Publisher at The American Bystander
is Blogmom of Hey Dullblog. His novels and parodies have sold 1.25 million copies in 25 languages. He lives in Santa Monica, CA, and runs The American Bystander all-star print humor magazine.
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Didn’t want the bloody thing anyway
MIKE GERBER • Paul McCartney was at last night’s Nets-76ers game, and came this close to nabbing a t-shirt from one of those slingshots.
So the next time you think, “Geez, some people have all the luck,” remember, not all of it. Some people become world-famous billionaire geniuses, and others get a free t-shirt.
PS—The shirt reads: “I sat near Paul McCartney and all I got was…”
PPS—THINK OF THE ODDS! First, you have to go to the game, and Paul has to go to the game. Then, out of all the combinations of 20,000 seats, you both have to sit very close. Then, he has to miss the t-shirt, and you have to catch it. It’s mind-boggling.
PPPS—Imagining Yoko in the same situation makes me giggle for some reason.
Related posts:
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Boo, Jon Landau!
McCartney and Thackeray: “Queenie Eye” and “Vanity Fair”
Ram On!
Paul McCartney and Dave Grohl
Review: RAM (Paul McCartney Archive Collection)
All your life
Plea to Paul: Let it be when it comes to claiming credit
More on Lennon and McCartney
I’ve just seen (part of) a face: McCartney on the Colbert Report
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McCartney’s Songs of Empathy
This clip makes me smile. Also, I would pay good money to see Yoko in an “I Sat Near Paul McCartney” t-shirt.
He’s so adorably disappointed, too, about not getting that damn shirt. Ha! The T-shirt cannon turns all of us into children again, doesn’t it? Anyone else notice that the woman standing up behind Paul is his daughter Mary?That’s her husband seated behind Paul and next to Paul’s texting wife is a teenaged boy standing up in the video and making a grab for the T-shirt. I think that’s one of Paul’s grandsons. So the whole family went to the game which probably explains why they were sitting in the nosebleed seats so that they could all sit together. Aw. 🙂
Some people become world-famous billionaire geniuses, and others get a free t-shirt.
LOL. Heh, I love Paul’s “I am at a sporting event” fists and face. 😀
Paul and George were the most “sporty” Beatles. Paul even dragged John to the 1966 FA Cup Final at Wembley when Everton played Liverpool FC.
John tried to get into the NFL in the 1970s I believe. Other than that I don’t think Lennon cared much or had time for sports. George was huge on auto racing…I can see him being drawn to it as he fell in love with fast cars (and his wealth allowed him to indulge) plus it has both solitary and team aspects to it. And that’s kind of what George was, a loner pursuing a passion and also part of a team
That’s an excellent point about George and auto racing. It reminds me of how he was quick to point out that only the four Beatles themselves knew exactly what it was like in the middle of the hurricane, much as how although a racing driver works closely their pit crew and the other staff from their team, once the race starts it’s only the driver who knows what it’s like inside the cockpit at death-defying speeds. Had George lived to the present, I suspect he’d have been a fan of Kimi Raikkonen and his terse, dry as a desert sense of humor, in and out of the car.
John may not have cared much for sports (love the football drawing of himself that he did as a kid and included with the Walls and Bridges artwork), but football guys from Howard Cosell to Frank Gifford loved him, as I’m sure many athletes/pro sports announcers have fond memories of all the Beatles. Colts owner Jim Isray is a huge fan and says it better than many others could in this interview published by NFL.com yesterday: https://www.nfl.com/news/colts-owner-jim-irsay-reflects-on-john-lennon-s-influence-40-years-after-musicia
This is a charming and hilarious post and I love that you documented it with the video. I love how disappointed he is to miss out on the free t-shirt. Thanks for sharing this, Michael.
Here’s a beautifully terse letter written by Paul to A. Klein, esq., informing him that no one will be allowed to add to or subtract from any of his recordings ever again:
http://tsutpen.blogspot.com/2014/01/and-then-it-was-ephemera-105.html
c.c. to Phil Spector and John Eastman
Were I sitting next to Yoko during the T-shirt cannonade, I would have taken the opportunity of “reaching for a t-shirt” to elbow her lights out. Fucking ruined western civilization, just as it was getting good.
“Fucking ruined Western civilization, just as it was getting good” is my new t-shirt. Not specifically to Yoko, but just as a general sentiment.
I cant find a vid of it but, last night I think Paul went to the Nets game and got the shirt!
Here is a story about it and his visit to SNL
http://www.examiner.com/article/paul-mccartney-new-york-snl-brooklyn-nets-game
Regarding the Beatles and sports…I do remember hearing about John going to that Rams game in 74 (and having it explained to him by Ronald Reagan who he sat with) John would later join Cosell in the booth. He did seem legitimately interested in trying to understand American football
I have been told by my old great uncle who worked for Shea Stadium that John did attend a Jets game there in the late 70s (his presence was not acknowledged by the press or on the scoreboard or anything) but supposedly he wanted to experience football again and perhaps get a nostalgic trip back to Shea where the historic 65 (and mostly forgotten 66) shows happened. My great uncle did acknowledge he was a bit upset Joe Namath wasn’t playing (so he at least knew who he was)
That is cool, Henry. I remember seeing a clip of John at that game in ’74 with Reagan. Also, it was on Monday Night Football that many Americans heard about the tragedy of John’s murder. You can see the clip on Youtube with Howard Cosell interrupting the play-by-play to announce it, disbelief and shock in his voice. It’s hard to listen to, as is any footage from that night.
@Michelle, my martial arts teacher tells a story about walking down CPW that night, passing the Dakota at around 10:45. After he was about two blocks further south, he heard/saw two NYPD squad cars tear-assing up the street. When he got home he realized that must’ve been cops going to pick up John and, in Joe’s words, “If I’d only been a little slower that night, I could’ve stopped it.” (Joe is a legendary karate person and was head of security for a very famous religious figure during the 70s. That’s why he could walk down CPW late at night and not worry.)
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The whole world paused that next morning. It was like Princess Di times 1000.
Sitting near Paul McC. would have been great 56 yrs. ago, but now we know so much more and not just about Paul.
My life wasnt a rocket launch but I have found out things about nen. To search for a beatle because he is a beatle is just a wasre. Most of the men like him marry ever younger more successful femmes. It is as much status as because they can. Most have about 3 wives and 6 or 7 kids as well ss constant stimilation.
It would be like taking a trip to another solar system and expecting life to just resume as usual.
What I learned was I like life to be as much about myself as my partner. And being single can be far more fulfilling than chasing a comet. That is just me. To each their own.