Ben Zobrist - Chicago Cubs

1) Ben Zobrist is a three-time MLB All-Star and two-time World Series champion and the ultimate utility player for the Chicago Cubs.

2) Zobrist has played 11 major league seasons including stops with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2006-14), Oakland Athletics (2015), Kansas City Royals (2015) and the Chicago Cubs (2016-present).

3) Ben is a native of Eureka, IL and originally attended Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, IL which is also home to Chicago Bears training camp.

J: What's your favorite fruit or vegetable?

BZ: You know, I'm a pineapple and mango guy. Pineapples and mangoes.

J: It's a little weird. We went to meet Kris Bryant and he said that he likes cake and steak! 

BZ: Cake and steak? For fruit? When you asked him that question. (Maybe he heard food?) He said cake and steak, that sounds like him...and soda. He drinks soda all the time.

J: He said if he had to pick one he'd pick strawberries but he pretty much eats steak and cake.

J's Follow Up: I'm not much of a mango dude but I'll eat it every once in a while. But I do like pineapple unlike my brother. Dude I'm always eating cake and steak like Kris. I only drink soda every once in a while but I really like it. 

D's Follow Up: Mangoes are my favorite and I don't like pineapple anymore. I had sour pineapple and that is seriously why I don't like it now. If I ranked all my favorite fruits, mangoes would be number one.

We met the World Series MVP Ben Zobrist on November 12th, 2016 as Ben and the Cubs were fresh off of winning the World Series just ten days earlier. The thrilling game seven (8-7 final score) victory versus the Cleveland Indians was the club's first title in 108 years. The signing took place at Woodfield Mall inside the My Fan Cave store. 

Our family always makes an effort to be early when attending signings with athletes, and it's especially important when meeting with the World Series MVP. On Saturday, November 12th, the boys went to a friend's birthday party and we quickly made our way over to the mall at the end of the party. We arrived with roughly fifteen minutes left in Ben's official signing time but we were told that he was gone and had left the store ten minutes earlier. 

Fortunately for us, Ben was still in the mall and we were escorted to a special security room where the four of us got one on one time with the two-time World Series champ. The boys decided to ask their go-to question as they wanted Ben to name his favorite fruit or vegetable. He quickly replied with pineapple and mangoes, which are favorites of our family too! Danny has recently gone sour on pineapple but you'll still see fresh pineapple and mangoes on our dinner table on a regular basis.

It was an amazing opportunity for our family to talk with Ben Zobrist just 10 short days after being named World Series MVP and winning the World Series with the Chicago Cubs! I can tell you that we were walking on cloud nine after this experience and it's a day we will never forget. Go Cubs Go!

                    

Eddie Royal - Chicago Bears

1) Eddie Royal is a former wide receiver/returner who played nine seasons in the NFL. He played two seasons with the Chicago Bears (2015-2016), three with the San Diego Chargers (2012-2014) and four seasons with the Denver Broncos (2008-2011) who drafted him in the second round (42nd overall) of the 2008 NFL Draft.

2) Royal played college football for the Virginia Tech Hokies from 2004-2007. Eddie finished his collegiate football career as one of the most decorated wide receivers in school history. He was named  Second-Team All-ACC in 2006 and First-Team All-ACC in 2007.

3) Eddie Royal was a two sport athlete at Westfield High School in Chantilly, Virginia where he was a star on the football field and also a standout track and field athlete specializing in the 55-meter dash and long jump.

D: What's your favorite food?

ER: My favorite food is steak!

D's Follow Up: I love steak too. It's very good for your body. Everybody should try it!


J: Do you have a favorite fruit or vegetable?

ER: Brussels sprouts are my favorite.

J's Follow Up: Thats my Gramma and Papa's favorite! I've tried them with my mom but I did not like them at all. But I know they are also good for you. 

We met Eddie Royal at the Sideline Marketing store inside Hawthorn Mall in September of 2015. We were excited to meet Eddie because we love the wide receiver position and he was an electric receiver in his six years prior to arriving in Chicago. We also have a set of receiver gloves that were signed by each wide receiver on the roster in 2016 and Eddie Royal was the last one to sign them. It was a fun adventure to complete the gloves and they are still one of our favorite items to showcase in our home. The boys and I have met many athletes over the years and we wanted to go back and write a post about meeting one of our favorites.

Royal has since retired from football but we can't help but think that he could help out the depleted Bears receiving corps on Sundays. Eddie was a tremendous player on the field throughout his nine seasons in the NFL and he was great with Jordan and Danny off the field at the Sideline Marketing signing. The boys also met Eddie at the Varsity Bears practice in Gurnee in August 2016, where Jordan got his football signed.

Eddie's favorite food is steak and we can say that steak is one of the most popular dinner choices for the boys and I. Our personal favorite is to order up a steak at the meat counter at Mariano's and have them cook it for us so it's ready to go when we get home. A great source of protein, vitamin B12, and zinc, steak is a good choice for my two picky eaters at home. 

When it comes to brussels sprouts, there is only one fan of the vegetable in our house and that is mom. The boys and I have not come around to brussels sprouts and I'm not sure if we ever will. Although, adding olive oil and salt certainly gives them a boost, I still haven't had any that I love yet.

Although his time in Chicago was cut short, we are thankful for the opportunity to have met Eddie Royal while he was here. He made a lasting impression on Jordan, Danny and myself and it was fun to go back and write a post on one of our favorite players in recent history.

Kevin King - Green Bay Packers

1) Kevin King is a rookie cornerback for the Green Bay Packers who was drafted in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft (33rd overall).

2) Kevin played college football for the University of Washington Huskies from 2013 to 2016 where he tallied 164 tackles and six interceptions.

3) King was a track star in high school as he won league titles in the 110-meter high hurdles and 300-meter hurdles as a junior and senior for Bishop O'Dowd in Oakland (CA)

D: What's your favorite healthy food?

KK: I'm going to go with carrots. How about you? (Danny: I like peas) Wow, I don't think I've ever heard any kid say peas were their favorite.

D's Follow Up: I think carrots are good. They are probably my second favorite veggie to peas. I think he probably eats carrots almost every day. 

D: Who's your best friend on the Packers?

KK: Ha Ha (Clinton-Dix) of course! 

D's Follow Up: Ha Ha and Kevin both play defense and they are only one number away from each other (20 and 21). I think Ha Ha is a funny guy and fun to be around, so that's probably why Kevin and Ha Ha are friends.

It was a great night for Danny and I at the Green Bay Distillery as we were able to see Ha Ha again and Danny also got to meet his second favorite player on the Packers, Kevin King. This was an autograph signing that was put together by Packer Connection, a company who has held signings with multiple players throughout the season. The signings have taken place the night before Packer home games and we were beyond lucky that these two were the players that were scheduled on the weekend we were planning to be in Green Bay. We were also very fortunate to win an extra VIP pass so our friend Jane and her husband Phil, along with her parents were able to meet Kevin too. I think Jane and her family may have had the most fun watching Danny hang with his heroes, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Kevin King. 

The boys and I watched many of the NFL combine drills in March before the draft, so we knew quite a bit about Kevin's athletic ability and his career at Washington. We knew he was rated the third to fifth best prospect at his position in the draft depending on the draft evaluator. Once the Packers drafted Kevin in the second round, I think Danny watched his Washington highlight tape on YouTube 30 times or more. He has talked about Kevin frequently throughout the season and always looks for #20 on defense. Danny was able to get another priceless experience as he had got the opportunity to hang out with Kevin and talk football while his bud Ha Ha was off taking pictures with fans. Danny mentioned that they talked about John Ross, who is a wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals and a former teammate of Kevin's at Washington. John Ross is most known for being the fastest man ever at the NFL Combine as he set the 40 yard dash record at 4.22 seconds!

Kevin was also happy to answer Danny's questions as they met up for a photo opportunity. Kevin quickly named carrots as one of his favorite healthy foods. Carrots are a favorite of everyone in our family and we usually have them at least once a week during dinner and the boys also like to have them for a snack. Loaded with Vitamin A, C, K, potassium and many other nutrients, carrots are a true superfood. Just a few of the health benefits include preventing heart disease, lowering blood pressure, they help prevent cancer and more. Thanks for sharing Kevin! Danny will eat even more carrots now that he knows you love them.

Finally, Danny wanted to know who Kevin's best friend is on the Green Bay Packers. Without hesitation, Kevin said "Ha Ha, of course!". This comes as no surprise to us as we can see that Ha Ha is not only the leader of the defense on the field but he is clearly an awesome guy off of the field. Ha Ha is always engaging and looking to have fun wherever he is. If we were Packers players or lived in Green Bay, Danny and I would want to hang out with Ha Ha as much as we could. Ha Ha is the perfect role model for Danny to look up to and he's also a great mentor for a rookie like Kevin to have by his side. Kevin is certainly fortunate to have Ha Ha in his corner as he looks to have a long and successful career in the NFL!

Thanks for your time on October 21st Kevin! It was a night that Danny will never forget.