Glory, Glory Pt. 2

In my last post I filled you all in on what I would be up to for a couple days, which was basically taking whatever measures necessary to get as close to my beloved Red Devils as possible without being arrested.

(Posing in front of 2 Man United tour banners inside the Four Seasons-notice the free swag)

This summer's trip started on the more relaxed side since no extra travel was necessary apart from a drive to our hotel in the city before heading over to the Four Seasons to put our stalking operation into motion. From that point on things went quick and it was not long before I was in some sort of glorious red haze, United's crest everywhere I turned as I racked up autographs, photos, and free swag.

The first player to pop up on the sidewalk was Gabriel Obertan. That ended in an autograph but not enough time for a photo-a little disappointing but I'm not unreasonable. The man had shopping to do and I totally understood that. Now it was on to the next: Anderson. Anderson walking on the sidewalk. Anderson walking right towards us on the sidewalk. I was gonna get him, and I was going to get to him first.

ACCOMPLISHED! Anderson & I

After a little more waiting around we suddenly had to rush around the corner as there was another Obertan sighting, and this time I was getting a picture.

ACCOMPLISHED AGAIN! Obertan (repping the Chi) & I

Next up...Vidic. He was rushed and didn't seem to be in the best of moods. I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess the crowd of people surrounding him didn't help (not that that was going to stop me). I wound up getting a signature, and some photos of Vida himself, but none of the two of us together. Boo.

Somewhere in the midst of all of this a couple of members of United's staff brought out the Premier League trophy outside for anyone who wanted to hold it up and take a photo with it. A pretty incredible opportunity when you think about the fact that some of the best in the EPL never got to do that.

Around this time we had the chance to talk to one guy who worked for the team and he told us to stick around until 4 and he would have some surprise in store for us. HOLY EXCITEMENT. HE HAD A SURPRISE FOR US!

The time went by and when the man (I think his name was John) came back he gave us Manchester United lanyards and invited us up in the hotel in 15 minutes for a meet & greet with the players. Let me just bold and italicize that last part: meet & greet with the players. By the time I got through my mental freakout 15 minutes had gone by and we were being escorted to some conference room where we were greeted with a United backdrop.

Nani, Tom Cleverly, Michael Carrick, and Michael Owen were all apart of our surprise

After having them all sign, we got the opportunity to have our photo taken with all of them. Clearly, Michael Carrick was not aware of this part of the meet & greet. Fortunately though "John" noticed this and took another photo.

Unfortunately, that one turned out worse....except for Michael Owen. You're a real pro, Owen.

When the meet & greet was over, things kept going right for us as my new favorite person "John" told the handful of us who decided to stick around that he may have another surprise for us but wasn't sure. That didn't matter though, any chance of something happening was good enough for us...and good enough, it was.

We were brought down to the lobby of the hotel, told to get in a line, and wait. We stayed there for a little while, got some free stuff that included drawstring bags, pins, wristbands, postcards, lanyards,notepads, and other random Manchester United things until our second round surprise was ready. Four more players came out to give autographs! (They were leaving for training so no time for pictures, but everyone was too excited to care)

ROONEY! (And "John" in the background!)

Ben Amos signing my jersey! Kiko Macheda and Ashley Young signed as well.

By this time I thought it would completely die down but who did we spot as we were leaving...none other than my bff from last summer NANI!

Nani & I. I've officially met him 4 times now : )

By this time they were on their way about to leave to go to Toyota Park so we headed outside with the hopes of one or two more autographs or pictures.

Closeup of the team bus

The one and only Sir Alex Ferguson signing my jersey, which would prove to be my last bit of excitement for the day since none of the players stopped for the fans on their way into the hotel once they arrived back that night.

The next day was game day! We went to Four Seasons for breakfast in hopes of sighting some footballers, picking up information, not getting thrown out of the hotel, etc. What we got was breakfast next to Kelsey Grammar, a sighting of Cleverly, the time of the team's departure, and before almost getting kicked out of the hotel I almost got myself in an elevator alone with Ji Sung Park. Seriously people, dine at the Four Seasons.

Alas, this day was a whole lot of waiting without much reward. We learned the team would not be coming back to the hotel that night, and instead would just be leaving straight from Soldier Field, meaning I only had one real last chance to see them as they left the hotel before the match. After what felt like 20 hours of waiting, the team got on the bus without signing anything of mine as my second row spot in the crowd just wasn't good enough.

However, their was one highlight earlier on that afternoon...GARY NEVILLE!

I got Gary Neville's autograph and he was nice enough to pose for a photo. He was trying to hurry back inside so to save time he asked this other kid who got his autograph to join in really quick so he didn't need to take two. Really though I think he thought he was my brother or something...? Silly Gary Neville, I don't have a brother!

Anyways, back in order now....
We headed to the match. United won 3-1 over the Fire and since United headed out of the city, we too ended up cutting our trip short, heading back home, and putting our supreme stalker skills to rest (until we need to bring them out next time, of course).