Driver Picks Up Hitchhicker ... and It's Bono

Now Bono "wants to be Gilbert Brule"
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jun 3, 2011 8:53 AM CDT
Gilbert Brule NHL Player Picks Up Bono, Hitchhiking in Vancouver
Singer Bono of the rock band U2 poses in the press room at the 2011 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas on Sunday, May 22, 2011.   (AP Photo/Dan Steinberg)

This was one nifty assist by an NHL player. Edmonton Oilers center Gilbert Brule stopped this week to pick up a most unlikely hitchhiker—rock star Bono. The U2 frontman and his assistant were walking in West Vancouver, British Columbia, on Tuesday when they got caught in the rain. Fortunately for them, Brule and his girlfriend were driving by, taking their German shepherd to a park. Bono hopped in for a ride. To thank them, he offered Brule and his girlfriend backstage passes for the U2 concert Wednesday night at Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium.

The couple sold their tickets to Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals between Boston and Vancouver, took a flight back to Edmonton and went to the show with Brule's mom."I like people who play ice hockey, they stop for hitchhikers. I know this from experience," Bono told the concert crowd. "I'm so grateful I've decided I want to be Gilbert Brule." Or, maybe not: The 24-year-old Brule missed half of this season because of illnesses, intestinal problems, a sprained ankle, and a concussion. (More Bono stories.)

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