Pelican

There was an NBA exhibition basketball game taking place next door in the YUM Center the weekend I was in Louisville. I thought nothing of it until later when a couple coworkers and I found ourselves riding the escalator in the middle of a group of very tall men. All of them had the same winged logo on their backpacks. I didn’t recognize it, so when we got to the elevator, I asked one of the guys who they were. He said they were the New Orleans Pelicans in town for a preseason game.

I had never heard of the Pelicans — apparently they used to be the Charlotte Hornets who I have heard of. (I don’t follow the NBA so it didn’t surprise me to learn that they’d moved.) A couple of us ended up getting on the elevator with five of them including the center, Anthony Davis. I pulled out my phone and took a photo of a short coworkers with three of them in the background.

I got off on the 12th floor and my coworker continued up to her room. One of the guys said to her, “What was with that guy and his phone? Was he taking a picture of you or was he taking a selfie?”

My coworker said, “I don’t know. That was weird.”

The guy said, “I hope for your sake he was taking a selfie.”

About two hours later, we were walking down a hallway with our group when we passed several of the players, including the guy who had made the comment. A few steps after we passed them, I said loudly, “See. She does know me. She was totally lying to you.”

The next morning the same guy was standing in the lobby when we got off the elevator. He just looked at her and shook his head.

Anyway, after we got back from dinner, it was nearly 11:00 p.m. I was walking through the lounge with the chair and spotted one of the players with the Pelicans logo on his pants. I figured the worst he could do is say no, so I walked up to him and said, “You’re with the Pelicans, right?”

He said, “Nice chair.”

I asked if I could take his picture holding it and he immediately took it and struck this pose. I looked him up on line when I got to my room and found out he’s a power forward named Ryan Anderson who’s known for making three-pointers. Who knew? Nice guy, though.

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