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Today’s Twinsfest started with promise but it quickly turns South.  I got to the Dome around 2:20pm with the gates opening at 5:30.  I waited outside over 3 hours in the below zero windchill.  Russ, Shane and I were around 50th in line outside.  When the gates opened, Russ, Shane and I went directly to the line where Mauer and Morneau were signing.  When we got there, we were suddenly W A Y behind a lot of people.  Looking around, the people in line in the first couple “lanes” (of the zig zag) did not have coats or were recognizable from our long wait outside.  Come to find out, they were family members of the vendors on the floor who were inside the Dome before we were able to get in line.  I heard from another person in line at a later point saying there was a vendor bragging about sending his family up there.  I took the first “shift” and ducked down to the Ron Coomer line to get Coomer on a card for a fellow SCN’er.  I was able to get two Coomer cards and a Denard Span debut ticket with “MLB Debut ’08” on it.  I then went back in the M & M line and waited.  Needless to say, after waiting 3 hours outside and another 1.5 hours inside waiting for M & M to start to sign and then through .5 of their 1.25 hours of signing, Shane & I left the line leaving Russ.  Russ ended up missing out by about 30 people.  If that was not frustrating enough, after leaving that line, Shane and I checked out the Hrbek/Oliva line.  It was the only time Hrbek was signing and that line was too long and a lot of people missed out of them too.
We then got in line for Jason Kubel, Joe Nathan and Delmon Young to get my Young batting glove signed.  Turned out that DY was sick and was not there so we decided to move on to another line.
We decided to head to check out the Molitor line and that was too long and decided, in an effort for Shane to not get completely shut out, headed to the free guys.  We went through the free guy line and I got Trevor Plouffe, Anthony Swarzak and Danny Valencia on OMLBs as well as, with Shane’s help, got two Swarzak cards and three Eli Tintor cards signed.
Shane, Russ and I all headed home greatly disappointed but with hope Twinsfest 2009 – Day 2 would be better.

I was reading the signingshotline.com listings and saw Kent Hrbek was signing at a grand opening for Fleet Farm in Blaine, MN so I decided to head up there.  I just decided to work on the Twins Topps team sets from 1980 to 1986 and he is in there a bunch of times as well as team leaders so I had 8 cards plus a couple for a couple friends plus a ball for another friend.  I thought if I could get through the line 4 or 5 times, I would get them all.

I drove the 50 minutes to get there and to my surprise, nobody was in line.  This was about 20 minutes after it started so I thought maybe it was poorly advertised.  I saw a note where it is limited to two autographs per person.  I was bummed.  I was alone and thought I would only get two.  Well, I walked up with a notepad sheet with four cards on it.  He looked at them and said I will sign these four for you.  He did and I left.  I drove the
50 minutes home wondering what if I had someone with me, etc.

So, almost two hours for four autographs.  I did need them for my sets but I really had hoped to help the others too.  Maybe at Twinsfest.

Today Amy had something going on in the morning so Caden and Cami and I headed to the Mall of America because Joey Browner was signing there.  I do not collect anything other than baseball but my friend Mark in San Diego needed Browner on a couple football cards so I told him if he sent them to me, I would get them signed.  He did and I did.  Appearing with Browner was Bob Lurtsema.  Bob took his giant NFC champion ring off and let Cami try it on.  She thought that was pretty cool.  He then signed a picture “Cami, You’re a doll”.  That was pretty cool and she thanked him without any prompting.

Today the Twins Pro Shops had their monthly signings and I decided to head to Apple Valley to get Nick Blackburn because he was the only current Twins I needed/wanted on a ball.  I got there about 15 minutes before it started and was around 100th in line.  I was able to get through the line in a half hour.  I got him on a baseball and an Allen & Ginter card.

I then decided I had time to get the to Pro Shop in Minnetonka where Brian Bass was signing.  I drove up there and got him on an Allen & Ginter card and an Upper Deck card.  I walked right up to him as nobody was in line.

Denard Span was signing at the Roseville location but I already had him on a ball from Twinsfest so I skipped him.