There comes a time in a sports fan’s life when you just have to take the pride pill. I swallowed mine last Monday.

It was 2:30 pm when a close friend texted me about Gilbert Arenas’ send-off party at Alchemy that evening. He had a few passes left, and asked if I wanted to go. I then told him I would take a nap and decide when I woke up. Sure, it was a different reaction from when Kobe was here, but what the hell, I wasn’t a Gilbert Arenas fan.

Remember last summer when he said he would try to make 100,000 jumpers before the season started? I think he only made it to 50,000. Or the time he said he would drop a hundred points on the Suns because he didn’t make it to Team USA. And just recently, he indirectly criticized other NBA stars for negotiating max contracts after agreeing to take significantly less than what was offered by the Wizards.

The guy just has a knack for drawing too much attention to himself.

Going back to my story, I eventually decided to go ahead and make the short trip. While a few of my co-workers had to literally stalk him, I was being given a chance to see him up close sans the maddening crowds.

My friends and I had already been waiting for more than an hour when we received word that Gilbert had already arrived. My first instinct when he entered the club was to take a video, and so I did. One thing I remembered when I went to Cuisine last September to see Kobe was that I only saw him for a few seconds. The tight security just made it impossible to come close. The Laker superstar hardly talked to anyone. Nor did he sign any autographs or had his picture taken.

Arenas on the other hand, was giving high fives to every person in the room. Afterwards, the first thing he did was apologize for being late. At that moment, you could feel that everyone was more than willing to cut him a break. This of course, is without good reason.

Since he arrived last Saturday, this “NBA Superstar” has wholeheartedly mingled with fans, taken the time out to speak with aspiring players, and even took some time off to visit a Gawad Kalinga site. It’s hard to believe that this is the same loud mouth we’re used to reading about online and in the newspapers. Before leaving, he gave this short speech.

If there’s one thing I learned from this experience, it’s that you can never really judge a superstar until you see or meet them up close. Who would have thought, that this down to earth guy is the same loud mouth we’re all used to reading about online or watching on television.

If I wasn’t an Agent Zero fan before, I can honestly say that I am now.