INGLEWOOD, Calif. - More than 300 fans lined up and down the aisles at The Home Depot in Inglewood on Tuesday night for the chance to meet the LA Galaxy’s Landon Donovan, Edson Buddle, Eddie Lewis and Todd Dunivant. Fans started to arrived to the store as early as noon, some driving as far as two hours in the rain for the 6 p.m. event.
While fans waited patiently for the players, the Galaxy street team and 2011 Miss LA Galaxy finalists chatted with them and raffled off items, including gift cards for The Home Depot, Galaxy game tickets and even an autographed Galaxy jersey.
The players smiled for photos while chatting with the fans as they came through; and even though they had their own player cards for autographs, many fans brought or made their own unique items for the players to sign.
Scanning the crowd, there were fans decked out in Galaxy jerseys and scarves, many carrying Galaxy soccer balls, and at least a handful of “Donovan” U.S. national team jerseys. While it may have appeared that most of the fans were there to meet Galaxy captain Landon Donovan, each of the players had at least one “die-hard” fan in the crowd.
For Edson Buddle, it was a young girl who could do nothing more than giggle with excitement when it was her turn to meet the Galaxy forward. She did manage to show him her handmade Edson Buddle beaded bracelet though.
Eddie Lewis received a surprise when a fan brought out Lewis’ senior year high school yearbook – opened to a photo of Eddie, who had been voted “Most Likely to Appear on the Cover of GQ.”
In the end, it was a unique and entertaining experience for both the fans and players.
