Who Have You Seen Lately?

I decided today I would join all those materialistic, star-gazed people who adore celebrities and forget that they, too, are human. :)

I've been thinking of doing a blog like this for some time. It seems to be an everyday thing - celebrity spotting - now that we live in the metroplex. I thought I'd account for you some of the people we've encountered while we've been here. Chances are you know them or have seen them, too!

1. Dirk Nowitzki - today Paul called me while driving home from work to report that he spotted Dirk driving around Frisco in his German-made Mercedes with a license plate that reads: MAVS41. If you know my husband, you know what a big deal this was, even if he was only able to glance at the tall, blonde driver.

2. Deion Sanders - he lives about 5 miles down the road. We pass his multi-million dollar mansion every time we go to the mall or to the health food market. Once we saw them filming him driving down the road. I use to adore Deion in all of his glory with the Dallas Cowboys. That was until I witnessed his unkind reception of young fans. I have students who know students who go to his house, or whose parents visit with him often. Word is that he's pretty much the same now, too. Catch a glimpse of his world in the new Oxygen show "Prime Time Love" which airs on Tuesdays at 9:30 pm. I'm certain one time will be all you need. Am I marketing for him? Nah, I just thought you'd like to see just how big of an ego he really does have even if he is the producer. :)

3. Omar Stoutmire - technically we didn't see him, but his wife and kids at the local park. That was the day Avery said "The Cowboys suck" in response to his wife's comment that he played for the Cowboys. Interestingly, enough his wife, Sheila, is a personal trainer for many including my Sunday School co-worker. She invited me to join them this summer for a full on boot camp. Ouch! My muscles already hurt!

4. Dan Campbell - about a year ago, we were all shopping and wasting time at SuperTarget. The girls were famished (yeah right) and so we stopped at the snack area for some popcorn and a drink. While Paul was standing in line, he realized as only a sports fanatic would that Dan was standing right in front of him with his own kids. Paul peered through people to watch them eat their pizza and then when Dan rose to leave, Paul jetted over to shake his hand. What a gracious man, he was, especially when Paul thought he was Jason Witten. ;)

5. Anthony Lynn - he is a former running back and now assistant coach for the Cleveland Browns. He spent some time on the Dallas Cowboys coaching staff as well. Oddly enough, a few years ago after my parents had moved to NM, we continued hearing about this particular "friend" my mom made. That friend was the mother-in-law of Anthony. His son is a senior this year and is a dynamic football player.

6. Craig James - now a college football commentator for CBS, among other things. He's played football, reported sports, but mainly is a great supporter of his children and their activities. He attends our home church and I was greatly touched by his ability to report games miles across the country and still be at church on Sunday with his family. I've taught 2 of his children and his wife was my substitute when I was out on maternity leave. He's an all around great guy and his family is just as great!

Well, that's about it for now - I'm sure there are some I'm forgetting - like Randy White, who we saw mowing his lawn and Joe Alvazono, who just opened a sports bar in the area (see the sports theme here?). I thought I'd share with you something I found recently on a website for the surrounding area:

You may be lucky enough to see LeAnn Rimes gallivanting around town as she owns a luxury home in Prosper.

To be honest, I don't think I've seen anyone ever gallivanting around any town - ever, but these are way more sightings than I was ever exposed to in that little West Texas town where I grew up. ;)