Jason Varitek surprises fan wearing his T-shirt at Canobie Lake Park
BOSTON -- There are times when you're ready to meet one of your favorite athletes, and then there are times when you're minding your business, eating pizza at a local amusement park. For one Red Sox fan, the latter was unfortunately the case in a recent trip to Canobie Lake Park.
Catherine Varitek, wife of the former Red Sox catcher and current game planning coordinator/catching coach for the team, posted a video on Twitter on Tuesday in which Jason Varitek approached a fan who was sporting a Red Sox No. 33 T-shirt jersey.
Varitek asked the fan, later identified as Jeff Tatarunis, how his food was. Tatarunis didn't really make much eye contact while giving a tough grade on the pizza. Tatarunis didn't notice that it was Varitek speaking to him, at which point Catherine helped out by mentioning the T-shirt. He said he's "always" a fan of Varitek and that "sometimes you still see him at the games."
With the Tatarunis still unaware of what was going on, Varitek finally let him know.
"She made me come over and say hello. I'm Jason," Varitek said with an outstretched hand.
Tatarunis laughed and couldn't believe it.
"Dude," the bewildered fan said. "Oh my God, it's Jason Varitek. Dude, you got me. What are the odds?"
The "sneak attack" was certainly successful, even if it took a few extra seconds to land.
Tatarunis came away from the encounter with a photo of him and the former Red Sox catcher.
He said the exchange was hilarious, and he's been ecstatic since it happened. Tatarunis he got some backlash online about not recognizing Varitek initially. But Tatarunis defended himself by saying that he was just enjoying a day at the park with his family, and Varitek looked just like any other park attendee looking for a food recommendation.
