On Top of the World with Messi.

Thanks for finding me yet again after another, and hopefully final move of my blog and website. Special thanks to my amazing wife Kari for the redesign, and for my friends Grover and Allen over at Photoshelter for the integration of my archives.

Trust me when I say that I haven’t been slacking over the past month, despite the absence of posts.

There is so much for me to catch you up on. (And yes, that’s me, the former English major ending with a proposition, but really, these days a sentence reading “There is so much upon which to catch” is even more awkward, isn’t it?)

Is there a rule against starting three straight sentences with the letter “t”?

Many of you pointed out to me how cool my job can be after witnessing the midair refueling of a jet fighter over the Pacific Ocean. If you’re a soccer fan at all, the photo shoot I’m going to share with you might even be cooler.

The shoot came about in a cryptic phone call from Suzanne Lavender, the awesome director of corporate communication for the Sounders and Seahawks. Would I be available for a quick shoot at the Space Needle? Had to be low-key, because it would attract attention from the media and the public, and while that was the goal, all parties involved wanted the shoot to be quiet until the photos were taken.

Sounds good to me. FC Barcelona was in town to face the Seattle Sounders FC in an international friendly, so I assumed it had to do with Barcelona. Then I found it not only involved Barcelona, it involved Lionel Messi. Not only did involve Lionel Messi, it involved Messi on TOP of the Space Needle.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Messi, he’s currently regarded as the best player in the world right now. Need proof? Check out this video. Need more? Search “Messi” on YouTube.

Met Suzanne and my now-good-friend Gabe Gabor at the base of the Needle at the appointed time. Gabe is this awesome PR man from Miami, who is multilingual and is a “get things done” kind of guy. He’s working with FC Barcelona on their international tour, so he’s also a little freaked out. To put it in perspective, to the rest of the world, FC Barcelona’s soccer team as popular as the Chicago Bulls of the Michael Jordan era, the New York Yankees and the Dallas Cowboys. They do EVERYTHING big. And they want to do it perfect. Gabe is feeling the pressure.

So the first thing Gabe says to me as he hops out of a still moving car, is, “We are NOT going to f*ck this up, right?”

Uh, no?

Looks at me. “You up for this? We gotta be PERFECT!”.

Okay, I get it. Best soccer player in the world. Top of the Space Needle. Let’s go.

Messi and his handlers aren’t due for 45 minutes. Gabe wants to make sure everything is in order. Security, path, sightlines, photo angles. There will also be a helicopter circling shooting as well.

We start to discuss the shoot when it becomes clear to me — Gabe thinks we are only going to the Observation Deck of the Needle. I am under the impression we are going to the TOP of the Needle — somewhere people rarely get to venture.

I tell him, hey, aren’t we taking Messi to the top? Yeah, he replies. To the Observation Deck. That aint’ the top, I tell him. I think we’re going to the roof.

Dave Mandapat, marketing director for the Space Needle arrives and says, yes, we’re going to the top. Gabe is more than a little freaked out. Needs to scout it.

Up the elevator we go to the Observation Deck. Through a back door and up a steep metal ladder. Tight turn, then another ladder. Gabe is behind me, muttering, “No way, man. No way. Do you who this guy IS?”

Through a trap door and we are on the square roof of the Space Needle, right below the spire. The city spreads out before us. There is an inner railing around the trap door, then another outer railing. I skip through the inner railing to check out the photo possiblities. Gabe is clinging to the inner railing.

It will be perfect for Messi, I tell him. The light is a little hazy, but it will work. They’d planned to have him juggle a soccer ball, but it is a bit gusty, and no one wants a ball falling from the top of the Needle onto the ground below. Even if it was last touched by the best soccer player on earth.

So it’s a go. Gabe warns, “now if Messi says no, it’s a no!”

Dude. It’s Lionel Messi. He’s 5′6″ of badass who battles through huge defenders for a living. He won’t be scared.

Messi shows up, and we head up the elevator.

FC Barcelona has brought their photographer, and we have a video guy as well. Messi doesn’t blink an eye headed up the ladders. I go first, so that when we emerge from the trapdoor, I can go to the outer railing and he will follow.

He’s not nervous at all. Leans on the outer railing and starts taking pictures with his cell phone. Total badass. Everyone else but me and him are near the inner rail.

We’re waiting for the helicopter to arrive from Boeing Field, but it’s delayed. Gabe is asking, “what could the hold up be?”. Oh, some small group of pilots named the BLUE ANGELS is waiting to take off first (they’d been in town for Seafair).

Meanwhile, Messi chills. He could be sitting anywhere — his living room at home, another hotel suite, the team room at Camp Nou. Only he’s on top of Seattle, most of this soccer-rabid city unaware he’s perched on the city’s most-recognizable landmark.

Helicopter shows up. Messi holds up commemorative scarf like we’ve shown him. He walks the outside of the roof, making a circle for the helicopter while we hide behind the base of the spire so as not to get in the shot.

It works out great. Easy pictures to shoot because, hey, it’s Messi, and you’re on top of the Space Needle.

We head down to the Observation Deck for some more photos. Dribbling, juggling, the works.

By now, the crowd knows someone important is around. How fast they figured it out was Messi is beyond me, but by the time we get down there (about 15 minutes, tops), there are hundreds of fans with jerseys, scarfs, posters and cameras waiting for a glimpse of him.

Back down the elevator and Messi hops into a waiting Suburban, back to their hotel. He’s been at the Space Needle less than 30 minutes.

Gabe is finally relaxing.

The photos get released to the media. My former colleagues at the Seattle Times initially don’t want the photos. “Who is this guy?” they ask.

Meanwhile, the photos are a hit worldwide. Clips start coming in from everywhere.

Best part? While we were up waiting for the helicopter, FC Barcelona’s photographer grabs a shot of me with Messi.

Two little guys on top of the world.