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Newsday October 8, 2002 Tuesday

Wait And See;
If there's a thin line between fanatic and fan, he's standing on it

By Reid J. Epstein. Reid J. Epstein is a freelance writer.

Standing outside a midtown bookstore, Greg Packer didn't have the look of someone who had been waiting nine hours to see former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. But for Packer, who had his usual spot at the front of the block-long queue, being the first person to greet a celebrity is routine. Like the devoted fans who have come to be known as the Jets' Fireman Ed and the Yankees' Freddy Sez, Packer is the First in Line Guy, a fan of all celebrities, who regularly waits hours for brief seconds of face time.

"You gotta be first in line in order to tell your friends and family that you're alive," said Packer, a 38-year-old Huntington native who, while standing in line, makes sure to introduce himself to every passing reporter. "Nobody wants to talk to you at the back of the line." If there's a high-profile event in or near New York, odds are Packer is there, at the head of the pack. He was first in line to see Ground Zero when the viewing platform opened at the World Trade Center site Dec. 30. He was first in line in 1997 to sign the condolence book at the British consulate when Princess Diana died. He slept outside in the snow in Washington in January 2001 to be the first in line to greet President George W. Bush after his inauguration.

"This is what I like doing," he said. "You only live once; you might as well make the most of it."

When told of the lengths he has gone to to be at major events and meet celebrities, Robert Thompson, a Syracuse University professor of pop culture, said Packer has turned a passion into an art form.

"If you're totally obsessed with Shakespeare and James Joyce and go to the ends of the earth researching them, we call you an English professor," Thompson said. "This guy has chosen his body of art to consume. It just so happens he can't make a living off of it. The only fundamental difference is he doesn't have tenure."

In his quest to mingle with the rich and famous, Packer has met Gloria Estefan and Garth Brooks, Sammy Hagar and Hillary Clinton, Rosie O'Donnell and Keith Richards. He bribed an usher at the Georgia Dome $100 to let him into Super Bowl XXXIV and convinced a nun to give him her extra ticket to see Pope John Paul II at Giants Stadium in 1995. And he never misses the New Year's Eve ball drop in Times Square, where he can be found next to the MTV stage.

From Billy Joel and Rage Against the Machine to the Dixie Chicks and the punk band Nofx, he's met just about everyone in heavy rotation on MTV. To see where the likes of Sting or Enrique Iglesias will be next, Packer searches newspaper advertisements to see who's coming to New York, and when. It is all part of his quest to meet the real-life stars behind the sequined jacket or guitar strap.

"You get to be hands-on," Packer said. "You get to really know them when you're sitting across from them. Sometimes its like, 'Hello, goodbye.' But sometimes I'll have a few minutes, like with 'N Sync."

It's important to be first, Packer said, because he tends to get impatient if the action begins without him.

His obsession with celebrity started 30 years ago, when Packer's mother brought him a photograph of actress Natalie Wood, whom she met on an airplane. A couple of years later, his father presented him with the autograph of heavyweight champion Joe Louis.

Then came high school, when he was able to meet many of the New York Islanders while they were winning four straight Stanley Cups. After games and at malls, Packer tracked down his hockey heroes.

And for the past 10 years, when Packer has learned of a chance to meet a celebrity in the New York area, he has made it his business to be there, consequences be damned. He takes vacation and personal days or calls in sick from his job filling potholes and mowing lawns for the Huntington highway department.

"Even if when I went back to work I got fired, I know I would have the full support of the public," said Packer, who said he hopes to someday endorse products in television commercials.

On this day, Packer clutched three copies of Giuliani's new book, "Leadership," posing for news photographers and repeating his own sound bites to passing reporters. He shook hands with police officers, who recognized him from previous line-waiting adventures. It was clear he was enjoying himself.

"I have all these people around to talk to," he said. "It's like having a different family every time."

Packer is a hard-core line-waiter. He arrives at events with only the day's newspapers, while other line-waiters bring chairs and coolers. If he needs to eat or answer the call of nature, he asks the person behind him to hold his place in line.

As the one with the most line-waiting experience, Packer preaches the rules of etiquette: He'll save a spot for someone who's making a run across the street for a hot dog or a soda, but vacating for more than a few minutes is strictly forbidden.

"Everybody understands that you can go get something to eat and come right back," Packer said. "But some of the girls at 'N Sync thought they could go home and get their beauty sleep. That just wasn't happening."

His line-waiting strategy depends on the relative fame of the celebrity in question. Pop culture icons like Michael Jackson require arriving up to two days in advance, but Packer has found that only a few hours will suffice to meet B-list stars like Lisa Loeb.

"This guy has clearly found something he loves to do, and few people have done that," Thompson said. "You have to admire that. How many people have found something that they love to wake up at 2:30 in the morning to do?"