Sabers meet Ozzy Osbourne

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Brittney Frees
  • 52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
All aboard! Ha ha ha ha ha ha haaaa! As I was sitting at work on a Thursday evening, my supervisor informed me he needed two people from our office to go to an Ozzy Osbourne concert the following day to provide media coverage. Of course my hand instantly shot up and I was told that my responsibility was to enjoy the concert and write a story on it later.

I couldn't complain--little did I know I was not only going to see Ozzy perform live, but I was going to meet and hug the 'Godfather of Heavy Metal.'

We had a group of 22 people. All of them had put their names into a drawing and won the free tickets thanks to the 52nd Force Support Squadron. When our group met on the base the day of the concert I had butterflies, I could not believe I was going to meet Ozzy.

I remember stories my dad once told me of meeting the legend himself. Everyone was excited; not many people get the opportunity to shake the hand of a rock legend.

When we arrived at the concert people were lined up outside the doors just waiting to pour into the building. Lucky for us, we were able to walk in almost an hour before everyone else.

There were the usual stands of expensive food and drinks, and stand filled with Ozzy merchandise that was soon to form a line.

Our group huddled by the merchandise as we waited for word that it was time to meet him. Everyone was talking about how cool it was that we were there. After waiting for only a short period of time, a guy from the concert staff began explaining what was going to happen. He told us to get out whatever we wanted signed because it was time.

The butterflies I had back at the base seemed to grow larger as we began walking towards the back room where Ozzy was waiting to meet us. We all lined up with grins on our faces holding our keep-sakes that were soon to be signed by a rock legend.

One by one we entered the room. Ozzy was cracking jokes and laughing in his awesome British accent. He was very personable and was happy to meet each and every one of us. I could hardly contain myself when I realized I was the next person to meet him. As I walked towards him he stretched out his arms to hug me. I couldn't stop grinning. He signed a picture I had and then took a picture with me. After a short minute it was all over and the next person in line began walking up with a huge smile on his face.

When the group was all together again we talked about how cool the experience was. We had just met the 'Godfather of Heavy Metal.'

It was time for the concert. Bullet for My Valentine was the opening band. They were awesome and everyone was singing along. They definitely warmed up the crowd and their last song finished with a roar from the audience. Then, everyone began chanting 'Ozzy.'

Ozzy began singing and the crowd went crazy screaming and jumping up and down. Song after song, Ozzy sang masterfully and we loved every minute of it. When the concert was over and the lights came on, I was a little sad it was over. Meeting 'The Prince of Darkness' was the experience of a lifetime; one that I will never forget.