It’s Celebrities And Imagine Dragons At The Armory

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When I was told about the EA Sports Red Carpet event at the Armory in Minneapolis, I immediately thought of tuxedoes and evening gowns.  I imagined taking photos of starlets and actors getting out of limos to throngs of paparazzi’s lining the entrance to the Armory.  Well, it didn’t go exactly as I imagined, but it was a fun event I arrived at the Armory and went to the designated area, where there was a short red carpet followed by a long black carpet.  There were photographers, videographers and announcers lining the black carpet area. 

The first guest was machine Gun Kelly.  He was scheduled to open for Imagine Dragons, so he was whisked through the line and I didn’t even get a shot off.  The next guest was Josh Norman, cornerback for the Washington Redskins.  Mr. Norman was very friendly, stopping to speak to everyone, pose for pictures and conducted several interviews.  He was so accommodating, the person assigned to lead him through the black carpeted throng had to try to get him cut short his interviews on at least 2 occasions that I saw.

After Mr. Norman, was Le’veon Bell, running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers.  I played defensive end for my high school football team and if Mr. Bell were coming through a hole that I was playing, I would have been a speed bump at best.  He was large, muscular and smiled the entire time.  Again, very amiable, and made time to stop and talk to everyone, pose for pictures and conduct interviews.

The black carpet guests continued including several other sports notables –  Demetrious Johnson, the current MMA Flyweight Champion, Kirk Cousins, who acknowledged that he had not signed with the Viking yet and A. J. Styles, a WWE Smackdown wrestler.

At one point in the event a short, light, colorfully dressed young man walked through the red carpet.  He seemed out of place, but I really liked him because he was posing and hamming it up for the camera.  The young man was Roy Purdy, a you tube comedian and rapper.  I researched him on google and found he has 950,000 you tube subscribers.  So once again it was I that was out of touch.

Other guests included Patrick Peterson, who spent most of the evening giving interviews and was the last to leave.  Also Kris London, Travis Kelce, Kareem Hunt, Alvin Kamara, Damon Harrison, Maurice Jones-Drew and Mike Daniels.  All were so friendly and approachable, I was amazed.  I had expected standoffish and quiet, but saw just the opposite.

Odell Beckham Jr hurried through, as did Jamie Foxx, but they arrived late and were expected to be at the EA Sports gaming area.  I was a little sad I didn’t get a chance to get a photo of them and talk briefly, but they were there for EA Sports and duty called.  A few others walked through and I missed them, so I apologize for the omission.

After the red carpet event, I stuck my head in the auditorium.  The Armory was recently “remodeled” and the new auditorium is amazing.  The acoustics were fantastic and the lights were great.  There were gigantic monitors on the ceiling and a diamond shaped monitor behind the band.  There were 2 elevated areas with private suites that encircled the main floor.  The new Armory looks like it will be a fantastic venue for concerts.  I caught a couple of songs by Imagine Dragons and they were sounding excellent.  I wasn’t a huge fan in the past, but I am now.

Overall a very enjoyable evening out.  The Red Carpet event was a unique experience and I will keep my eye out for more Red Carpet events in the future.

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