"This stop has been absolutely amazing," said Brown, a management major from Toledo, Ohio, referring to the trip so far to Washington and Baltimore, stops No. 6 and 7 on a 10-city tour sponsored by Kodak that started in New Orleans and will head from here to Philadelphia and New York, where the duo is scheduled to appear on The Today Show Sunday morning.
The stop in D.C. took them to a Saturday night Washington Nationals game, enough to challenge even their good cheer. How do you compliment the team with the worst record in the majors?
"Well, they all looked great," said Brown, who was given the privilege of jumping up on a dugout before the first pitch and shouting "play ball," a phrase that conveys a certain ominous ring at Nationals Park.
Perhaps it was just a coincidence, but the Nats took two straight from the San Diego Padres over the weekend.
The guys were not taking credit. Nor were they necessarily seeking fame or fortune in this crusade. The local papers in Indiana picked up the story, then the Chicago papers, then of course someone posted a video on YouTube, then the national media got into the act. They did Good Morning America in March and were supposed to appear on Oprah, but were pushed out in a scheduling squeeze.
Kodak got in touch to see if the guys would be interested in taking their act on the road in a sponsored tour. And so they were in Baltimore with two public relations people and their own videographer in tow.
"That is the coolest green shirt I have ever seen. ... Those are some really cool pink Crocs. ..."
Tr? Monroe of Washington was in town to bring his 8-year-old son, Tyler, to the Orioles game Monday night, his first Major League Baseball game. Monroe got into the spirit instantly with high-fives.
"I see 'Free compliments,' that's cool," said Monroe. "A lot of people just walk past each other like nobody's there. Why not say 'Hello'?"
Or, for example, "nice beard," which was tossed out to Fred Posey of Atlanta, a husky fellow in a black "Fueled by Wings & Beer" T-shirt. What exactly did that do for him?
"Nothing, really," said Posey, who wears a full beard and longish hair.
His companion, Sandi Braswell, said she was thinking "I don't know you. What do you want?" and assumed it was a college prank of some sort.
The guys say they intend to keep it up on campus until they graduate. Two more years of weekly affirmations, a couple of hours a week, depending on the class work load, said Westcott. He responded quickly when asked if he ever tires of the project.
"Never, never ever," he said. And he pressed on toward the Harborplace pavilions, undaunted even when ignored by a young woman hustling by, locked into her cell phone.
"Hey, enjoy that phone call. ..."
