Ran into Amir Coffey at Newark Airport last week

Lakers612

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CAVEAT: This happened a week ago. Not sure why I feel compelled to share it now. Nothing really noteworthy, which is probably why I didn't immediately post it. But I was just visiting the board for the first time in like a month, and for some reason I feel encouraged to post this now. Anyway....

Last week I was in New York and I had a flight out of Newark around 8:00 pm. The flight was actually delayed, but I went to the airport early because I didn't feel like hanging out around the Port Authority for multiple hours..

There's like no line for security, so I quickly make my way through the maze to get to the first TSA check.. Low and behold, Amir Coffey is standing right in front of me. I have never seen him so close in person (I have met Jarvis Johnson around town once or twice, and I did meet Dre Hollins on campus when I was in college, but other than that this was my first run-in with a Gopher). (I should also note he is really tall. Definitely not a Jordan Murphy where his height should be in question.) Amir was wearing his headphones and I probably shouldn't have bothered him. But I was so shocked to see him in New Jersey of all places, so I said really loudly (and probably awkwardly) "You're Amir Coffey."

It took him a half a second, but he turned around and took off his headphones. He said something like "Yeah, I am."

I thought that would have been the end of it, but he smiled and asked me my name. I told him my name and mentioned I was a Minnesota alum. Oh, as I am typing this, I remembered that we actually dapped after he asked my name.

I then said, "I heard you signed with the Clippers, I think. That's really cool man. We are all proud of you."

First of all, I knew for a fact he signed with the Clippers. I only added the "I think" because I didn't want to appear like some obsessed fan (I'd wager most Gopher fans have no clue who Amir signed with, let alone the details like that he signed a 2-way deal (I didn't mention that part). Only loser Gopherhole posters like ourselves would know something like that.)

He said "yeah" to confirm he signed with the team. (duh). And then I asked him why he was in New York. He said he was there for a NBA rookie orientation. Should also note he was wearing a Gopher sweatshirt. (Which I found really bizarre considering we've been told by reliable sources that Coffey hates the Gophers (end sarcasm)).

I then asked him if he was going to Minneapolis (my flight was to Minneapolis). He said he was and then asked me if that was where I was headed. I said yeah but noted my flight was delayed. He said his was too.

And honestly that was about it. Really trivial, mundane interaction. Overall, he was really cool about it. After I got to where all the gates were, realized there were like 30 NBA rookies in the airport. There was an earlier flight to Minneapolis that Amir got on (celebrity perks I guess) and I saw 2 Wolves rookies, Naz Reid and the guy from Washington (too lazy to google his name right now) board the flight... There were a lot of other rookies sitting around at their respective gates. Amir was the only one rocking attire from his university.
 
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Thanks for sharing. I know it sounds mundane, but it is cool to run into those guys.


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It's okay... you can leave out the part about the selfie and the autograph. ha Probably what I would have done.
It is cool he was wearing a Gopher sweatshirt. Like that.
Thanks for sharing.
 

tried to have a conversation with him an the maroon and gold game last year. he is a very quite person.

Good for him!!
 

Cool story!


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Haha, I appreciate the self deprecation. I'm a nerd when it comes to running into athletes as well.
 

Haha, I appreciate the self deprecation. I'm a nerd when it comes to running into athletes as well.

You're likely a native Minnesotan who is bred to give people their space. I sat two seats down at a game, with no one in between, from a pro basketball coach and said nothing more than, "Happy Thanksgiving" and "How did your team do last night?" Left him alone after that, assuming he wanted to be left alone. I'm from Minnesota. That's what we do. I'm pretty sure most public people actually appreciate it.
 

Just ran into Trevor Mbakwe at the fair, was very nice, said Minnesota will always be home.
 






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