For our Boys of Summer trip in 2005, we went to Baltimore and Philadelphia to see ballgames. I knew Boog Powell had a barbecue stand in Camden Yards and I wanted to meet the big man.
Big man is correct. He is listed at 6'4", but he seemed even bigger. He was also as nice as can be, until Chuck E. Gekas and his elbow got involved.
Cuzz had a problem with his elbow that year, which caused it to become very swollen. It even lead to the Great Elbow Debate. Chuck T. Gekas (aka Chachi) wanted Cuzz to use it as a joke opportunity. At any restaurant, when offered dessert, Chachi wanted Cuzz to decline, stating that it would go right to his elbow.
It should be noted that the other 'boys', Jason Farber, Jim Gekas and I, were completely against that joke. Chachi stuck to his opinion that the joke was gold.
Fortunately, Cuzz was hearing none of it and passed on the 'opportunity'. The Great Elbow Debate rages on to this day.
Anyway, when we saw Boog, we asked him for a group photo. He was so amicable and eager to comply with our request. We all squeezed into the picture (which is hard with a man Boog's size). Then the elbow reared its ugly head.
Boog's beer was perched on the shelf behind us. Cuzz apparently knocked it over with his elbow (allegedly due to its unusually large nature).
Once Boog realized his beer was spilled, his sunny disposition dimmed quite a bit.
We still really don't know why. It's not like he couldn't get another beer. It's his stand!
Making this even funnier was that he thought Jason had been the culprit. All I remember was seeing Boog turn around and face Jason. I was on the other side of Boog and he eclipsed Jason. I honestly couldn't see him at all with Boog's bulk blocking him.
We thanked him for the picture and quietly and quickly left the scene. I believe Boog also left his stand then. I don't know if his departure was planned or if the beer prompted an early exit.
I had no idea meeting Boog would become such a legendary tale. When we met Greg Luzinski a couple days later, it was fun, but fortunately uneventful!
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