At The Airport

We had a late night after the Houston Salutes celebration and an early start this morning as I had to leave for the airport at 6am. My flight to Atlanta has been delayed for 30 minutes due to fog there, which gives me time to post a couple of pictures from last night on the photographs page.

Last night was an absolute blast. Fourty-one of Houston's most famous athletes were on the stage and the program consisted of each one of them being introduced, talking for a moment and then passing the football off to the next celebrity. The football finally ended up in the hands of former President Bush, after which it was announced that it will be the official game ball of next week's Superbowl. There were so many well known athletes that I can't possibly remember them all but the ones that stand out in my mind are Mary Lou Retton, George Foreman, Nolan Ryan, Roger Clements, Andy Petit, Bob McNair, Jeff Bagwell, Slater Martin, Andre Ware, Clyde Drexler, Dan Pastorini, Zena Garrison, Moses Malone, and the man who got the loudest ovation of the night, the legendary Bum Phillips. The strangest image I have from last night is Bum Phillips standing with his arms around Yanni. He's apparently a big fan and during our last song, Santorini, he came over to Yanni while he was still playing. For a moment it looked like Bum was going to join in!


The stage was crowded immediately after the show ended and it was a little difficult to protect and get our gear out of the pressing mass safely. Quite a few of Yanni's biggest fans, including Denise who came to hear me Friday night at Hickory Hollow, got to have their pictures taken with Yanni.

I had a wonderful time and it is an experience I'll never forget. Thank you to Jim Nantz and Houston for putting on what we're told will be the first of many Superbowl Kickoff celebrations. ¶ 8:30 AM