No longer a tough guy

I like to think of myself as a secure man with very few insecurities. I am 6-foot-2, 240 pounds in stature and climb 300- to 400-foot cellular towers for a living.

All that went out the window last week when I saw my childhood hero, Steve Yzerman. I immediately turned into a 14-year-old girl at a Jonas Brothers concert as soon as I saw the Tampa Bay Lightning's new general manager walk by us during the club/s Young Guns development camp.

I have never been nervous or goofy around any player I have met -- and I have met a lot. This, however, was different.

Photo taken in Detroit from an advertisement for my former employer while I lived in the Motor City is now signed by the Hall of Famer.

Photo taken of the tribute on ice after Yzerman's number was retired is now added as an autographed shrine on my wall.

I chose these two photos to get signed because I wanted to make sure that no one else would present the same items to him this year. They needed to stand out in my collection and not be a mass-produced mimic of the usual.

As much as I want a Stanley Cup photo or HOF induction photo (I do plan on adding those) the "14-year-old JoBro fan" in me wanted my first time to be special.