From July 7, 2002
You start posting to fan club boards about a week before the show, and each post ends with how many hours to go till Richard takes the stage.
You go to the Journey concert the night before in Muskegon, and keep looking at your watch while they are on stage, then you tell everyone around you "A real artist will be on tomorrow night"
You toss and turn all night in bed. Looking at the alarm clock which is set for 6AM, and keep worrying that it won't go off and you'll oversleep. Then around 5:30AM you have had enough of this "trying to fool yourself to go to sleep" and just get out of bed and get ready for the concert.
You get in line for the Muskegon Summer Celebration concert featuring Richard Marx at 6:10 A.M. and the gates don't even open till 5:30 P.M.
While waiting in line you quiz all the people around you on Richard trivia. When they don't know hardly any of the answers you about hit them because they are so ignorant.
Also in line waiting, you make signs for the concert saying "This is an ENDLESS SUMMER NIGHT" and "Ladies... Throw Richard your undies."
Later in the day, when all the true fans (the Repeat Offenders) come you let them join you near the front of the line. You know that, or don't care that, the people behind you aren't as big of fans as you.
You have been told that when the gates open not to run to the front of the stage or else you will be stopped. So you do your fast-as-hell walk till you pass the last guard and then you run like hell, throw all your chairs and signs across the lawn to take up as much space, then look and yell "Repeat Offenders over here". You're ready to kill anyone else who has the nerve to get near your spot.
Once inside you wait for the meet-n-greet. Then it's time. You go backstage and within a few minutes you see "HIM". You about have a heart-attack and almost cry in excitement, but you keep taking pictures of him every time he moves. You know "Don't want to miss any shots."
You get as many things autographed as you possibly can, and ask as many questions as you can think of on the spot.
Once the concert starts you count the gutair pics on his microphone stand. You see that there are 7 and you watch closely anytime you think that he will flick one to the crowd.
When you see Richard looking, you hold up the sign that says "Ladies... Throw Richard your undies." You then see him laugh while he is singing and know that he read your sign.
As the concert gets close to finishing you keep asking the girl (Heather) next to you when she is going to throw Richard the bra that she brought. She tells you that she doesn't have the courage to do it. So you (a guy) take it and throw it for her. Who cares what anyone else thinks. You're helping her out!
Finally you are soooo tired from only getting 4 hours of sleep in the last 48 hours before the concert, your sunburned and just a wreck, but all that night you keep dreaming that you are taking pictures of Richard and he keeps saying "I have to get home to Chicago, because I have to get up early in the morning and fly to Detroit for the next show."
Now that's how you can tell that you're still a true fan! Actual events from the Muskegon show on July 7, 2002!
Other way's to tell.....
You go to the Lake Forest Jewel and get your picture taken by the milk section just because the previous summer you heard Richard say "When I need milk I go to Jewel". (Not that I actually did this... Right!!)
When eating pizza at Giordanos in Waukegan you keep bugging the
waitress asking if any famous people come in to have pizza here. When she says "Yes" but doesn't say Richard Marx you get upset and come right out and ask her if he ever came in here. Then while waiting for your pizza you watch every vehicle like the one you know he owns just thinking that he may walk in the restaurant.
You stop at a Shell gas station Lake Forest just to ask the clerk if RM gets his gas here. When the clerk offers to give you directions to Mr. T's and Billy Joel's houses you about hit him, mostly because he never heard of RM.
You use to love Hard Rock in Chicago because they had RM's gutair on display. But one day you go in there just to admire the gutair and you notice it is gone. There is a new one there by some "one hit wonder" musician that you never heard of. You immediately get mad and ask the girl at the door "When did they take the gutair down and where is it?" She says it's in a warehouse in TN, you tell her the million reasons that RM deserves to have the gutair put back up in his home town. You talk the girls ear off and then stomp out. Every time you go back to Chicago you boycot the Hard Rock and give it the bird as you walk or drive by.
When walking through Navy Peir you go to all the kid events, because you're a kid too, but really because you hope that RM is there with his sons and you just might get to see him.
Everytime you hear a RM song you sing along with it. You wonder if he too sings along with his songs while in the car.
Your co-workers are sick of you singing his songs off key, and every time a song comes on the radio they tell you "Your man is on" (and you're a guy yourself).
The only part of your hard drive you back up is the part that has RM midi, wav, jpg, and digests on it. The other parts you couldn't care less about.
You purchase multiple copies of his music then you copy it numerous times to cassette. You feel that this will protect you in the event that all the originals get ruined, all the stores are closed, and you just need to hear that "one" song to get your fix.
The only friends you have on the internet are RM fans. You don't have time to meet anyone else.
You remember going to all RM's concerts in the late 80's and you wonder what he did with all the ladies underware that was thrown up to him. (heck that was what made me start to worship the guy. I wanted them to throw that stuff at me!)
You visit Chicago and when leaving to go back home you stop at every store in the area looking for grape Pop-Tarts. Because they don't sell them in the area you live you really want them. You even stop at an Osco store in the worst area south of Chicago just to look for them and you hope you don't get killed at the same time. (I did this on 7/18/98. Boy was I scared!)