I told myself, this is not a time to be prudent or half-assed. As soon as the short program for the presentation of the 2009 World Series trophy to the Hong Kong media and fans ended, I went up to the hostess and asked if I could get right beside the trophy for a photo op.
"As long as you don't touch it," she gently reminded.
"Scout's honor!" I promised with every word dripping with excitement. What's my greatest moment in my being a long time fan of the New York Yankees? I have lots actually.
There's meeting Jason Giambi in his first season at the Bronx, going to Yankee Stadium for the first time, cheering for Alex Rodriguez as we tried to get him to sign with New York, watching Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS when Aaron Boone smacked that walk-off home run, and going inside the Yankees dugout and seeing the late Thurman Munson's locker. But this one... well, I don't know. Maybe right after the Boone home run.
I was planning the trip to HK after the Chinese New Year but the sudden trip to the Far East by Yankees officials necessitated an earlier trip. As soon as I arrived in HK, I checked out K11 hotel/mall at TST for the interview with GM Brian Cashman.
When I wrote the club last week, they couldn't confirm the one-on-one interview. Well, at least they replied. So when I arrived, I went to the hotel to verify. Yes, they said. I can interview him, but priority is HK media. That's okay. So to be sure I get in, I signed up in the fan's list for the photo op. I was the eighteenth person to sign up.
I couldn't believe it. There were limited slots. Like 40 fans allowed aside from a couple of baseball teams, the kids of K11 officials, and about 30 media people. So there were like a hundred plus folks inside a conference room. I'll write about it in my next column for Bleachers' Brew in Business Mirror.
As soon as the host gave permission, I went up the stage and got like eight shots (my friend Andy, who is from Taiwan but now lives in HK took the shots) with the trophy. Then it was my turn to take Andy's pic. From there, I sidled over to Yankees GM Brian Cashman, waited for one reporter to finish the his interview then got mine (on video). Hahaha. Can't be meek here or they'll run over you. Mr. Cashman thought it was cool to have someone from the Philippines come over. I was the only one outside Hong Kong media to be there. But they did stop by Tokyo and Beijing on their way here.
My luck ended when I couldn't get a Yankees Universe tee shirt. They had run out. "You might want to check yankees.com," said one team aide. Talk about sales talk.
Then I interviewed fans here. From locals to expats. Come to think of it, it wasn't an interview at all. We all had fun chatting. And I had to be the one to tell them that the 2009 World Series DVD was available at HMV. When I checked it out on my way back to the hotel, there was one disc left. There was a bunch yesterday. Hahaha. Salesman. Salesman.
I was planning on having some Vietnamese food for dinner but instead tried out Ebeneezer's Kebabs and Pizzeria along Prat Street (a short short walk from K11).
Picked up The XX's excellent indie debut XX. In case you don't know yet, I'm a bigger music fan than I am of sports. This British band sounds like a stripped-down version of early New Order with some trip hop influences. You may also think of the Ting Tings. Real cool.
I posted lots of pictures at my Facebook page. Stuff along Salisbury Road, the Star Ferry, Avenue of the Stars, Mongkok, and the trophy event. I saw some hookers and I wanted to interview them. One of them asked she doesn't like to talk but she's more into action. Holeee! Hahaha. She then asked in broken English, "You write about sex?"
Dudes... I let out the loudest laugh but had to cut it lest I insult her. I explained things a bit and she thought I was asking for a discount. Hmmmm. Hahaha!
Earlier... I saw this punk rock shop near Silvercord Centre. But didn't go anymore.
It rained a bit. And that made it kind of colder. But it was all in all a great day.
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