Recent Autograph Hauls

The past couple of weekends I have been fortunate enough to be able to add a few new autographs to my various collections. All have been free sigs, so that's always a good thing for my now light wallet. Like I always say, if it's free, it's for me.

The first autograph signing was about a week ago at Modell's in Time Square. Eric Decker, the new wide receiver for the New York Jets, was making an appearance so, I was absolutely going to be there. I am very excited that Decker is a New York Jet. He gives Geno Smith a target that is proven and I think he's going to help the open up the offense.

Decker was scheduled to start signing at 1 PM, so I made sure I got there early. The first 100 fans were guaranteed autographs. The only catch was you either had to buy something at the store and show the receipt at the front of the line, or take the free picture they gave with the autograph. I opted for buying a Jets mini helmet for Decker to sign. After I made the purchase, I got in line.

 
I knew the wait was going to be pretty long, so I bought a book and spent my time reading it. About a half hour before the signing was scheduled to start Modell's employees started handing out the tickets. I got mine and noticed I was number 76 in line. I was glad I got there when I did because the line got pretty long with Jet fans wanting to meet Decker and wish him good luck.

I finally got inside the store and after a 10 minute wait, I got to the front of the line and got to meet Decker. I welcomed him to NY and wished him the very best of luck. He thanked me and told me he appreciated the well wishes as he signed the mini helmet and I was on my way.

You can see my helmet waiting on the table to be signed.

And here is the helmet signed. The signature is better in person, trust me. Another addition to my Jets collection.

Yesterday, I was able to meet former New York Knicks John Starks and Charles Oakley. The signing was at a car dealership in Queens. It's was in a place I wasn't too familiar with, so I made sure I left my home extra early. I had Googled the directions to the dealership by subway, so I was looking at a hour and 20 minute ride there. Of course, I arrived there in an hour, but it took me a few minutes to locate the dealership. I actually started to go in the opposite direction. But, thanks to GPS on my phone, I found the place without any other issues.

ESPN, which sponsored the event, had set up a tent out back of the dealership. Starks and Oakley sat at a table inside the tent and was signing autographs for the fans that were lined up. The line wasn't too long so I got my stuff ready for them to sign. Starks didn't say too much as he signed for me. Oakley was talking to someone as he signed my items.

Here's where I get on my soap box and rant for a few. I absolutely despise it when the person in line before you or one of the representatives start talking to the athlete while your there, waiting to say something to the person and get a hand shake. I feel it's rude and makes me feel ignored. Needless to say, Oakley didn't really say much to me as he was busy talking to someone else and I walked away a bit perturbed. At least I got my items signed.

 
I printed a 11x14 photo of Starks dunking over Michael Jordan and Horace Grant during Game 2 of the 1993 Eastern Conference Finals in a play that is now known as "The Dunk". This came out great and I cannot wait until I have it framed and hanging up.

I printed out a 8x10 of the Knicks logo and had Starks and Oakley sign it. I want to get as many players who played for the Knickebockers to sign it. I haven't decided it I am going to send it out TTM. If I do, I can try to have Richie Guerin, Harry Gallatin, Dick Van Arsdale, and Kenny Walker to sign it. I would hate to lose it though.

I'm also working on having a Knicks picture book signed by as many players, so I had Oakley and Starks sign pictures of them inside the book.

I had a lot of fun graphing again. I haven't gone out to meet players as regularly as I'd like to, but it feels pretty good when you get the autographs you have been wanting for your collection. I'm hoping I can add more autographs this summer to my growing collection as long as I'm not mushing a dog sled team across the Antarctic, riding a camel through the Sahara dessert or swimming across the Gulf Of Mexico...  OK, maybe for the right autograph.

Graphing NFL Players During Super Bowl Week Day 1

One of my New Years resolutions was to go out and graph more this coming year. The fact that the Super Bowl is here in NYC and there would be a ton of appearances by former and current players was the perfect time for me to go back out and hunt some autographs. I was mainly looking to add autographs to my Jets collection and add some players I might not have otherwise had the chance to get any other time. In my first two days, I had some ups and downs, but so far it has been a good time.

Day 1:

On Wednesday, I arrived at Super Bowl Blvd (which in actuality is Broadway between 34th and 47th streets) at about 10:00 am. I initially was tired when I left my apartment, but the excitement of the day's events woke me up pretty quick. That and the 15 degree temperature that morning did the trick.

I waited for my friend to arrive at 11:00 am and we quickly got in line for the autograph stage. That day's scheduled guests really didn't thrill either one of us, but we wanted to see how the autograph lines worked and what to expect for future appearances that week.

While we waited for the first autograph guest, the Jets Flight Crew came out and did a few dance numbers for the crowd. After, we were told that the first guest would be up shortly and to have our items ready. If you didn't have an item, there were autograph cards that the player would sign. I had bought a huge Sports Illustrated Football book with me for players to sign, so this was the perfect opportunity for me to get a signature in it.

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneer, Derrick Brooks was the first player to sign that day and I had my book ready. I flipped through the book quickly and couldn't find a picture Brooks was in so I decided to have him sign the inside cover. The pages are grey with Sports Illustrated printed across it, so when I got up front, I asked the handler to ask Mr. Brooks to sign the page in black.

Instead of the black Sharpie I asked for, he used silver. At first I was a little ticked, but now that I look at it I see it looks fine, so I have no problem with it.

After we left the line, we decided to walk up and down the Blvd and I took a couple of pictures.

Here is the very tall toboggan slide. The one that you couldn't get me to go up if Joe Namath was calling for me to slide down with him.

Temporary home of the NFL Network during the festivities.

That is pretty much all the pictures I took of the Blvd as my hands were numb from just taking those pictures. I will be back tomorrow, so I will get some more pictures of the Blvd and post them then.

While walking back up, we noticed a line outside a Duane Reede and asked what it was for. We were told Justin Tuck was doing a signing inside, so we got on the line. We were pretty far back, but the line was moving pretty quickly. A half an hour later, we were inside.

Justin was only signing photographs that were provided by the store.

The photo is not bad. Just seems like it's a very good printed picture rather than an 8x10.  But, it's a free autograph, so I'll take it.

After, we went up to Macy's for the main event of the day (at least for me), Wayne Chrebet. He's my all time favorite Jet, so there was no way I was missing out on him. I was originally going to have him sign his page in my Jets book, but opted to stop at Modell's and use my 20.00 credit on a Jets mini helmet. Unfortunately, Jets mini helmets have been hard to find this particular week, so I grabbed a football instead.

We got to Macy's a couple of hours early, but there was a line starting to form already, so we jumped on the back. I had my tablet, so I helped myself to Macy's free wi-fi and killed some time looking at Facebook and other sites while chatting with my friend.

When Chrebet showed up, the woman who introduced him to the crowd accidentally introduced him as a former member of the New York Giants which got a hearty Bronx cheer from most of the crowd until she corrected herself. When Chrebet got up to the table he posed for pictures and then started signing.

When I got to meet Chrebet, I told him how big a fan I was and about my Chrebet card collection. He seemed genuinely happy to hear about it and thanked me for being such a big fan. As he signed my ball he noticed my Yankees sweatshirt and commented that he knew I was a smart guy. He shook my hand and off I went with my new prize.

I really like how nice the ball came out with the silver Deco paint pen he used. I need to get me a few of them in different colors.

Macy's and NFL Auctions were auctioning off this really sweet full sized Jets helmet signed by Marty Lyons, Mark Gastineau, Joe Klecko and Abdul Salaam, otherwise known as the New York Sack Exchange. I really wish I could afford to bid on it. Owning a New York Sack Exchange signed item is on my "Must Have" list.

After, we decided to end the day by hitting Modell's for the Maurice Jones-Drew signing. When we got there, there was a line outside and we got to the back of it and waited. The line started to move in no time and we were inside. This time, I decided to take the picture the store provided instead of buying anything. We were allowed to take pictures, but since my battery was running low, I decided not to take any.

When I met Jones-Drew, I told him how I enjoyed watching him play and then told him I hope he signs with the Jets this off season. He appreciated it the remark, signed my photo and off I went.

When the day ended, I was out hunting autographs for a total of 9 hours. I was tired, my feet hurt and I was hungry. But I was thrilled at the autographs I was able to add to my collection. 1 possible Hall Of Fame Player, A former Super Bowl winner, a really good running back and my all time favorite player. Not a bad way to get back into the autograph hunting game.

Yankees Zombie

Even Zombies like sports. At times even, some sports teams resemble zombies, trudging along a season as they play emotionless ball. The only difference is the players won't eat your brains. Unless your Dennis Rodman.

Just in time for Halloween, Forever released a set of Zombie figurines dressed up in your favorite team colors. They released sets for MLB, NFL, NBA and NHL. Modell's here in NYC has them for $5.00, so I managed to grab the Yankee figurine and get it home as it was moaning "Brains" and "Arod".

Here is the zombie, which I have dubbed Zack, in it's package. Nice colors on the package, depicting a sunset as Zack the zombie is wandering around looking to score tickets and munch on some brains.

Here is one side of the box. Wonder if the zombie is reaching for the eye to reinsert it or eat it.

The other side of the box. I guess their team won. Or maybe they're at Sears taking the family portrait.

And the back of the box. The hand coming up from out of the grave reminds me of the old horror movie show Chiller Theater when at the beginning of the show, a hand would come out of the grave and feel around. I don't remember the rest because I either ran out of the room or fainted. I'll be right back.

And here is Zack in all his zombie glory. Uh oh, looks like someone forgot his other shoe, For shame Zack, for shame.

Would you look at the kisser on Zack? Suddenly, that person your buddy wanted to hook you up with doesn't seem so bad all of a sudden, huh?

Check out the Property Of The Yankees sweatshirt Zack is sporting. Looking sharp. I used to have the same sweatshirt. Hey, wait a minute...

The back of the figurine. Zack, you really need someone to sew up that sweatshirt for you. And get some color while you're at it.

The bottom of the figure has the Forever and the MLB logos stamped under Zack's feet. After a long day of wandering around and munching on brains, we find the zombie, lying down and trying to get some rest.

I think Forever did a great job with this figurine. The sculpting was outstanding and the paint job was flawless. I would definitely pick up the figurines of my other favorite teams. I will be displaying Zack on my Yankee bobblehead and statue shelf. I would definitely recommend these for your collection before they go wandering off.

And if you wake up and find bite marks on your figurines, I would suggest you run out of your place and not come back.