It was pretty crazy in Leipzig and didn't have much time to sort through the hundreds of photos I took and then upload some interesting ones to the site. Still, as the Germans might say, besser spate als nie.

It's not every day that you get to meet someone famous, but sometimes fate smiles upon you and you get the opportunity to meet someone who is known to people all over the globe. Thursday, August 23rd was one of those rare days when fate intervened and allowed a skateboarder named Tony Hawk to meet me, Aaron Thomas, someone whose reviews are so popular they've been stolen by other websites and translated into Portuguese.

It was immediately evident just how thrilled Tony was to finally get to meet me. Obviously unable to contain his excitement he was already sitting at a table eagerly anticipating my arrival. Almost as soon as I sat down Tony began to pepper me with questions, inquiring as to how I was doing. Now I get this question from nearly everyone I meet on the street, but answering the same questions over and over again is just part of working for a big-time organization like GameSpot. "Fine, thanks." I replied, taking note of a skateboard lying next to him. "Is that yours?" I asked, nodding towards the well-used board.

It turns out that it was his skateboard and he would be skating a brief exhibition later in the day. Hey, not everyone is so good they can compete in the X-Games, but at least he's enjoyed a modest amount of success. While traveling to a video game convention to give a skateboarding demonstration isn't the most glamorous way to make a living, you've certainly got to admire someone so dedicated to their passion, regardless of how meager a living it provides them.

I had an appointment immediately following our meeting, but I wanted Tony to feel like a friend and not an obligation. I don't know much about skateboarding, but I asked him a few questions about his little hobby, nodding like I understood what he was talking about when he mentioned something about a "900" or whatever. Even though we had already spent 15 minutes together, Tony was still bursting with questions, and at one point interrupted me mid-sentence and asked me to repeat mysel--another question I get all the time. Apparently what I say is sometimes so profound that people simply must hear me say it again.

Finally I had to leave so I stood up, shook his hand and told him how nice it was to meet him. With a sparkle in his eye he said the same and I turned to pack my bags. As I got ready to walk out the door I looked over and saw Tony standing alone against the wall with a look I've seen many times befor--he wanted a picture together but was undoubtedly too nervous to ask. I grabbed my camera, asked another fan of mine if he wanted to get in the shot, and happily obliged Mr. Hawk with a picture.

Sometimes meeting your idols is everything you dreamed it be.

The US team may not be leaving until Sunday, but for me and Drew the German dream is over for another year. It's currently 4.30 am UK time and we're waiting for the flight home to London--a very reasonable one and a half hour journey from here. The airport itself is full of bleary-eyed games journalists, PR people and other industry luminaries, many of whom seem to have just ploughed through and not slept at all.

As you can tell by looking at the above photo, the GameSpot crew covering the Leipzig Game Convention has been hard at work scouring the massive convention center in an effort to bring you the best the show has to offer.

But just because we haven't had much time for fun it doesn't mean you can't have a little fun...at our expense. This is an open invitation to all you Photoshop masters out there to have your way with this picture taken early in the morning before the show opened. Click the photo for a high quality version and then change the background, add speech bubbles, new people...whatever. Just make sure to keep it clean and hopefully at least a little tasteful.

When you're finished, post your masterpiece in this forum thread. I'll then post the best entries in the soapbox as well as the Leipzig blog section for all the world to see. Have fun!

To see a full-size version of the pictures all you've got to do is click them.

Check out Guy's tour around the show floor of hall 2 at the Leipzig Game convention!