Ubiquitous Greg Packer Returns to Public Spotlight

We haven't had a Greg Packer sighting for a couple of weeks now and judging by the looks of him, that's a good thing. Yet there he was yesterday, the media's go-to guy for a quote at a Joe Torre book signing in Manhattan.

One devoted Torre fan, 45-year-old self-proclaimed retiree Greg Packer of Huntington, even stood in freezing temperatures from 3:30 a.m. on to get the first spot for the afternoon signing - and that was after standing in a long line the day before at a Midtown bookstore to get Torre's signature, too.

"It was worth it," Packer said. "I wish he was still the [Yankees] manager. With the talent we have on this team now, we'd be guaranteed to get to the World Series with Torre in charge."

I want to slap people who refer to sports teams as we. But I digress.

If that name Greg Packer looks familiar, well, it is. The professed Yankees fan somehow wound up in Philadelphia for the Phillies parade back in October.

The parade drew fans from beyond the region, too. Greg Packer, 44, of Huntington, N.Y., drove in for Game 5 of the World Series and stayed for the celebration. He arrived on Broad Street near City Hall at 5 a.m. to secure what he considered the best spot.

“In New York right now, we have no Mets, no Yankees, no stadiums,” he said. “I came here to represent and cheer our neighbors.”

He's also a big fan of the Clintons, another reason to slap him.

Another average individual eager to get Hillary's book was Greg Packer, who was the centerpiece of The New York Times' "man on the street" interview about Hillary-mania. After being first in line for an autographed book at the Fifth Avenue Barnes & Noble, Packer gushed to the Times: "I'm a big fan of Hillary and Bill's. I want to change her mind about running for president. I want to be part of her campaign."

Apparently Greg got over his Hillary fixation in time to slobber over Barack Obama a couple of weeks ago.

"I'm disappointed, but obviously he can't greet everybody," said Greg Packer of Huntington, N.Y., who camped out for 12 hours to be first in line when Park Service personnel started handing out tour tickets at 7:30 a.m. Sunday.

As Kaus says:

You know he's out there. ... It doesn't matter if there are 2 million people in Washington for the Inauguration. Greg Packer, the "entire media's designated 'man on the street' for all articles ever written," will not not be quoted. ... You cannot deny him. You can only hope to contain him.

This freakazoid even has a Wikipedia page devoted to him.

Update: Apparently Packer has been attending a number of Torre book signings, as Patterico notes.