Bobby Hull. The Golden Jet With The Golden Smile

It’s not often that you get to meet a professional athelete and talk with them, even if it’s for 10 minutes.  It’s even less often that you find yourself in the midst of a Hall of Famer, and your childhood idol right before your eyes.  Shake his hand, make him smile, get his autograph, as well as a hug!

Well, that’s what happened to me while I was on my business trip this week in Orlando.  Stuck in a hotel that is connected to the airport, I saw my first ever hockey hero in person.  The Golden Jet!  Bobby Hull!

I happened to be calling home at the time, and the cell service in my room was the pits, as seems to be my luck lately, so I was in the lobby trying to get a good signal.  As I’m talking with my daughter I see an older gentleman waiting for his room key as the person he was with was checking in.  I say to my daughter as he’s standing there, away from the counter, “I think Bobby Hull’s here”.  She says, “are you sure”? As Bobby turned around, I heard his wife say to the bellhop, “The name is Hull”, I knew for sure it was him.  My daughter said “hangup and talk to him”, which I did.

I went up to Bobby and said with the biggest grin on my face, “You’re Bobby Hull right”?  He smiled about as big as the hotel, and proudly, and I mean proudly said, “YES I AM”!  We carried on a conversation for about 10 minutes, exchanging how happy each of us was with the Chicago Blackhawks winning The Cup, and how good he felt for them, and for himself as a Blackhawk Alumni.  Trying to hold back the tears of happyness, of seeing an idol of mine in person, I asked for his autograph and he gladly accommodated me.

I thanked him, wished him well, and we did sort of a half hug that I initiated.  I truly think he was happy to be recognized.

I’ll never forget the smile on his face!

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