Meeting Billy Winn

Hello OBNUG, its been a while. While I have been stopping in a couple times a week to read Kevan's witty articles I have not had the time to stick around and post much this season. I have been working 12 hour shifts. I still really dont have all that much time but I thought that this was too good of a story not to stop in and share it.

So earlier this year I purchased a game worn Billy Winn jersey at a summer semester scholarship auction that Boise State was having. I dont think many people knew about this auction because none of the jerseys went for anything near what they go for during the fall or spring semester scholarship auctions. Several of the jerseys were not even bid on.

I have watched these auctions and even placed bids before but ALL of the jerseys always go for more than I was willing to spend. I was expecting no less this time but placed a bid on a Billy Winn home jersey anyways. I placed my bid and forgot about it. A few days later I got an email saying that I had won the auction and that my jersey was being shipped to me. I was stoked. Billy Winn has been one of my favorite players ever to watch play ball on the Blue. I will never forget the feeling of elation I felt sitting with 12 of my closest friends and family on the 50 yard line, when he recovered that fumble in the first series versus Va Tech, then sacked the hell out of Tyrod Taylor the first play of the next series, and then got a half sack with Shea McClellin on the very next play after that. He was a force to be reckoned with. As he always is.

Two days later, I receive not one, but two thick manila envelopes in the mail from BSU. Seeing as there were two identical envelopes and that it was only two days after I had won the auction, I didnt think that it was the jersey that I had won. To my surprise, when I opened the envelopes I had been sent not only the game worn home jersey that I had bid on, but the game worn away jersey that I had not bid on as well! I was very excited, but figured that there must have been a mix up. So I went online to check the auction site to see who had won the away jersey. To my surprise no one had bid on the away jersey. Several other jerseys were not bid on either (McClellin, Hout, Crawford, etc.). And not only that, but the Doug Martin jerseys went for $250 and $300, and the Kellen Moore jerseys for $400 a piece. This is way, WAY lower than the game worn jerseys usually go for. So my only explanation is that people must not have know there was an auction happening for spring semester scholys. And I can only assume that they sent me both jerseys because I was the only person who bid on the home jersey. Xmas in effing July.

via i1080.photobucket.com

I spent this whole year trying to get these jerseys signed. The fall game, the UGA game, the SDSU game, and every single home game. There was just simply never an opportunity to get the jerseys signed. I had all but given up hope of getting them signed when I was going through the list of people that I follow on twitter (deleting all the people I didn't want to follow anymore) when I came across Billy's twitter. I contemplated for about 3 seconds and then decided to throw the dice and shoot him a tweet asking if he would sign the jerseys. To my surprise he tweeted me back the next day and said that he would be happy to sign the jerseys. I was stoked. So I tweeted him back my number and told him to shoot me a text and let me know when he could sign the jerseys for me. Not ten minutes later he did just that.

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Please don't hold it against me when I tell you that I may or may not have squealed like a little school girl when I received this text. Its not every day that my favorite Div 1A, all-american, early round draft prospect, football player texts me. Definitely one of the cooler texts I have ever gotten.

So we set a meet for 12:30 at the SUB. Billy showed up right on time, and was a complete bad ass. Just a totally, normal, down to earth guy. No swollen head, no puffed up ego, none of it. I dont think that he expected the jerseys that I had for him to sign were going to be his own game worn jerseys. I think that surprised him a little. He stayed around after signing the jersey and talked with me for a few minutes, but had to get back to his girlfriend who had just had surgery. I really hope she doesn't read OBNUG, or else I may have just inadvertently put him in the dog house. But something tells me that she will get it over it ;-)

We talked for a few minutes about him getting his invite to the Combine and the Senior Bowl. And about how he is staying in Boise to work out with Coach Socha, instead of spending $15k+ by hiring a trainer. I personally think that is the best choice he could have made. Coach Socha's teams have proven to be the better conditioned teams time and time again on the national stage. Billy said that some of the guys that have hired private trainers in various parts of country have told him that these trainers are training them in the exact same ways that Socha has been training them for the past several years. Damn good choice if you ask me.

Well that is my story of meeting Billy Winn. Pretty damn good day. I would have had a picture taken with him, but I don't think that my self esteem could have handled seeing a picture of my fat ass standing next to Billy Winn ;-) Anyways, heres a picture of my now signed and oh so much more valuable game worn Billy Winn jerseys.

via i1080.photobucket.com

--Ink