5 Fandom Friday: Five Times I Totally Fangirled

I’ve been lucky enough to have a lot fangirl encounters over the past few years, so it was honestly tough to pick just 5 instances. Pro tip: if you want to increase your fangirl moments, just attend San Diego Comic Con. You are sure to make memories for a lifetime.

1. Meeting Gavin Rossdale for the first time.

I honestly can’t believe I’m allowing this terrible picture of me to circulate but I had to use a photo from the actual moment that this happened because it was magical. I’m a huge BUSH fan and have been since I was a teenager in the 90’s. I was pretty sure I was going to marry Gavin Rossdale and went through a brief period of hating Gwen Stefani for taking my place (I have since moved on). Naturally, I would tweet at him once he discovered social media and would squee with delight when he would tweet at me back, but nothing compared to actually meeting him after a show in Orlando. He actually recognized me from all the photos I had been posting on to Twitter (these were the pre-Instagram days) and remembered my name (?!?!) – it was so surreal. He was such a sweetheart and it really was a shame that it rained on us for hours making my styled hair and flawless makeup go to shit for this amazing photo. Despite how awful I may look (& how angry G seems to look), it never fails to make me smile because I remember walking away and actually jumping up and down like a little girl and not being able to wipe that stupid smile off my face for DAYS.

2. Seeing Zachary Quinto perform on Broadway.

I’ve been a huge fan of Zachary Quinto since I started binge watching Heroes. This crush only grew and grew, and naturally when I heard he would be performing on Broadway as part of the cast of The Glass Menagerie, I knew I needed to be there. I planned an entire girls trip around it and even had a Quinto-centric hashtag for it (#QuintoQuest in case you were wondering). Again, it was a completely surreal experience to be able to see one of your favorite actors perform in front of your face. As much as I enjoyed his performance and the play as a whole, I was literally beside myself when I was able to meet him briefly outside the stage door. It was freezing cold (at least for this Miami girl), and I was the first person he came over to. So not prepared. All I could think of to tell him was that I thought he was amazing while shoving the playbill in his hands. I then forced him to take a picture with me (he was mildly obnoxious about it, but I like mildly obnoxious people) and proceeded to subtlety follow him and his friends down the street…across the street…for several blocks…
No regrets. 😉

3. That time Elijah Wood & I had a moment.

Thanks to San Diego Comic Con, this was not the first time I met Elijah Wood, but it was definitely the best time. Our first encounter was after I had downed a few drinks and attempted awkwardly to flirt with him by bringing up our mutual favorite band: The Smashing Pumpkins. Naturally, it was awful and weird and didn’t go as planned. However, this past year I went with my girlfriends to see him DJ at a club during Comic Con and things went a little…differently. We were both a little tipsy after the set and a couple of girls were able to jump up on the stage to snap pictures. One of those was my friend who I snapped a picture of. I said I wanted one too and Elijah was all, “Well, come up here then!” (just add a few more expletives). I was wearing a very tight skirt and it was a very tall stage so I said I couldn’t. Elijah took it upon himself to hoist me up with one hand and when I basically crashed onto the stage on top of him is the moment my friend took this amazing shot. We laughed, gave each other hugs and basically HAD A MOMENT OK GUYS. It was quite possibly the best moment of my little fangirl life (sorry husband).

4. Seeing Justin Timberlake perform at his after party from the front row.

Guys: a confession. I was a huge N’sync fan and spent a lot of money on concert tickets, paraphernalia, etc. An embarrassing amount. Sorry, Mom. So, of course, I am into anything Justin Timberlake has done solo-wise. I had seen him live once before during the Future Sex Love Sounds tour, but our seats were nosebleeds. When Mastercard gave its members the opportunity to get tickets to an after party hosted at a really small venue during his 20/20 Experience tour, I snagged them instantly. We were able to get there early enough to secure front row status and I was in completely and total fangirl shock. I was basically on the stage. And to boot, the show was so incredible and intimate. Justin somehow had just as much energy as if this were his first show of the evening and played off the crowd so much. I had never had so much fun at a show in my life (and I’ve been to a lot). Basically, I spent the entire time shrieking, singing to every single word in every single song and dancing to my little heart’s content.

5. Anytime I attend a Smashing Pumpkins concert.

I’ve been lucky enough to see my favorite band from the front row several times, and each time has been better than the last. The show I attended in the photo snapped above allowed a meet and greet to the first 50 people in line and I was proud to be spot 11 at 6am. It was the first time I plucked the courage to ask Billy Corgan a question (he is intimidating, ok???) and even asked him for a guitar pick. The following show, I was able to make eye contact with him several times during the set and scored his half full water bottle. My fangirl moment? I drank the rest of it with a giddy smile on my face and still have the water bottle in my closet. People have repeatedly tried to throw it out to my psycho screams. I just love the dude, OK?

Like I said, there are so many more to mention like surviving flirtatious comments from Ian Somerhalder without screaming and literally acting like a deranged wild animal when I saw Benedict Cumberbatch from across the street, but those can be tales for another day…possibly over many, many mimosas.