Fear the beard!

As you may know, I am the biggest James Harden fan ever. Well, today I had the chance to meet him. I was, of course, calm and collected. No - I was a complete idiot! But that's OK because I got this:

Long story short: he was amazing!

Short story long: I'll tell you what happened. I worked from home this morning because my pal Mike Caton was fixing up our bathroom. Carrie Dean and I decided to have lunch. Then I heard from Michael Kimball that the Thunder would be arriving at the airport at 3:30 p.m. So then I said to Carrie, let's go see them on my lunch break. So our friend, Susanne Temple, decided she'd leave work early and meet us at the airport. The three of us would all arrive to cheer our faces off for the best NBA team ever!

Well, the bathroom repair took a turn for the worse. This sealant Mike put down made me feel awful, so I had Carrie pick me up early. We drove down to the airport and turns out, the Thunder was early! There they were, getting off the plane, and it was just me, Carrie Dean, two random ladies and two TV stations. Susanne wasn't even there yet and they were already walking across the tarmac. I called her: "Susanne, don't even worry about coming down here. They're already here. And nobody's here, so we feel really awkward. We can't even cheer because there aren't enough people - OH MY GOD - GO THUNDER! WOOOOO! GO THUNDER! WOOOOOOOOOOO! Seriously, it's really awkward and they'll be gone by the time you're here."

The Thunder just came home after two losses in Los Angeles, so they were not in the mood to walk all the way over to meet four weirdo stalkers. So we got back in the car and made a plan!

All the players were leaving through the same gate, so I asked Carrie Dean to take me over to a parking lot facing the road. We would wait there, I decided, until James Harden drove by in his amazing SUV.

"What exactly are you going to do?" Carrie Dean asked.

"I don't know!"

She suggested maybe I make a plan. Oh, the voice of reason. But there wasn't time because he drove right past us. I screamed and waved frantically with both hands like I was an old lady who just won at the bingo hall. He kind of half waved and then looked a little concerned. I'm sure he was wondering what this psycho was doing. Then I realized I was yelling inside the car. He couldn't hear me. So I jumped out of the car, forgetting my crutches, which are a little necessary. It hurt but I didn't care.

"OH MY GOD YOU'RE MY FAVORITE WILL YOU TAKE A PICTURE WITH ME YOU ARE MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE!!!"

I put spaces between those words to make it easier to read. It was more than a run-on sentence. It was a run-on word.

He smiled and then pulled over. He actually pulled over! Imagine a player from any other team doing that. No way. That's why I love the Thunder so much. They're all actually nice people, unlike some NBA players. So this is how the conversation went down:

Me (frantic, breathless): "Oh my god - thank you so much! You are my absolute favorite player. Can I take a picture with you?"

James Harden (calm, normal): "No prob. Oh - what happened to you?" (points at my crutches)

Me (feeling a little like a badass): "Oh, I tore my ACL playing soccer."

James Harden (genuine, nice): "Oh shoot! Do you have to have surgery."

Me (awkward, nervous): "Yeah, later this summer."

At this point, we turn to take the picture. He puts his arm over my shoulder and I put my arm around his waist and realize that if I was any shorter, I would have put my arm accidentally around his butt. Then I really would have looked like a stalker.

Me (terrified that if I linger to long it will get even more awkward): "Thank you so much for taking a picture with me. You are my absolutely favorite."

James Harden (unfazed by my weirdness): "No problem. Get well!"

Me (awed): "Thanks!"

James Harden (acting normal): "Oh yeah - I like your shirt!"

Me (girly, giddy): "Thank you!"

That's when we parted ways - me to tell the story to every person I meet, him to go on with his life as normal.

Now, if you don't know about my shirt, you must go here. The Broingtons made me fall in love with the Thunder and James Harden in particular. There's a brief moment where he does the robot and I just love it. He's awesome. And what group of NBA stars are going to make a viral video just messing around? Nobody but Kevin Durant, Jeff Green and James Harden.

So now I'm an even bigger fan because he is the nicest person ever. Seriously - so nice. I wish James Harden and I were friends. But I'm pretty sure I blew it when I started waving my hands like a weirdo. Oh well. At least I have a picture.