Bob Gibson is my favorite Cardinal ever, and no one else is that close. I got to meet him once—I actually got to spend several hours with him—and it was one of the honors of my life.

Here is my Bob Gibson story.

I ended up sitting next to Gibby at a taping of "Costas Now," as part of Costas' cleanup after the Bissinger incident. He saw the Cards hat I was wearing and said, "I instantly like you." It was a live show, and it was about to start taping. (1/x?)

We talked for about 20 minutes, mostly about the Harlem Globetrotters, actually, and right before taping was supposed to begin, he stopped me mid-sentence.

"I have to piss," he said. "Do you think it will mess up anything if I leave to go to the bathroom?" (2/ ... probably 4?).

I told him, with a gravity that surprised me, that he was Bob Goddamned Gibson, and he could do whatever the hell wanted, tonight, tomorrow, or any day the rest of his life.

He smiled, an awesome huge Bob Gibson smile. (3/yeah, 4, it'll be 4).

"You're right. I'm Bob Gibson. I think I can piss whenever I want to." He punched me in the arm and laughed. He then stood up, walked to the bathroom, came back in middle of the live taping ... and no one said a damned word.

"Anybody miss me?" he said when sat back down. (4/4)