Meeting David Beckham

If you follow me on Instagram (Hi, I’m alexalovesbooks on there. Let’s be friends!), you’ll already know the highlight of last Saturday. But for those who do not, and for people who do want to hear a little bit more about the event, consider this my way of sharing the Beckham experience with you all.

Yes, I got the opportunity to meet DAVID BECKHAM, soccer superstar. Sure, he’s retired, and perhaps I’m not the biggest football fan out there. But he’s still such a legend! Plus, it doesn’t hurt that he’s just such a beautiful, beautiful specimen of a man either.

The Wait

Mel, Jaymee and I were up and getting ready at 4AM. In my case, this involved stuffing my face with cereal, dressing warm and drinking coffee to stay awake after only 30 minutes of sleep! Once we were on board the subway, we were all lulled into a half-awake state. It didn’t take long for us to reach Grand Central, where we got off and proceeded to walk all the way down 42nd St. to the H&M Times Square flagship store.

me, Jaymee & Mel

There were already at least 25 people in line, so we just immediately hopped on behind them. It was still dark and quite cold, and without any hesitation, we all sat down on the cold, hard ground (and yes, that’s a Taylor Swift reference!). We’d brought along a blanket to share, as well as various forms of entertainment (Jaymee listened to music, Mel watched a movie and I finished reading Grave Mercy). Plus, we’d also stockpiled a bunch of snacks in case we got hungry!

As the sky started getting lighter, security came out and arranged the lines a little bit better. Jaymee snuck out of line to grab us all tea from Starbucks because it was so.darn.cold. We were getting antsy by this time, and finally found the right solution: a party hard dance party! Mel had a splitter in her bag, so we all listened to some party music and started dancing. We might have struck the other people as odd, but at least we were warm!

The Meet and Greet

The event was scheduled to start at 11:30 AM, so we all waited impatiently for time to tick by. At around 10:30 AM, there was a David Beckham spotting! He was being interviewed inside the store, but from our spot in line, you could see him. It helped rekindle our excitement, which had waned from standing in the cold.

11:30 came and went, and everyone was getting impatient. Turns out it took so long because H&M had concocted this entrance for him involving a car (British model), and driving up to the H&M doors. The crowds in the street made the going really slow, but eventually, the car parked, David got out and entered the store after waving to the crowd.

Within minutes, the doors had been opened and the line trickled in. Mel, Jaymee and I made a beeline for the clothes, grabbed the tank top we wanted and went to pay. Once that was done, we headed over to line up to meet David! It moved along pretty quick, and before we knew it, it was our turn.

Now, I had been trying to figure out what to say to David when we were face to face. But I basically lost everything that I’d been practicing in my head when I walked up to meet him! He was dressed simply in a bright orange shirt, but it was his wonderful smile that caught me off guard. I can’t even remember what I said to him, if I’m being honest. He chatted in that amazing accent while he signed the shirt and then we posed for a photo together.

DAVID BECKHAM

Walking away from the table, I seriously felt like it had all been a dream. Even when we’d left the store, clutching our signed shirts and talking about lunch, it was still so SURREAL. I had been close enough to touch David (which I did, by the way, when I shook his hand)! Even now, three days later, I still can’t believe it.

It was definitely a highlight of my year, and a great way to start this month! Plus, I got to cross off two items on my 2014 bingo bucket board – meet a celebrity AND get 100 likes on either Facebook/Instagram (which I couldn’t have done without you all).

If you want to hear my sister’s take on the event, you can check out her post! Stay tuned to the blog for further adventures, bookish and otherwise.