Number 97 On The Field, Number One In Our Hearts

I had an interesting run-in last night. My brother Mark and I were sitting at the Old Angle having some drinks with his friends after the CAVS game and this guy came up beside me and muttered something I couldn’t quite hear. Then he just kept asking if the Old Angle served steak and finally he turned to me asked me if I recognized who he was. He said he played for the Pittsburgh Steelers. I was a little skeptical at first and asked him his name. I turned to Mark and asked him if he thought this guy was legit because I knew there was a Kendrell Bell that played for the Steelers. He said, all slurred, he was originally from Georgia where his mom lives now.Apparently he was in Cleveland to visit his sister who lives on the East Side.

How he happened upon the Old Angle, not being from the area and for being so high on alcohol or drugs, is a miracle to me. The Old Angle is this small bar that sits on West 25th and Bridge Avenue. Nonetheless he ordered two flank steaks, one after the other, and proceeded to make poor conversation with us at the bar. My brother started talking to him about playing at Syracuse and playing in the Fiesta Bowl and at this point he seemed to be going along with what Mark was saying. We had some drinks with him, it was fun toasting to his 15-1 season this year. He gave the bartender his credit card and we had the bartender check it out. It was some sort of corporate card, so Mark thought he was most likely telling the truth because professional athletes tend to use those which are given to them from the team to pick up expenses on the road. The funniest part is that whenever he looked up on the screen and saw another Pittsburgh Steeler playing in the Pro Bowl he pounded his chest and said: “That’s my boy, that’s my boy right there. I'm gonna talk to you tomorrow boy. That’s my boy” He seemed especially enamored by Hines Ward which I thought was funny. Nonetheless that’s my story.

Oh by the way he was nice enough to buy us a round, after we bought him one I might add, but he left no tip for the server after eating two steaks and drinking for an hour. He also acted like a jerk to our friend Dusty after Dusty asked him a question about the Heinz Field Scoreboard. At that point Kendrell said something like, “What are you talking about man—I don’t even know why I go out and talk to people asking stupid questions.” (Keep in mind he was the one who introduced himself to me and its not like Dusty was questioning defensive schemes from the New England game they lost) That was funny. Oh wait, also this morning we found out he played college ball at Georgia, which makes more sense than Syracuse. No wonder he looked confused when Mark started talking to him about playing in the Fiesta Bowl with Syracuse. That guy was out of it.



Happy Valentines Day to all of you romantics. I have never been a huge fan of the holiday and luckily I have a girlfriend who feels the same way. Though it was sweet for Mindy to give me a mention on her blog.