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David Hill - FOX Sports Chairman
So, how does it get better than Paul Allen and the former President
of the United States? Well, these next two stories are #1 and #2
simply because of how they went down. #2, David Hill, was completely
unexpected, and #1, John Nordstrom went way above and beyond in
how he made it happen.
A few years ago now, the Fox game day crew (Jimmy Johnson, Howie
Long, Terry Bradshaw, and Joe Buck) were in town broadcasting
live from Qwest Field. When I heard they were going to be down
there, I knew that I wanted every one of them to sign the ball.
I went down really early, along with about 500 or 1,000 other
fans, to see how it all went. I hoped there would be opportunities
to get autographs, and there were. I was able to get Howie Long,
Jimmy Johnson, and Joe Buck fairly easily. The one guy that was
signing autographs, but I just couldn’t get close to, was
Terry Bradshaw. Then they stopped signing autographs for a while.
I saw Bradshaw walk back to their trailer, which was behind the
set. It was blocked off, but fairly accessible. I figured I would
just wait there for him to come back out.
Well, as I was waiting with football in hand, this guy walked
up to me. He had credentials on, and asked me about what I was
carrying? This was before I knew I was going to donate it to charity.
So, I just told him it was a stainless steel football that my
grandpa designed. He asked me whose signature I wanted, and I
told him Terry Bradshaw. He said, “Here, give it to me”. |
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Now, normally I am
extremely protective of the football. I really don’t like
to let people touch it. Not because I am overbearing. More because
I would feel bad for them if something were to happen to it. If
I mess it up, that’s ok. However, if they were to mess it
up, I know they would feel horrible. However, with this guy, I just
felt like it was o.k. Plus he seemed pretty confident that he would
go get me Terry Bradshaw’s autograph. I mean, he seemed like
a respectable guy and he had credentials.
So, I gave him the ball. As he walked back to the trailer, this
girl asked me, “Do you know who that is?” I said, “No!”
She said, “That's the Chairman of Fox Sports!”
I should add, when I gave him the ball he started to walk away. Then I said,
“Wait! Can you make sure that you have him sign it right
here (next to Jimmy Johnson and Howie Long)?” It was kind
of an awkward place to sign it, but he said, “Sure!”
A few minutes go by and he comes back out. He handed the ball
back to me. Terry Bradshaw signed it right where I was hoping
he would. Then I said, “So, I understand you’re the
Chairman of Fox Sports?” He said, “Yeah!” Then
I said, “Can you sign right here!”
I would say that almost everyone who has signed the ball has
been really cool about it. David Hill though was definitely one
of the nicest guys for sure!
And then there was John Nordstrom. I mean David Hill was nice,
but John Nordstrom went so far above and beyond what I could have
ever imagined, it really blew me away. |
