FORT PAYNE, Ala. — Terry Mashburn, 54, of Fort Payne, was admitted to Floyd Medical Center in Rome, Georgia on Friday evening after attempting to personally thank every attendee at Randy Owen's sold-out Fandemonium at the Farm event for helping make Alabama's legacy possible.
The event, held June 20th at Owen's Tennessee River Music Farm near the Alabama-Tennessee state line, drew thousands of fans for what organizers described as a private fan appreciation gathering. Mashburn arrived at 9:00 a.m., two and a half hours before gates opened, carrying a handshake strategy he had developed over the previous eleven days.
"My goal was to make it to Randy," Mashburn told reporters from his hospital bed. "But I felt like I owed it to the crowd first. These people kept Alabama alive."
Mashburn's plan called for a sustained three-mile-per-hour handshake pace. Early simulations suggested this pace was achievable. The simulations did not account for the cattle gate bottleneck on the main access road, where the crowd funneled to three-wide and began executing their own greetings before Mashburn could clear the entry zone.
By 1:30 p.m. he had covered approximately forty feet. The temperature was ninety-one degrees. He was wearing a 2001 Alabama World Tour shirt in a weight described on the tag as 100% cotton, heavyweight.
At 3:00 p.m. a volunteer spotted him stationary near the merchandise tent and offered him a cup of water. He accepted, shook her hand, and thanked her for her service to the event.
Doctors at Floyd Medical said Mashburn arrived with a core temperature of 101.3, mild dehydration, and what they described as a "handshake-related muscular fixation," in which his right hand had locked into a forward-extended thumbs-up position and could not be returned to rest without mild resistance.
"He is recovering well," said attending physician Dr. Amanda Rowe. "The grip will likely loosen over the next several weeks. We are monitoring his enthusiasm levels as well, which remain elevated."
Mashburn said he did not reach Randy Owen but was told by three different people that Randy is very down-to-earth and would have appreciated it.
"That's enough for me," he said. "That's really enough."
Randy Owen's office did not respond to a request for comment but his publicist confirmed that Owen did, in fact, shake several hundred hands over the course of the event and found each one meaningful.
Mashburn is expected to be discharged Monday. He has already begun planning for next year. His wife, Cheryl, said she is supportive but has asked him to practice his pace in the backyard before committing to another attempt.
"He's a good man," she said. "He just loves that band."
