One more story about the shoot with Dirk. It is an unwritten rule that during these sorts of interfaces with athletes, journalists are not to ask for personal photos or autographs or anything like that. Not only are journalists supposed to be above that sort of fanboy behavior, but some athletes are put off by such a request. One word to the media relations folks with the teams, and suddenly you don’t get access next time you ask for an interview. So as photographer Billy Surface was at work with Dirk, Zac turns to me and says, “I guess it would be unprofessional to ask to have our picture taken with Dirk.” To which I replied, “Of course that would be unprofessional. And of course we’re going to do it.” I felt like a kid standing next to Dirk — and not just because he’s so tall. Because the last time I admired a player so much, with such pure, light-hearted amazement, was when I was a kid. Anyway, the pic:
