Oh, Mike! What a shame! LOL! I feel for you though. I'm 110% shy, so I know I wouldn't have took the chance either. Well, if I was with someone, I wouldn't have, cos I have this fear of making a fool of myself with someone who knows me nearby, but if I was by myself, I might have chanced it, cos there'd be no witnesses if I fell on my face or something.
But I don't think it has anything to do with him being a celebrity cos I have several celeb friends online and I've known them for years and still feel weird about talking on the phone or meeting them. It's just people in general that I can't cope with.
A similar story to yours….I used to be online friends with Kelsey Grammer back when I was going through my “Frasier” phase, and I went to CA and coulda went to the show and met him and hung out with everyone, but I didn't let him know I was there until after, so I didn't get anything set up. I was too nervous to set it up.
But I'm hoping that through some of the people I've run into online, I'll at least make a connection with someone who knows Dan and I can pass along a hello to him.