Dude, That's Tony Hawk, in Groton!
By BOB CONNORS
Updated 2:00 PM EST, Thu, Oct 22, 2009
If you were at Sutton Park, the skate park in Groton, on Wednesday afternoon, you might have heard something like this:
"Dude, that is Tony Hawk."
"Dude, no way."
"Dude, way."
"Dude, no way is that Tony Hawk, the most famous skateboarder of all time, right here in our skate park in Groton."
"Dude, who else could do a FS 540 or a Laser Flip like that? I am telling you, that is Tony Hawk."
There had been rumors that the skateboarding legend would be stopping by the park, and sure enough, there he was in the flesh.
Greg Goode, a program supervisor for Groton's Parks and Recreation Department, said his office was notified about two hours before Hawk's arrival.
Hawk wanted to get the OK from the city before making an appearance, Goode said. After getting the go-ahead from Groton, Hawk posted the surprise appearance on his Twitter page.
Soon the skate park was swarming with hundreds of skaters who wanted to catch a glimpse of their idol. Sure enough, Hawk showed up and wowed the crowd, staying and skating at the park for about two hours.
"It's unbelievable, man. We had been fighting for this skate park as kids for maybe 10 years. Everybody has put a lot of time and effort into this place, and now to see Tony here ... we're on the map now," Donny Barley, 36, told The Day of New London.
Hawk even had some compliments for the park.
"I like how expansive it is. There's a lot of humps and corners where you can get some speed," Hawk told the paper.
The purpose of the appearance was to promote Hawk's new video game "Tony Hawk: Ride," but he says this was a much different approach than other promotional appearances.
"This is a nice change. A lot of the things we've done in the past have been organized on a big scale. I like doing this when it's a lot more renegade and a lot more intimate," he told The Day.
First Published: Oct 22, 2009 12:10 PM EST
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