8-4-12 Matt Kemp Diamond Supply Company x Hall of Fame In Store Appearance

I ended up getting a last minute tip from my buddy James of a Matt Kemp in store appearance at the Diamond Supply Co. Store to promote his new clothing collaboration with Diamond Supply Co. and Hall of Fame. Matt was scheduled to make an in store appearance today but there was no info on what time he would be there and for how long. There was also no info on whether he would sign or not. Matt was there to promote his new collaboration of shirts and hats with all proceeds going to his charity "Kemps Kids."

Benson and I met up with Josh with no expectation of getting an autograph. We figured that since we were in the area for the Dodger game in the afternoon we might as well stop by to check if Kemp was signing or not. Plus I really wanted to get my Matt Kemp canvas signed. It's so hard to lug that thing around especially since it's large.

We arrived around 11am which was the time when the store opened. There was already a crowd of about 200 fans waiting in line which shocked me a bit since the event wasn't publicized to well and there was no guarantee of an autograph. Thanks to Josh who held a spot for us we were about 100th in line. The line was moving really slowly since they only allowed 5 people to enter the store at a time. Most of the people were there to buy his limited edition shirts and hats and not for autographs. It was weird not running into the usual graphers there. Matt was posing for photos with fans as well and was also signing autographs for a few fans who asked.

While we were in line I was interviewed my Matt Kemp's videographer for his website http://therealmattkemp.com/. After the interview I asked him if he can get Matt to sign an autograph for me. His videographer promised me that he would get Kemp to sign for me. Initially I didn't take his words too seriously since a lot of times people make promises and they break them. Plus I met this guy today and it wasn't like it was someone I knew for a long time so I took his words for what they were.

We waited in line for about an hour and there was no movement. I decided to go up to the store to take some photos of Matt and to check what was going on.

While I was taking photos Kemp's videographer summoned me over since he was inside the store. Basically I got a free pass into the store skipping the line. I felt like I had VIP access as I was introduced to Matt Kemp like I was a personal friend of his. He asked me for my name and I introduced myself to him. His videographer told Matt we were friends from school and that I was a huge fan of his. Matt sensed that he was BSing a bit but was a good sport about it. Matt was done with the appearance and was about to leave the event. I dropped two items for him to sign one being my canvas and the other being a photo. Matt asked me which item I wanted signed and I asked him to sign my canvas. Matt was also nice enough to take a photo with me.

Afterwards Matt looked at the photo and he said what the heck i'll sign that one too after noticing that I was rocking a Brooklyn Dodgers cap and the photo happened to be him wearing his Brooklyn Dodgers jersey. As usual Matt was cool as can be. He's one of my favorite athletes since he is so cool with the fans. I've never had a bad moment with Kemp.

I want to thank Matt's videographer for hooking me up and allowing me to get Matt Kemp's autograph. Please make sure to check out Matt's new website http://therealmattkemp.com/