Yes, this actually happened — I met one of my childhood heroes at the National Media Museum in Bradford, whilst I was up there for the 2011 British Science Festival in September. Although in retrospect, this photo opportunity may have been designed for children.
I barely play any games now (although I have recently procured an Xbox 360 to play with the Kinect SDK), as I still hark back to the glory days of home gaming with the NES and SNES: I first played the original Super Mario Bros. on the NES when I was around eight years old and have played pretty much every Mario incarnation since (favourites: Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario World).
Any other Mario fans or NES/SNES aficionados out there?
Digital, Data & Policy 
The might of MarioKart on SNES has made a whole generation of drivers terrified of bananas on the road (myself included).
Also, your top appears to be a very plain Mario level, with a single turtle patrolling your left shoulder…
Ah yes, Super Mario Kart, another SNES classic; it would certainly be in my top five all-time games (as well as GoldenEye on the N64).
(N.B. the jumper is an homage to Mario World 1-1)
A big HT to Kat Brown: I’m also a massive fan of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past on the SNES; read her article!