Sports Fans Share 30 Strange Stories About Meeting Athletes In Real Life

Darren - March 3, 2021

Sports Fans Share 30 Strange Stories About Meeting Athletes In Real Life

Darren - March 3, 2021

8. Eric Cantona

What is it about soccer players named Eric charging into the crowd? We already saw how Eric Dier stormed into the stands after a fan insulted his brother. But in 1995, Cantona went full Bruce Lee. Manchester United played Crystal Palace in a tense game in London. Cantona received tough challenges from the Palace players and reacted with a heavy tackle of his own.

The referee issued him a red card and then Cantona literally saw red. A Palace fan told him in strong language to return to France. Cantona responded by doing a Kung-Fu kick over the stand into the fan. It became one of the most iconic moments in Premier League history. It later emerged that the fan was a racist and a neo-Nazi so nobody listened to what he had to say.

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7. Jose Canseco

A larger-than-life personality, Canseco had an excellent MLB career. He was a two-time World Series winner and also a six-time All-Star. However, Canseco also openly admits to steroid use throughout his time as a professional baseball player. But it’s alright because according to him everybody did it. Canseco still has his fans, even though he wasn’t very nice to them in real life.

In 2010, Canseco played for the Laredo Broncos in the Independent League. He hit a home run into the bushes. Later, two brothers found the ball and hung around after the game to meet the former MLB star. But they said that Canseco brushed them off and called them ‘scumbags.’ It was very disappointing because they were very excited to meet one of their heroes.

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6. Jay Cutler

A former Vanderbilt star, Cutler spent most of his NFL career with the Chicago Bears. Of course, the Bears have had their quarterback problems for a long time but he spent significant time in possession of the starting shirt. His only Pro Bowl appearance came as a member of the Broncos. Meanwhile, Cutler had a bizarre meeting in real life with one of his fans in a Chicago washroom.

It’s always strange when celebrities meet fans in bathrooms because they often want to shake hands. In this situation, the fan in question revealed that he also went to Vanderbilt. He was in the middle of asking Cutler if he knew any of his friends when Cutler allegedly shouted “I don’t care!” This stunned the fan into silence because he didn’t expect the quarterback to just stop him and walk out.

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5. B.J Penn

Penn was a massive star in the UFC as a two-weight champion before his downward spiral. In 2019, he was involved in several street brawls. He fought one man outside The Lava Shack in Hawaii’s Big Island. Allegedly, he gave the man a single free shot to punch him in the face. Unfortunately, his adversary knocked Penn unconscious with a single blow.

However, that wasn’t the end of their confrontation. ‘The Prodigy’ returned to punish his opponent. He took him down to the ground and unleashed a pounding on the fellow. Never in his life did he think he would go head-to-head with a former UFC champion. It definitely wasn’t an ideal situation. The UFC cut Penn after this because it wasn’t his first crazy incident and he lost a lot of fights.

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4. Ben Roethlisberger

A Steelers icon, Roethlisberger won two Super Bowls with the franchise. The first saw him become the youngest starting quarterback ever to win a ring. Meanwhile, he is also a six-time Pro Bowl selection. ‘Big Ben’ is extremely popular across the league and a familiar face in the Steel City. However, this has led to some strange encounters with fans in real life.

Roethlisberger is not afraid to shoot his shot. One blogger claimed that ‘Big Ben’ rode up to him and his sister on a motorbike and invited the woman to come home with him. She told him where to go and declined his offer. Furthermore, he frequented the city’s bars and nightclubs. ‘Big Ben’ hit on much younger women while very drunk.

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3. Tyrann Mathieu

Professional athletes should hire social media managers as soon as they become famous. This because the online world is a dangerous place. Furthermore, it can be very dangerous to engage with fans online because they can create trouble. Or in Mathieu’s case, he created trouble for himself. He slid into a young girl’s DMs because he thought she was attractive.

But the problem was that she was literally a young girl. He asked her how old she was and she told him that she was 17. He didn’t immediately end the conversation by saying sorry, you’re too young. No, he asked her when she would turn 18. It was definitely creepy and not a good look for the NFL star. However, in the end, he technically didn’t do anything wrong.

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2. Jamie Carragher

A Liverpool legend, Carragher spent his entire career with the Reds. After retiring, the former central defender became one of the most high-profile analysts in the Premier League. In 2018, his former team played their arch-rivals Manchester United. Unfortunately for ‘Carra,’ his team lost the game. A Manchester United fan and his 14-year-old daughter stopped beside Carragher’s car at an intersection after the game.

They saw this as a fantastic opportunity to tease the former soccer star. Carragher responded by spitting toward their car. The girl claimed that his spit actually landed on her. It created a massive scandal and Sky Sports suspended him. However, credit where it is due because the girl and her father accepted his apology and told the media company not to fire him.

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1. Conor McGregor

McGregor’s second inclusion on this list was one of the craziest fan encounters ever. He was drinking in his local watering hole in Dublin, Ireland when he decided to buy a round of shots for the entire bar. However, one older gentleman in his fifties decided that he didn’t want to drink McGregor’s own brand of whiskey. The Notorious pressed the issue and the man firmly declined.

Then, the UFC fighter punched the man in the face. In fairness to him, he took it well, but it was shameful behavior from a younger man, nevermind a professional fighter. He went to court and was lucky to escape with just a fine for the incident. Some things tarnish a reputation forever and this was definitely up there with the worst for the volatile Irishman.

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