For some, it’s a professional athlete; for others a politician or movie star. It could be a rapper, talk show host, or model. Or someone who’s all three. No matter who you are, everyone has a celebrity you go crazy for. Everyone is a fan of someone.
There are different levels of fans, of course. Some people get tattoos of an artist's song lyrics, buy every magazine the person has been in, or name their kids after their TV characters. But the more normal and most common experience between fans and their celebrity idols is the meet-and-greet.
The organization and style of a meet-and-greet usually depends on the celebrity and their management. For example, in order to meet Stephanie Meyer, the author of the Twilight series, I had to purchase her new book, The Host, at a special event at Barnes & Noble. My friend and I waited outside the store from 3 a.m. until it opened its doors just to buy the book. By purchasing the book that day, we were guaranteed a ticket to the signing. Meyer spoke in a high school auditorium and then signed books onstage afterwards.
Some “meet-and-greets” aren’t meet-and-greets at all. I attended an event for Benjamin McKenzie, a star from The O.C., where an interviewer asked him questions from the audience. He talked about his new TV show, and they screened the first episode of the season before it premiered on TNT. Attendees could take pictures and video of Ben, but not any with him. No autographs were given.
As a fan, you may attend an event like this one without any personal interaction with the guest. Some say that an event without autographs or pictures is a waste of time. If you’re a real fan, it doesn’t matter. Despite the fact that we couldn’t take a picture with him, my friends and I still felt the event was personable. When the interviewer asked a question about The O.C, our obnoxiously loud cheers got us a shout-out from Ben. You don’t have to get an autograph or picture with the celeb to enjoy yourself.
Article comments