Meeting Buffalo Joe a win-win situation

A big guy walked into the bar at Buffalo Niagara International Airport. Joe DeLamielleure, the Hall of Fame NFL lineman and longtime Charlotte resident, wasn't drinking. He wanted a chicken sandwich and a salad and a diet soft drink while he waited Saturday afternoon for his flight to Charlotte.

I started with a chicken sandwich, too. But since my flight the previous day had been canceled, and since we were told this one also could be, and since the next flight to Charlotte with open seats was not for two more days, I needed something stronger than a diet soft drink.

As we waited, Joe and I talked about renting a car and making the 101/2-hour drive back to Charlotte. But since we'd have to go through the middle of the storm, we stayed in the restaurant instead.

I knew that Joe, who used to block for O.J. Simpson, was a big deal in Buffalo. But I had no idea how big. People stared and whispered, and one woman offered her hand and said she had met him four years ago and wasn't he great.

"I sense you get recognized here more than in Charlotte," I said.

"Just a little," Joe said.

Joe – his last name is too tough to spell – just turned 56, but folks in Buffalo remember his hard work (he insisted on playing on special teams) and his lack of pretension. As we sat and watched basketball, a woman walked up, apologized about six times for interrupting and asked for an autograph.

She understands. Had Joe been eating, she would have known not to approach. Athletes are entitled to eat in peace, too. There was a modesty and a grace about the woman. Joe opened his gym bag and pulled several Joe D football cards out – he was in Buffalo for an autograph show – and the woman was thrilled when he signed them.

Everybody that approached Joe was courteous and deferential, which they ought to be, because they were asking for a favor. Nobody was going to sell the signature on eBay. Joe was part of their lives, a player who loved being a Buffalo Bill and playing in Buffalo. Fans know who is faking. Joe doesn't do that.

It can be awkward when celebrity and fans come together. It can also be warm. The fans wanted something to remember Joe by, and Joe wanted to give them something. Everybody won.

We continued to win after we left the bar. Although we landed about 5 hours after we intended, we made it back to Charlotte.

Comments

[Demetrius]

So, if Charlotte sucks so bad...as you are so fond of telling us, why is Joe living here instead of Buffalo? Of course, we are all buffy and muffy with golf shirts and kids named Jackson. Boy, I miss the biting cold weather and the lack of job opportunities in Buffalo. BUT, OF COURSE, THEY HAVE GREAT LITTLE INDEPENDENT RESTAURANTS!

[Kevin]

Joe D is truley a class act. I wish there were more professional athletes like him.