AOS Celebrity Encounter Tuesday: Carlyle Holiday Does Not Find Me Funny

I like to think I'm a pretty funny guy. Throughout the years there have been some clever jokes, a couple of good anectdotes, a well placed reference here or there to Vai Sikahema or Hammurabi which brings a smile to a few faces. But there is one person, who did not laugh at my jokes--his name was Carlyle Holiday. He used to play quarterback for Notre Dame.



I met Carlyle Holiday at a bar in South Bend, IN one summer. I was introduced to him and he told me that I had just missed seeing Drew Brees. I was a little taken aback by this because by this time Drew Brees was established as an NFL starting quarterback, so what he was doing in a South Bend bar in the middle of the summer I don't know. Anyway, Carlyle continued telling me that he had wanted to beat up Drew Brees that night, but decided not to. Good choice.


Carlyle Holiday and Drew Brees' Mom: Neither big fans of Drew Brees

As fate would have it, Carlyle Holiday and I ended up moving to the same city. He in pursuit of his profesiional football career and I hoping to impart some American History on eager students--in hindsight neither of us were super successful. But, the point is this: Carlyle and I had a chance for one more night on the town together. My roommate and I were invited to go hang out with some of the Arizona Cardinals' rookies, who were there early for Rookie Camp. It was your cliche bar/nightclub, too many people dancing, too few willing to discuss what happened in 1066. I returend to the enclave where we had set up camp, past (maybe?) JJ Arrington, a lineman from Boston College, and found Carlyle Holiday. Everybody was having a great time joking around, telling stories, and enjoying life. So I figured, I would throw my hat into the ring and spin some yarn for the guys. Nothing but crickets. I even went to some of mainstays: a couple of college stories, some teachign experiences, a tough luck date. Nothing. In fact, at one point I thought I had offended Carlyle with a story about helping a friend win a Buffalo Wild Wings Eating Contest. My head fell in shame and I retreated. It may have been paranoia, but I had the distinct sense that as I walked away Carlyle was shaking his head in disappointment, expecting more, receiving less.

One guy, though, that was close to giving me a high five for a joke was wide receiver LeRon McCoy. He asked me what I thought of a specific girl on the dance floor. I went with the Wayne's World 2 reference: "Limber." LeRon appreciated the reference. So maybe this post should be retitled: "The Night I made LeRon McCoy Laugh"