Those who know me personally already know what today’s post is about.  I love bacon.  I love cured meat made from the back or sides of a pig.  But I the bacon I love is not something you eat.  Well, not anything I will be nibbling on in this lifetime anyway.

I love Kevin Bacon, the actor.  Don’t know him?  I’m not so sure about that.  I think everyone who watched movies has seen one or more of Kevin Bacon’s movies.  He has made an astounding 53 movies in his career that spans over thirty years.  Trust me, you’ve seen the guy.

I started liking Kevin Bacon like most of his long time fans by seeing the movie, Footloose, 30 years ago.  I was a college freshman when I saw the movie.  Like every other teenage girl at the time I developed a celebrity crush on him.  I had photos and posters of him all over my college dorm wall.

However, unlike all the millions of other girls who moved on the next crush I kept mine.  The photos stayed up and I always checked out Kevin’s new movies.  In the early years of his career the movies were hit or miss.  But I always felt he gave a good performance.

I followed his personal life when Kevin got married and started a family.  He moved to Connecticut to live on a farm with his wife and kids.  Kevin kept making movies when the kids were young and his wife took care of things at home.  His marriage seemed strong.  It made me like him even more to know how much he valued his wife and relationships with his children.

My husband knew of my crush on Kevin from the start.  When I first met him Kevin’s movie He Said, She Said had just come out on VCR.  I didn’t own a VCR, but rented one from Blockbuster (remember that place?) to watch the movie.  On one of our first dates I made my then boyfriend watch the movie not once, but twice.  I knew my then boyfriend was destined to be my husband because he understood my crush and didn’t mind.  Not that Kevy would be leaving his lovely wife for plain old me anyway.

Being a fan I got upset that Kevin wasn’t nominated for films I thought he acted well in.  It seemed he was always being overlooked.  All of his performances were good, but I guess no one felt they were ‘good enough’ for an award recognition.  I disagreed with the critics.  He gave amazing performances in so many films.  He deserved to be recognized.

In all the years I have been a fan of Kevin I have never read a negative statement about his personal life or work behavior.  No trash talk.  This is unusual for a movie star.  I think he’s a good guy who was raised by good parents.  I may be wrong, but I haven’t seen any evidence to prove otherwise.

The turning point to make me love Kevin Bacon was when I became aware of his band, The Bacon Brothers.  Kevin and his older brother Michael started a band together.  I remember sitting at my dining table years ago, reading the newspaper.  I read The Bacon Brothers were coming town for a concert at local bar. I bought tickets to performance.  Prior to the show I went online and bought all the band’s CDs.  I was determined to learn every song’s lyrics before the concert.  The concert was great.  I was hooked on the Bacon Brothers.  I dragged my sister to another concert years later.  She was a trooper as I positioned myself right in front of the stage so I could sing along with the band.  Occasionally I would glance back at her sitting in the audience rolling her eyes, but I didn’t care.  I enjoyed every moment of the concert.

Earlier this week Kevin’s new TV show The Following was played on TV.  I don’t watch TV, but because of my love of Kevin I watched.  The show’s violence was too much at times, but the acting and thrill factor were fantastic.  I made my FB friends nuts posing how excited I was to see Kevin on TV.  I was happy not only because I would be able to watch his show, but because after years of working in the entertainment industry his work would be recognized.  He is the star of the show his work is very well done.  This show will bring him more of the critical acclaim he has always deserved.

So there you go.  I little insight on my 30 year crush for Kevin Bacon.  Am I weird?  Sure, but who cares?  I’m 48 not 18.  I know what a crush is and isn’t.  I don’t hope to actually meet Kevin someday.  Okay, maybe I do.  But frankly it’s better that I don’t.  I know I would flub the meeting up by saying something dumb like, “I just loved you in Footloose.”

Some things are best to admire from afar.  The reality of meeting your crush could be very disappointing.  I don’t want that to happen.  Then I wouldn’t have my crush anymore and I like Kevin the way he is.

Let’s hear it for the boy…

Related articles

• Sizzling Kevin Bacon Performance In New Show ‘The Following’ (contactmusic.com)
• Baconfest Florida 2013 Coming Saturday February 23rd (burgerbeast.com)
• What’s One Thing Kevin Bacon Won’t Do In Front Of Anybody Else? (huffingtonpost.com)