Two Tales from the Playboy Mansion

I am sure a few people read this headline, and said “uh oh!”   Don’t worry, no secrets shall be revealed in this blog post!

I wanted to share two stories from my evening at the Playboy Mansion last Thursday – one of which I think is funny and one of which is pretty cool.   As expected at the Playboy Mansion, there were a number of celebrities and athletes hanging out. I am sure some of them were there simply because it was the Playboy Mansion, while others probably attended because there was a charity auction for Autism Speaks.

One of the professional athletes that was there was Coco Crisp, and as a Red Sox fan, I wanted to thank him for his playing for the Sox and helping to bring a World Series to the team in 2007. As you may recall, he was benched in favor of rookie Jacoby Ellsbury, who had a break out playoffs. I thanked Coco for being a “mentch” during that time for not bitching about being taken out of the starting lineup. He told me that he couldn’t hate on Jacoby because of their friendship. He seemed authentic, and was a gentleman.

I mentioned that Sox fans will remember his selflessness and would cheer for him when he returned to Fenway. He thought they would cheer until he got a hit or scored a run, and I told him we would always cheer for him – especially my mom (who has been a Sox fan since the Ted Williams days). He said, “I love your mom!”

Since he is now playing for Kansas City, I asked him if he likes BBQ. He thought about it for a second and with the famous Coco grin, said, “not as much as I like chowder!” Not only was he a friendly dude, but he let me take a picture with his World Series ring (thanks, Adam Strong!)

Later on in the evening, I was walking into the tent to grab a drink, and a few girls perked up and smiled at me. I smiled back and cooly continued my walk to the bar to grab a drink as more girls smiled my way. Awesome. Well… until I turned around and about two feet behind me was Jesse Metcalf. Guess they weren’t smiling at me.

Anyway, the Playboy Mansion lived up to its billing, and it’s one of those experiences I don’t think I will have again. Much thanks to Ron Sheridan for putting on such a fun night.