Andre Johnson surprised, happy to be recognized at Gap

HOUSTON, TX — In what he later described as “one of the greatest moments of my life,” Andre Johnson was recognized Thursday during a seemingly routine trip to a Houston-area Gap store.

“I’m just standing there, and some kid says, ‘Hey, you’re Andre Johnson, from the Texans, right?’” Johnson told SSNN. “I was floored. Stunned. It was right then I knew that I’d made it.”

The encounter took place at the sweaters display, where Johnson was intently considering whether or not he could pull off an argyle vest. It was an interesting moment as well for 14-year-old Danny Templin, who spotted Johnson.

“I look over, and there’s this dude who looks like Andre Johnson in the Gap,” Templin said. “But he was wearing an Andre Johnson jersey, which I thought was a little weird and maybe meant it wasn’t him. So I wasn’t going to ask him, because I didn’t want to be the guy who thinks that every black guy in a jersey is an athlete. But DreJay saw me eying him, I guess, and called me over; so that’s sort of how it went down. He seemed pretty excited to meet me.”

According to Johnson, this is only the second time in his career that he has been recognized at a mall, in spite of the fact that he visits them frequently to “polish interpersonal skills.”

“Yeah, you don’t get recognized that much as a pro athlete,” Johnson said. “It’s weird. These dudes like A-Rod and Kobe Bryant and Tom Brady – you know, guys who say they can’t go outside of their house? Those guys are probably exaggerating. That sort of public awareness runs counter to my experience.”

In spite of it all, Johnson was touched by the encounter.

“It was really cute, he was really nervous,” Johnson said of Templin. “He was so nervous that he didn’t even remember to ask me for my autograph, and when I reminded him, he said ‘don’t worry about it.’ To be that nervous and scared, he must be a huge fan. I was touched.”

It’s going to be tough for this sport to sweep any nations, but it’s still pretty frickin’ cool!