Garth Brooks
This is part three of news specialist Shelley Osterloh's reports on country singer Garth Brooks.
A Delta Center official made Brooks an honorary member of Utah's championship team for his record breaking Salt Lake appearance: The fastest Delta Center Sellout, 65-thousand tickets in under three hours... and four sold out shows. Brooks is on the last leg of a three year tour -- 200 cities yet to go. and in each town, prices are less than $20 a ticket.
Question: "But, you do make a conscious effort to keep ticket prices down, don't you?"
Brooks: "Yes maam, we don't comment on other people's ticket prices... we just know that, I look at all my people, and I look at myself, we are making an unbelievable living at this.. especially for the fact that it ain't really work."
Brooks fielded any question thrown at him. When asked about superstitions, he said, "We do the band handshake.. and that's probably as pre-show ritual as it gets. Knock on wood, I'm not superstitious at all. Some people say superstition is a show of a lack of faith.. but I don't think it hurts to have a few."
On his weight: "I'm wearing black.. I'm wearing black and about to pass out. No I'm still heavy, it's just that I'm getting older so it's going in different places."
But a question about his ailing mother's health left him speechless and struggling to hold back tears. "She's a Brooks, she's irish... so she's tough."
That honest emotion is part of what makes Brooks so endearing to his fans. In a private interview... he said, he hopes his *best work... is yet to come.
"There was a great quote.. they were asking athletes for their best 40 time.. all these guys and their best 40 time.. they'd state their name and best forty time... name and best forty time, one kid comes on, he states his name and says, I haven't run it yet. I was like yea... you haven't done your best yet... that's what you want."
