Larry Bird is the greatest American sports star ever. Come at me.

Read his story. His mom couldn’t properly care for him during his early life. His dad killed himself. He immersed himself in basketball to make the miserable noise of his home life go away.

Larry and his mom got to a better place later in life. As for basketball…you know the rest.

Since the editing tool on this web editor clipped Larry’s head in the top photo, here is the entirety of my most treasured celebrity interaction.

At the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013, I was departing a brunch and jumped on an escalator. I could feel that someone was right behind me. I turned to see Larry Bird towering over my right shoulder. I immediately told him that I’d just played the Pete Dye golf course at French Lick.

Bird replied, “I used to go huntin’ in the them hills.”

We had a nice chat about French Lick, the golf course owner, and that I loved coming over to visit from Louisville.

At the bottom on the escalator I asked Larry if he would mind taking a photo with me.

“Sure” he said.

I handed my phone to a stranger walking by and she snapped the picture. Larry walked away.

A man immediately approached and asked how I got Larry Bird to pose for a photo. “He NEVER does that anymore,” the man assured me.

I guess a brief chat about home broke through that barrier. I will cherish this poorly lit photo all of my life.