Ariya Daivari - WWE Superstar (Cruiserweight Division)

(Photo courtesy of http://www.wwe.com/superstars/ariya-daivari)

1) Ariya Daivari is an Iranian/American professional wrestler for WWE who performs on 205 Live and RAW in the cruiserweight division.

2) Daivari made his main roster debut on RAW in October of 2016 where he lost by submission to Cruiserweight Champion T.J. Perkins.

3) Ariya's finishing moves include the Cobra clutch, Persian Lion Splash (Frog Splash) and a Hammerlock twisted into a short-arm lariat.

D: Who were your favorite wrestlers to watch when you were growing up?

AD: Number one was Triple H. Number two was the Macho Man Randy Savage and number three was The Rock. Those were my favorites growing up.

D's Follow Up: Triple H is good. Macho Man Randy Savage is great. And The Rock is great. My favorites are Aj Styles, Randy Orton and Kane.


J: Did you play any sports while growing up?

AD: In high school I was a wrestler. In 4th grade I started in martial arts and continued on with it. 

J's Follow Up: It makes sense that he's a wrestler because he wrestled in high school. In martial arts you work on skills to defend yourself and strike and in wrestling he does offense and defense too. 

The guys and I had the opportunity to meet WWE superstar Ariya Daivari after his appearance in Chicago on RAW the previous night. Ariya took part in the Miracle on 34th Street Fight with his partners Enzo Amore and Drew Gulak as they faced off against Cedric Alexander, Mustafa Ali and Akira Tozawa. In a hard fought match including the use of presents, Christmas trees, ornaments and more, Cedric Alexander ultimately pinned Enzo Amore for the win.

This was the first time we watched RAW live in person with our entire family. Jen and I gifted the boys the tickets on Christmas morning and they were excited to know that the event was just a few short hours away from starting. We braved the freezing cold temperature and enjoyed watching our favorite superstars for over 3 hours.

Ariya took the time to say hi to Danny and Jordan and answer their questions the following morning. Danny loves to ask athletes about their favorite athletes growing up, so he wanted to know Ariya's favorite wrestlers. We all agree that Triple H, Macho Man and The Rock are three of the greatest wrestlers of all time. My favorites include Mr. Perfect, The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Roman Reigns. Jordan's favorites include Mick Foley, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Cody Rhodes.

It comes as no surprise to us that Ariya was a wrestler in high school and that he took part in martial arts beginning in the fourth grade. We can see how the skills from martial arts would translate well into professional wrestling. Ariya's brother is also a former WWE professional wrestler, so wrestling runs in the family. 

Thanks to Ariya for meeting with us and taking the time to answer our questions. We wish him the best in the Cruiserweight division and we hope that he can earn an opportunity to compete for the Cruiserweight Championship soon. 

Adam Shaheen - Chicago Bears

1) Adam Shaheen is a rookie tight end for the Chicago Bears. He was drafted in the second round (45th overall pick) of the 2017 NFL Draft.

2) Adam ran a 4.79 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine. He believes with a few months training he could post a faster 40 time than he ran at the combine.

3) Shaheen played basketball in his first year of college and decided to transfer to Ashland University in Ohio where he walked on to the football team. Adam played three years of football for the Eagles and decided to forgo his senior season to enter the 2017 NFL Draft.

D: What are your favorite healthy foods in each food group of My Plate?

AS: My favorites are bananas (Fruits), broccoli (Vegetables), yogurt (Dairy), chicken (Protein) and I love any type of bread (Grains).

D's Follow Up: I love Bananas, Broccoli, Yogurt, and I like English muffins for grains. And for protein I like Steak.

J: Who did you look up to while growing up? 

AS: I looked up to my dad when I was a kid and I looked up to Randy Moss as a football player. He was my favorite.

J's Follow Up: First of all, that makes lot of sense because I look up to my dad and my mom too. I look up to my parents because they believe in me and they are nice to me. For football, I look up to Jerry Rice and Lebron James for basketball. Lebron doesn't just brag about his skills, he's a really nice guy. He stands up to bullying and does a lot for people in Cleveland.

Occasionally, the boys and I make questionable decisions because we are so passionate about meeting our favorite athletes. This happened a few weeks ago when the first major snowfall came down. Most people were driving home to get warm with the snow falling down while we decided to stick with our commitment and drive through the snow to get to Bergie's Sports Card Dugout in Highland Park to meet Bears rookie tight end Adam Shaheen. It took us over an hour to get to Highland Park, which would typically take us 35 minutes. This was the first signing where we e-mailed ahead of time to notify that we would be attending and we did not need to pay until we arrived on the day of the event. Due to the weather, nearly all scheduled attendees cancelled. Thankfully, we decided to brave the elements and it turned out to be a night we will never forget.

We arrived at Bergie's fifteen minutes early and we were told that Adam was in the house and down the hallway. The boys came ready to ask Adam questions as we walked into the room to see Adam signing jerseys, photos, numbers and more. He was excited to see Jordan and Danny (even in the Packers shirt lol) and was more than happy to answer the boys' questions. Adam and Bergie said we were welcome to stay as long as we would like and the boys were in charge of entertainment. We had a big decision to make... do we go back out into the traffic and snow or do we spend an hour with an NFL player on a school night? We ended up staying for an hour and fifteen minutes talking with Adam and we feel like we may know Adam better than his fellow Bears teammates know him.

We learned a lot about Adam but one topic we talked the most about was food. Adam's favorite restaurants happen to be our family's favorite two restaurants. Referred to by NFL scouts as the "Chipotle Prospect" because he gained 70 pounds throughout his career in college, Adam credited his weight gain to his frequent appearances at the local Chipotle. I understand his infatuation with Chipotle as you will find me at the Deerfield location on weekdays at least 2-3 times a week. Chipotle is also a favorite of Jen who sticks to a vegetarian diet and the boys love the kids meals with quesadillas and carnitas. We love everything about Chipotle.

Not only does Adam Shaheen love Chipotle but his favorite restaurant is Pita Inn. He notes that he visits the Mundelein location at least 2-3 times a week or whenever he gets hungry. Once again, we are on board with this selection because we visit Pita Inn 2-3 times a week too and our good friend Wally runs the show over in Mundelein where they make the best food in the area. Shaheen noted he is of Lebanese descent and Pita Inn provides the type of Mediterranean food he grew up on. His order consists of the Combination Platter, 4 pita bread, tabouleh salad and a small order of hummus. Adam loves put it all together and make 4 giant sandwiches. We love Pita Inn like Adam and we hope to be there one day when Adam is eating his giant meal. We look forward to connecting with Adam again and we can't thank him enough for giving us an incredible experience!

Mitchell Trubisky - Chicago Bears

1) Mitchell Trubisky (#10) is the starting quarterback for the Chicago Bears. He was drafted with the second overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.

2) Mitchell spent four seasons playing football at the University of North Carolina. As a redshirt junior, he took over the starting job where he started all thirteen games and threw for 3,748 passing yards with 30 touchdowns and 6 interceptions.

3) Trubisky grew up in Ohio where he was a youth and high school football star along with Kansas City Chiefs running back, Kareem Hunt. Mitchell was named 2012 Ohio Mr. Football during his senior season and left as the area's all-time leader in passing yards.

D: This is a card of Akiem Hicks favorite foods. We are trying to make one of you. Can you tell us what your favorites foods are?

MT: Sure! Let's see. Broccoli is my favorite veggie too. I drink tons of milk. For grains I do oatmeal and cereal. I like steak and chicken for protein. I go to Chipotle 3-4 days a week.

D's Follow Up: Oh man, I love broccoli and steak and I really LOVE milk. I LOVE cereal and I LOVE chipotle. I get a kids meal and get carnitas, cheese, rice, quesadilla and blueberries too. I LIKE EATING FOOD LIKE A FOOTBALL PLAYER AND IT'S ALL GOOD!

J: Did you ever go to Cedar Point (Ohio) as a kid and what was your favorite ride?

MT: Of course, I love Cedar Point. I would say Top Thrill Dragster is my favorite. 

J's Follow Up: It's a funny story. At first I was scared to ride the Dragster when we went, then I thought, ok, maybe I'll do it. When I finally decided I wanted to ride the Dragster, it was closed. When I came back later, the line was all the way to Cuba! We decided not to wait but it looked really cool 👍 Next time we go, I'll ride it.

On Tuesday, December 5th, 2017, our family visited the new Sports N' More store inside Hawthorn Mall in Vernon Hills to meet Bears rookie QB Mitchell Trubisky at his first public signing. Mitchell has been at the top of our list of athletes to meet since the night the Bears traded up to the number two overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft to make him the quarterback of the future in Chicago. Trubisky has made nine career starts to date and has shown steady improvement with each game in his rookie season in the NFL. Mitchell has Bears fans all over the country excited about the future of this young team.

We were fortunate to have the first ticket number to meet Mitchell for a photo and to have our picture signed. As Jen, the boys and I made our way to the back of the store, we were instantly greeted by Mitchell who proceeded to introduce himself to each of us. This was the first time an athlete ever shook our hand and reminded us of their name. It was refreshing to see that Mitchell wanted to get to know all of us too.

Danny and Jordan were excited to ask Mitchell their questions and he was more than happy to oblige. As an Ohio native, we assumed that Mitchell had visited Cedar Point growing up and Jordan was curious to see if he would share his favorite ride. Last summer, Jen and the boys along with their Grandma, took a road trip to ride some amazing thrill rides at Cedar Point amusement park. They are very familiar with each of the top rides at the park in Ohio. Mitchell said Top Thrill Dragster is his #1 ride and as it turns out it was one of the only rides the boys and Jen didn't ride when they visited. I hope to accompany them on the next trip to Cedar Point and we will make it a point to visit the "Trubisky Dragster" as soon as we enter!

Next up was D who shared his healthy eating card of Akiem Hicks and was hoping Mitchell would share some of his favorite healthy foods that he likes to put on his plate. Again, Mitchell was excited to tell Danny about his favorites which include broccoli, steak, chicken, oatmeal, cereal, and milk. We also learned that Mitchell loves Chipotle and he typically visits 3-4 times a week. Chipotle is one of our family favorites and we hope to run into Mitchell on one of his visits in the future. We'd certainly love to talk Ohio, football and more while having a burrito with Mr. Trubisky. 

Mitchell Trubisky was as nice as advertised and looks to be the leader the Chicago Bears have been searching for the past few years. We had an experience we will never forget and we can't say enough positive things about the young quarterback from Ohio. Bears fans have a lot to look forward to with Mitchell Trubisky leading the team into the future! #BearDown

Lauri Markannen - Chicago Bulls

1) Lauri Markkanen is a rookie power forward for the Chicago Bulls who was the 7th overall pick of the 2017 NBA Draft.

2) Markkanen grew up in Jyväskylä in Finland where he played for the Finnish team, HBA-Märsky from 2014-2016.

3) Lauri is one of the top rookies in the NBA this season. To start his career, he set the NBA rookie record by making ten 3-pointers in his first three games.

D: Do you have a favorite fruit, vegetable and dairy product? 

LM: Bananas. I don't eat dairy.

D's Follow Up: I sort of like bananas. I eat them but they are not my favorite. Strawberries are my favorite fruit.

J: At what age did you start playing basketball?

LM: I started playing at 6 years old.

J's Follow Up: I started watching sports and playing sports when I was six years old too. He was probably my size now when he was six years old because he's so tall. 

We were excited to meet one of the young star players for the Chicago Bulls, Lauri Markkanen, on Saturday, December 2nd. The boys and I typically decide how far we'll travel to meet an athlete based on how good we think they will be and how big of a fan we are of the athlete. We think Markkanen has a chance to be great and we have been impressed by the way he plays the game in his short time in Chicago. When we heard he would be making his first public appearance at Mongo McMichael's restaurant in Romeoville, we thought we would take the opportunity and go on the adventure. With Mongo McMichael's located an hour from home, we ventured out on the road and left the house with high expectations.

As we arrived, we were surprised that it wasn't too busy and it looked like the boys would get some individual attention from Lauri. We are not sure exactly why the event unfolded the way it did but it was the quickest we were ever sent through the line at an autograph signing that we can remember. We understand that Lauri's English is a work in progress but he didn't seem too thrilled to be there and the workers at the event pushed us through as quickly as they could. He and the Bulls had recently finished playing back to back nights against Denver and Sacramento on Thursday and Friday, so we can understand if he was a little exhausted from the games. Both were heart breaking one point losses too. With roughly 50 fans in attendance and Markkanen scheduled to sign for an hour, it seemed like the boys would have time to say hi and potentially take a picture with him. That wasn't the case.

We enjoyed the atmosphere at Mongo McMichael's restaurant and we give their cheese pizza two thumbs up. The venue was the perfect place for the signing and the boys and I made our way to the party room where we were ticket #35. Danny started off by saying hi and asked his typical healthy food question. We are not sure how much English he understands but he did mention he likes bananas. We were thankful to get that response. He chose not to share his favorite vegetable and he also noted he does not eat dairy. Jordan jumped in to ask Lauri when he started playing basketball as they were moving us along and he noted he was six years old. We imagine that a six year old Lauri Markkanen is probably the size of a typical 10-11 year old because he now stands at a towering seven feet tall!

We are fans of Lauri as a basketball player and we choose to believe that the people in charge of the signing were the ones who wanted to move the fans along and were in a bad mood. They did have hundreds of items located in the back that they wanted him to sign that they will sell off in the future. Luckily for us, we are treated great during most athlete appearances and we leave with great memories. The boys noted that they did enjoy taking their first trip to Romeoville and we had fun hanging at Mongo's restaurant. We wish Lauri and the young Bulls much success in the future!

                                                   

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.