This last Tuesday Master Chef contestant Becky Reams was in
Kansas City for a viewing party at a local restaurant. The Facebook invite clearly
included friends, family, and fans. In fact, fans was in caps. So while I don’t
usually like to go where I am not invited, my friend Becky and I were (kind
of) invited to this event.
My friend Becky (not to be confused with the Master Chef
contestant Becky who will know be referred to as tv Becky) was more excited
than me because she actually watches the show, but I was eager to join in for
the experience. When we arrived to the restaurant, there were not too many
people, but that quickly changed. We saw tv Becky walking around, and then we
saw her greeting people at different tables. Things became awkward fast when
every time she greeted someone it was super enthusiastic and overjoyed
because it was some family member or close life-long friend with whom she had
not seen in a few years.
Friend Becky and I were a bit caught off guard. The
non-organized event was not what we were expecting, and it began to feel more
and more like we were crashing a family reunion… for realz. One of tv Becky’s
cousins did talk to us though. She was nice. She asked how we knew tv Becky, and
friend Becky told her we were fans and saw this event on her facebook. About an
hour after we arrived, Master Chef was on tv, and the restaurant became a bit
quieter as the crowd began to watch.
Previously, when tv Becky walked past our table, she gave us
this weird look. I think she was trying to figure out if/how she knew us and
why we were sitting in her section since we obviously were not related or from
her high school.
But as the show began, I moved my glance from the tv down to
a group of people where I had an awkward eye contact again with tv Becky. A few
minutes after that eye contact tv Becky finally came to our table. She stood next to me and
asked if we were there for her. We said yes, and friend Becky told her that she
was a fan on facebook. Tv Becky was super nice as she thanked us for our
support and talked to us for a few minutes. She even took some pictures with
us.
While I had not watched the show previously, this episode
was awesome because tv Becky did really well that week of competition. And it
was crazy to see someone on tv and then look down and see them in the same room
as you.
When it was time for friend Becky and I to leave, our exit
path crossed with tv Becky’s. She paused her conversation to say goodbye to us
and thanked us for coming. She’s great. :)
Of course, the evening was full of other awkward moments.
For example, people took our vacant chairs (after asking) leaving friend
Becky and I in an even more we-don’t-belong-here state. And then our out of way
table was actually a directly under one of the tvs table which the majority of
the room watched, so although they were looking up, friend Becky and I were
easily the center of everyone’s view… and none of them knew us since we were
again not related or an old friend. And lastly, one of tv Becky’s old friends
came up to us and asked if we were the ones who came here because of facebook.
Were rumors going around about some weird fan girls crashing the party? Maybe.
But tv Becky was again super nice and did not treat us like we were weirdo
stalkers. So in spite of the awkwardness of the night, friend Becky and I had a
great time meeting tv Becky and some of her family and friends. :)
