my photo with Billy Baldwin

Yesterday was St. Patrick’s Day and for the first time in years I didn’t notice. Prior to becoming subearban, we lived in the heart of the Irish Ghetto, where on St. Pats, the entire neighborhood shuts down and the area fills with perennial Irishmen wandering the streets drunk with silly hats and “Fuck Me I’m Irish” t-shirts on.

The Olympic Wrestling try-out something another conference is in town – meaning approximately a hundred thousand people will be coming in and out of downtown for the next three days.

Chad’s work had a huge buy out for the National Wrestling Coaches Association and the Hard Rock’s coordinator there asked if we’d come help out and I take some promotional photos.

Over 600 coaches and their star performers from across the country came to the party. Kevin and I worked “the door” collecting tickets and putting arm bracelets on until it got full enough for me to run in and snap some photos off.

Now – it doesn’t take a psyche major to observe the homo-erotic nature of sports, especially college wrestling. Once the guests started getting cocktailed, I had to reality-check a few times to make sure I wasn’t standing at JJ’s Clubhouse. These wrestler types were a touchy bunch pawing eachother
with such ferocity and frequency that I GOT UNCOMFORTABLE… (*and I’m a fag).

So – you’ve got this level of touchy feeley interaction which you could buy if you were at a hetero-male retreat sensitivity workshop but these guys were all hyper-macho. As socially awkward as the groping was, so was the overt, rather tackless posturing. It’s was like,… “Here.. Let me touch your ass but I’ll speak loudly about the bitch with big tits I nailed last night and sexually harass the waitresses”.

Just when I thought it couldn’t get any more surreal – I turned around to see this guy I thought I knew.. A little taler than me… Thin as rail, smoking a cigarette and talking with someone. It was Billy Baldwin.

Apparently Baldwin was a college wrestler and had come into town to speak to the coaches and make a few other appearances.

I’d never really stood within smacking distance of a celebrity before.

I was struck by how he carried himself. A way in which he almost became transparent. Upon close examination – he was a little haggard.

I was content to watch rather than directly confront him for a photo or idle conversation. Once he got on stage he went into shit-head jock mode and got the already drunk crowd of coaches and athletes more wound up by chanting some college fight song.

By this time the staff was disgusted with the groups manners and discouraged because nobody was tipping. Chad was allowed to go early – us in tow.

I was probably the only person working who didn’t leave dissapointed. I got some photos, experienced something bizarre and got hit on by two coaches.

It’s all so not blog worthy.