus, its title takes on a new meaning for this week’s Monday Huddle Up.

For the second time in the past couple of years, our family was able to attend the celebrity golf tournament held annually in Lake Tahoe. It is a great event to see famous athletes, actors, media personalities, and the like. The golf isn’t always that great, but the weather and the course always offer a fabulous setting (special thanks to Stuart Maas and Visit Lake Tahoe for their hospitality again this year).

Our son Brock always has fun chasing down autographs from the players and to be honest, I enjoy helping him get those too. As a kid I was just like him, always looking to score a signature from people I had only seen previously on television. At his age, some of the retired athletes he didn’t really know, yet he pursued them with vigor just the same.

As you can imagine at a big event like this with 90 players and thousands of spectators, some of the celebrities are better with autograph and selfie seekers than others. Singer Jake Owen was great, a look you in the eye and “have a great day” type of guy. The hockey players as a group were all great with the fans (an interesting and humble group).

The biggest star at the event is usually Steph Curry, drawing crowds akin to Tiger Woods in his heyday. It’s nearly impossible to get near Steph during the event and he has a huge entourage of security around him at all times. I’m sure Steph is great when he can engage in smaller groups. The life of a worldwide megastar he lives can be a challenge for anyone I’m sure.

Some of the celebs are not so great with the fans. Some act as if they are too big time to stop for kids to sign their hat or a baseball card. To be honest, several of the folks that fall in that bucket are not so memorable to most people these days, yet they think they are still superstars today. A bit of dated arrogance mixed with a lack of awareness unfortunately (the older Raiders alumni fall into this group, which was an odd trend).

One of the players at this year’s event made a huge impact on me. Country singer Brett Young. And there is a story behind it…..

Last year, we were invited to see Brett perform at a small venue in Florida. Probably 200 people there tops. He sat on a stool and belted out his nine or so number one hits, even one by Luke Combs. He interacted with the audience and provided a memorable experience for everyone there. Leading up to the event, we researched his songs and his bio and found out that he was a former college baseball player and a die hard Dodgers fan. So we ordered a Dodgers hat in hopes that he would sign it for our son. That is where the story links to this past week.

Amazon was late delivering the hat, so we left for that concert last year without it. We were literally 10 feet from Brett as he performed, but no hat in hand. He was even wearing a Dodgers t-shirt on stage. A hard core fan for sure.

Since it arrived late, we had been sitting on the hat for over a year when the players for this year’s Tahoe golf event were announced. When we saw Brett was on the list, we made sure to pack the hat. During play the first day we tried to get near him with the Dodgers hat to get it signed. He promised he would stay after the round by the driving range and sign everyone’s items.

At the end of his round, he did as he had promised. After he signed his scorecard, he made a beeline right towards us and the other few dozen people that were waiting by the range. When my son offered up the hat for a signature, we told him about the late delivery at the event the year prior, and that we had been waiting to get his signature on it all this time. He listened, was sharp, and funny (blaming Amazon for always being late), and took the time to interact with us and the story. He even took a few photos with us before moving on to the next group. He won us over as fans forever.

Forever Young of a different kind.

The point of the story is to take the time to interact with people. Slow down, even stop, and engage. The world and everything it has to offer will be there when you get there. Be that five minutes, five days, or five weeks down the road. Trust me, the hustle part of our lives will be waiting. So take that extra moment and win over forever fans, in whatever environment you are in.

This week, more Brett Young. Less Raiders “legends.”

Have a great (forever) week ahead!