Last Friday I was lucky enough to see David Letterman in person. Dave came to Ball State University to interview Biz Stone, the co-founder of Twitter, to discuss Twitter and the growing social media empire. Before I could see Dave and Biz, I had to get tickets a week in advance. I waited in line for about an hour and a half very early on a Saturday morning to get my free student ticket. Lucky for me, I had an excellent seat: row F, dead-center.
Ball State President Gora introduced Dave, who then came out and gave a small monologue. He was really funny, poking fun at Starbucks and life, as usual. He thanked us for giving him such a warm welcome, stating that he was glad to be back at the home of the fighting cardinals--the biggest, baddest, meanest robin known to mankind. The audience clapped at this statement. One student in the back yelled "Chirp Chirp!" which is, of course, a Ball State mascot thing. Letterman laughed and said, "Yes, chirp-chirp...that'll get the Boilermakers."
Letterman interviewed Stone about Twitter and its effect on social media. They spoke about how Twitter is now a global phenomenon and serving people with news worldwide. Letterman and Stone also answered questions from students who were told to text or tweet questions from their mobile phones. Questions were a mix of both serious and funny.
After the interview, Letterman stayed for over an hour to sign autographs for every single faculty, staff, and student who wanted to wait for autograph. I was fortunate enough to get my ticket signed by Dave. I told him that I had previously tried to get Craig Ferguson's signature a couple of months ago. Letterman joked, "Oh really? You know it's because he doesn't know how to write!"
I decided to call my Dad who was with my mom on their way back from O'hare. After Dave signed my ticket, I gave my phone to Letterman speak to my dad. It was a brief conversation, which ended in Dave telling my dad that I needed more money for school. How funny.
Shortly after, a women came up for an autograph wearing a Late Show T-shirt. Dave asked the woman how much she had paid for the shirt. He then gave her a couple of dollar bills, apologizing to her for her terrible purchase.
After signing autographs, Dave took a handful of photos with students. I was one of the lucky ones to get a picture!
It was such a fun night. I was so pleased that Dave took the time to talk with everyone and sign autographs. Most celebrities would probably not take the time to do that so it was great to have the opportunity!
link to Video Recap
link to newspaper article
