Waiting for Gary

In one of our bi-monthly suroy-suroy with my wife Denise at the Ayala Center two weeks ago, an acquaintance from the sports writing community informed me that an NBA legend and a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame will be flying in to Cebu for the opening of the 4th NBA store in the country.  Gary Payton in the flesh is welcome news because for ordinary mortals who are followers of the NBA, seldom if never, will we be coming face to face with one of the greats of the game. 

Days prior to the opening of the store, I rummaged thru my old NBA cards and since GP is not my main collection, I found a few of his cards which I was hoping to have it signed by him.  Some friends from hobby also did the same in anticipation of the rare chance.

Like the members of the local sports media, I got an invite for the VIP opening of the store last Wednesday.  Because Cebu has already been very competitive with Manila’s traffic, me and my wife hitched a ride with our daughter Ana who reports for work in the early afternoon.  Better early and wait than get stuck in traffic and be late.

We had about five hours to kill before the VIP opening and I met with Olin, Adi and Alvin, mates from the hobby, at one of the donut shops in the mall and exchanged cards and did some planning on how to have them signed by GP.  They had their sharpies ready, I have none.  I left the group to buy a sharpie but met my wife along the way and completely forgot about it.

The scheduled 6 p.m. opening neared and I went up to the fourth level of the mall.  There was loud music and bright lights and colleagues from the sports media were already gathered.  We chatted for a while until we were ushered inside the cordoned area where cocktails were served.  College and high school players were aplenty and several coaches were present.  Also there were retired Cebuano PBA players Al Solis and Elmer Cabahug.  There were the requisite photo ops with and among whoever.

6 p.m. came and went and we were told that GP was relaxing at a nearby hotel as he needs to recharge because of the day’s prior commitments, so we waited.  Since I’m nearing the geriatric stage, my ears were ringing thanks to the loud music and my head was some kind of spinning due to the bright lights.  So what better thing to do to balance the uncomfortable feeling but to indulge on the hors d’oeuvres being served.  It helped, somehow.

Simply clad in a sweatsuit, GP arrived at 20 past 7 and everyone’s faces lit up.  Some introductions were made then he spoke and after his short message, a basketball and shirt personally signed by him were raffled off.  Two numbers were called and a young lady in a Laker shirt got the autographed ball and Cabahug’s son got the signed shirt.  That was one memorable night for both of them.

GP was interviewed by the Cebu media at the second level of the store and was very accommodating.  Although the questions were limited, he was very game and after the interview, the media people took turns in having pictures taken with the NBA legend.

I prepared my cards to be signed and was supposed to be next on the line when some guy (probably he screens people bringing items to be signed) stopped me and said, “mamaya na.”  Sure, I said.  But then some kid had a shoe signed and another kid had a basketball signed so I asked him again if GP can sign my card.  The second “mamaya na” came and in a little while, GP donned his sweats and stood up to go.  The guy said GP wants to rest and I was left holding two unsigned cards.  Yeah, mamaya na.

Good thing Alvin and Adi were resourceful as hours before, we exchanged cards and agreed that whoever gets the chance to have it signed should take it.  Obviously they had the chance because at the end of the night, we all had basketball cards signed by GP, and I had, of course, one signed card with him in a Laker uniform.

I was not so much on GP’s presence but I was really looking forward to the store’s opening simply because I would then be having easy access to all things Lakers.  Denise came upstairs and toured her around.  Yup, there were Laker items but did not find what I wanted although we did get something to avail of the 10 percent discount.  I suppose that’s a blessing as we haven’t spent much on opening night.

Ballers say, “This is why we play.”  Because an NBA Store has now opened in Cebu, fans also say, “This is why we pay.”