Logan Jackson, sports editor at the Atchison Globe, had the opportunity to meet his favortie player, Kei Kamara, last Sunday. Jackson wrote a column for the newspaper in Atchison, Kansas, reflecting on his interaction with Kamara. Keep reading to hear more about his experience.
I¹m not trying to brag, but I got to meet Kei Kamara this past weekend. For those of you who don¹t know, Kamara is a starting forward for the Sporting Kansas City soccer team. He leads the team in goals scored, shots and shots on goal. He was also recently named to the MLS All-Star's Inactive Roster. Kamara is also my favorite player. I really haven¹t had many opportunities to meet a professional athlete, so when I saw Kamara was going to be doing a meet and greet at Nebraska Furniture Mart in Kansas City, I knew I had to be there.
It wasn¹t too hard to convince my wife to go with me, as she¹s also a huge Sporting KC fan and really enjoys watching Kamara play, (I don¹t know what she was more excited about, however, meeting Kamara or shopping at Nebraska Furniture Mart). A lot of people talk about meeting their favorite athletes, and how sometimes it can be a major letdown. Maybe the athlete isn¹t as nice as they originally thought, or maybe the athlete doesn¹t show an interest in having a short conversation. That wasn¹t my experience at all. I definitely didn¹t lose any respect for Kamara after meeting him. I gained respect for him.
He not only signed autographs for everyone there, he was more than happy to talk with everyone. He also took pictures with anybody who wanted one. Kamara was a complete class act. It was an awesome opportunity, and I¹m glad I had the chance to do it. It¹s awesome as a fan to get to talk with your favorite players, even if it¹s a short conversation. Kamara didn¹t have to agree to that meet and greet. Sporting played the night before, and he could have easily said he was too tired or needed some rest. That just wasn¹t the case for him, though.
This is just another reason that I¹ve become more of a Sporting KC fan since I moved to the area. The players on this team are always making community appearances when they don¹t have to. They interact with their fans more than any other professional team that I¹ve ever followed. It¹s really refreshing. In the middle of the Penn State scandal, the Dwight Howard trade saga, and what seems like a professional athlete getting in legal trouble every other day, it¹s relieving to meet a professional athlete like Kamara.
I know not all professional athletes are bad guys, in fact, I bet most of them are down-to-earth individuals like each of us, they just have freakish athletic ability and talent. They are also capable of making mistakes, just like us. And while I do agree with Charles Barkley when he says these athletes shouldn¹t be role models, it still stinks to see athletes getting into so much trouble. With the media that they deal with, I do believe it¹s much harder to stay under the radar, that still doesn¹t give athletes the right to abuse their power.
Just because I don¹t think professional athletes are role models doesn¹t mean others think the same way, either. I know there are a ton of kids that look up to professional athletes. That¹s just the way it is. And there were more kids at the meet and greet with Kamara than adults. I know most of those kids look up to him. If Kamara acts like he isn¹t interested in being there, some of those kids are going to go home heartbroken. Again, though, he came through. So I want to thank Kamara for being an athlete that young kids can look up to. Thanks for being a class act.
