Sauce, meet Jessica. Jessica, meet Sauce.
Jessica Alba normally needs no introduction. But that wasn't the case when the actress encountered 22-year-old New York Jets star cornerback Sauce Gardner on Tuesday. He had to be introduced by his elder teammate Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers and Gardner sat courtside during Tuesday's playoff game between the New York Knicks and Miami Heat at Madison Square Garden. Seated nearby was Alba.
"We was getting seated and [Rodgers] was like, 'Oh, we're about to sit by...' Umm, what's her name? 'We're about to sit by Jessica Alba,'" Gardner told reporters Thursday. "And I'm just like, 'Oh.' You know what I mean? I'm like, 'I don't know who that is.' And he just looked at me like I'm crazy."
The video of Gardner's comments was posted by the Jets' Twitter account, and the 42-year-old Alba responded.
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"Lol -I totally see how this kid Sauce got his name, he said to my girl @ElizabethMxo “How can I get caught up when I’m the catch” . But in all honesty he was actually very polite with his elder @AaronRodgers12 and everyone else in the room. It was nice meeting you @iamSauceGardner ~Honey and Storm," Alba tweeted, closing with her character's names in the movies "Honey" and "The Fantastic Four."
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Gardner, who is now one of Alba's 8.4 million Twitter followers, was quick to respond.
"Damnn it’s been 2 days and you still remember what I said word for word.. I just might be HIM. Nah, but I had a good time with you, @ElizabethMxo, and my chaperone loll @AaronRodgers12," Gardner tweeted.
The 39-year-old Rodgers, taking issue with the age-shaming terminology used by Alba and Gardner, then joined in.
"Chaperone??? Elder??? You are funny @iamSauceGardner, glad to be helping you meet new people," Rodgers tweeted.
Since being acquired by the Jets in a trade with the Green Bay Packers in April, Rodgers has been making the most of the New York nightlife. He attended Game 6 of the first-round series between the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils and sat courtside at the last two Knicks playoff games.
He has quickly become a regular on the Garden's celebrity row, which has recently included stars like Michael J. Fox, Chris Rock, Rodger Federer, Dave Chappelle, former Knicks like Patrick Ewing, Carmelo Anthony, Amar'e Stoudemire and many others.
But it was Alba who made the difference in age and pop culture familiarity between the future Hall of Fame quarterback and the reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year became quite apparent.
"It was great vibes," Gardner said of sitting courtside with Rodgers. "But that whole night he would just keep asking me out of nowhere, 'Do you know who that person is?' I'm like, 'Bro, that's Amar'e Stoudemire. I know who that is. Now you're just picking on me at this point.'"
