30 athletes participating in 2000 San Francisco, CA ESPN X-Games at Pier 30/32 next to the bay itself!

Literally 1 of a kind item featuring:

Ben Hinkley! - Snowboarder doing a winter games press circuit and autograph session. RIP Ben https://snowboardmag.com/stories/ben-hinkley-in-rememberance (image 2, 5, and 7)

Anthony Furlong! - Skateboarder in his professional debut year 2000 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Furlong (see image 9, in neat cursive script produced by ballpoint pen oriented upside down in photo)

Todd Lyons! - BMX veteran http://www.23mag.com/gens/lyons.htm (image 6, ballpoint pen)

and 27 indecipherable autographs I once had a list to decode. I stared long and hard trying to read but perhaps you recognize?

When I, a very young teen, asked Anthony for his autograph he bluntly asked, “Do you even know who I am?” I was upfront; no- I saw the athlete badge and got excited- but I asked when he’s competing and promised to root for him in the crowd. I kept my promise! Completely on his own he’s been sponsored by 187 Pads, Triple 8, Skatepark of Tampa, Type S Wheels, Woodward, Ogio, Etnies, and Theeve. Hell yeah Anthony!

From wikipedia: He began the year 2000 by placing third behind skateboard legends Bucky Lasek and Bob Burnquist at Tampa Pro. In the summer, Furlong was a member of the inaugural ESPN Tony Hawk Gigantic Skatepark Tour and attended his first X Games in San Francisco. In 2002, he won the Vans Triple Crown Championship. He has been among the top ten competitors at various events featuring vert.

It would be that interaction I had with Furlong to, a few years later, lead me to reassess celebrity autograph collecting. But before that happened- I’ve got a few more in storage I’ll list eventually.

Why not the soundtrack that came out that year? Liner notes were a dark blue color.

Why so many autographs? Friend and I thought it’d be fun meeting all the cool athletes to so we could fill up the jacket. We likely saw more through this game than we otherwise would have. Hella fun day!

Feel free to ask questions. Happy to answer all I can.