“Do you think he’s looking at me?” said the girl next to me to her friend excitedly. Jon Bon Jovi had just taken the stage and was singing “Wanted Dead or Alive.” In most cases the ‘looking at me’ question would be ridiculous, but in a small gathering of about 150 people, Jon Bon Jovi could see everyone.

It was the Michael Strahan/ Dreier LLP golf charity parings party complete with charity auction at Tao Restaurant on Sunday, July 9th. The cause was inner city children who loved sports and played everyday, but couldn’t afford any equipment - including a ball to kick around.

Michael Strahan of the New York Giants, whose own balls have been kicked around in his recent divorce trial, decided to pull together this event for the children and fortunately for him - his good friends Jon, Richie, Tico, and David from Bon Jovi, believed in the cause as well. In Jon’s words “When Michael came to me and asked me if I knew a band that could play at his charity event, I thought about it and replied – (in a sarcastic voice) well actually, I do.”

When Bon Jovi hit the stage, I guessed they would probably play about 3 songs – make an appearance, so I only had one Peach Cosmo in hand. Three songs past - Peach Cosmo downed long ago - more songs kept coming! Over an hour of awesome songs were played including “Livin’ on a Prayer,” “It’s My Life,” “You Give Love a Bad Name,” and a few new songs from their upcoming tour (beginning the next day in Florida). A little warning please next time so a girl can properly prepare?! Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t complaining, but I did grab a passing waitress and ask her to bring over another so I could properly enjoy the show (and tipped her generously for making my life that much better).

Everyone was out to support Strahan and the children. Several well-known athletes showed their support in the auction, as well as Strahan’s brothers. The night was about the Children, Michael Strahan, and Jon Bon Jovi – and for the record, he was looking at me.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, July 13th, 2006 at 9:06 am and is filed under Events, Sports, Celebrities, Cocktails. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.