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"  I&amp;#039;ve never been much of a fan. Springsteen&amp;#039;s music never quite touched my soul. Never moved me. Never made me want to pump my fists with populist fervor or hang my head in sweet woe. Until I saw it in person at Giants Stadium in New Jersey this weekend. But it wasn&amp;#039;t Bruce who converted me \u2014 it was his representatives.  Standing directly in front of me were a father and his teenage daughter, who would hug each other out of sheer and mutual ecstasy when the band started in on &amp;quot;Thunder Road.&amp;quot; Standing to the right of me was a guy who was dancing during the show but reading the New York Times Magazine before it started. Standing behind me were five short blond women in their forties who couldn&amp;#039;t clap to the rhythm but kept trying anyway. And standing behind them were two guys who would end up getting into a fight during &amp;quot;Hungry Heart.&amp;quot; Immediately after the fight was resolved, both of them resumed dancing. All of the people around me resumed dancing. And singing. And hugging and high-fiving. They were happy. They were happy when Springsteen walked on stage without fanfare. They were happy when he ran out into the audience. They were happy when he ceded the stage to a young girl so she could sing in front of 70,000 people herself. He handed her the mic. And she sang and danced. And the audience applauded her. The audience applauded itself.  For the entire show, it felt as if everyone was playing their part in the production: the Tableau of Bruce. And that they were aggressively determined to have a good time. And for Bruce to have a good time. And for you to have a good time. An irresistibly good time. Because at a Bruce show, even if &amp;quot;Glory Days&amp;quot; doesn&amp;#039;t grab a hold of you, the spontaneous embrace of an extremely happy stranger will. RELATED LINKS:  THE ENDORSEMENT: The Hummable Bruce Springsteen ALBUMS A MAN SHOULD OWN: Springsteen Leads Off Our List THE LIST OF MEN: Why Bruce Is a Man Worth Emulating "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a6499/bruce-springsteen-fans-100609/>