Man Begged to Stay in Prison an Extra Week to Meet Francesco Totti in 2006
Some people will do anything for a selfie with their favorite athlete, including stay in prison.
Roma icon Francesco Totti told Italian TV channel Rai that that's exactly what one fan did just to snap a photo with him. Totti, who was promoting his new autobiography Un Capitano, shared the story of a man who willingly stayed inside the Rebibbia prison in Rome to meet the Giallorossi legend.
The encounter occurred on Totti's scheduled visit to the prison for a charity initiative after helping Italy win the World Cup in 2006.
"There was this lad there that kept shouting, 'Me! Me! Me!' and wanted, at absolutely all costs, to take a photo with me," Totti said. "No one would let him through, but he started to push his way forward and try and get closer to me to take a photo. I did not really understand why he was so determined."
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It wasn't until later that someone told Totti the full story. The inmate was originally set to be released before Totti's arrival. Devastated, the fan wrote a letter to the prison warden with a simple request: Keep him locked up for another week, or he would "do something crazy to be sent back here."
"Even if I lived for another 100 years, I'll never again have a chance like this to have my photo taken alongside Totti," the inmate wrote in the letter.
Totti's autobiography was released on Thursday.
