GUEST BLOGGER: Mike M.

Florida Gators star Tim Tebow was in Jacksonville recently to sign autographs for a fundraiser for his foundation dedicated to children.

The event, hosted by Palm Beach Autographs, was held on March 6th 2010 at the Avenues Mall in Jacksonville Florida – home to yours truly and the company for which I work, Football Fanatics.

Anyway, being a Fanatic, I called up my friend Martin Buckley (a rockstar name if ever there was one) who happens to manage the Palm Beach Autographs store AND who happens to be behind the whole shindig.

So I say, “Marty, [no one else calls him that but me] how ’bout a good friend and fellow Gator hookup?”

“What was your name again?” Marty casually replied.

Realizing that this was how he was going to play it, I switched to the professional angle. You see, the Football Fanatics Avenues store is located right across the breezeway from his stellar operation and, as luck would have it, Martin knows our retail staff very well. We even sell some of Palm Beach Autograph’s merchandise on our website.

That – and my offer to give him a copy of my footage if he’d let me shoot the event – enticed him into a more hospitable mood.

Mr. Buckley was exceedingly gracious allowing me a level of access normally only afforded to heads of state and local journalists. Of course, I didn’t actually get to talk to Mr. Tebow. But I did get to film his interview with the local media. I even got my mom and my oldest son in as well by appointing them production assistants.

I also got to hang out and talk to some really great folks. Jacksonville is my adopted hometown and chatting up the good folks of the city at an event like this always makes me remember why I stay here (well…that and my wife refuses to live anywhere else).

“What was Tebow like?” friends asked me afterward. I’d say he’s the real deal – friendly, well-mannered and unfailingly nice and polite. Of course, that comes from spending about two hours a mere three feet from him and not getting to talk to him, but if you’ll settle for a fly-on-the-wall perspective, there it is.

Anyway, enjoy the 10 minute video. You’ll find shots of the signing, interviews and scenes from the event. If you love Tim Tebow, it has most of the complete media interview with him.

Thanks for checking us out and have a great day.

Tim Tebow Autograph Session and Interview

We’re well within the week of NCAA conference basketball championships, which means the madness of March has already started for college fans across the country! Soon teams will be announced and go on to compete for this year’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship. So we have only one question for you folks – What teams do you think will win each game in the 2010 Men’s College Basketball Tournament? If you have even somewhat of a clue, then we challenge you to play our 2010 College Bracket Contest!

It’s so easy to enter:
1. Complete the free entry form
2. Come back on Selection Sunday and choose your tourney picks
3. Check out the bracket schedule so you’ll be there to cheer your predictions on to victories!

In the end if you have a perfect 2010 bracket, you’ll also have a $500 gift certificate. Not perfect but the highest in our college basketball bracket challenge, you’ll get a $250 gift certificate! Twenty winners will win a $50 gift certificate just for entering!

Good luck to you all and please be sure to make us your #1 source for all your 2010 College Bracket fan gear. Any size order is just $4.99 for 3-day shipping!

Shop now!

Football Fanatics lost a valued employee and friend last week when Michael Clifton, our Creative Director, passed away. Mike was the guy in the office who could always make you laugh with his quick comebacks and wit. He was immensely creative and you could always count on him to get the job done. He knew how to execute your ideas better than you could imagine and would stop what he was doing to help you in a crunch. Mike was responsible for many of the designs on our website and was integral in the development of the Football Fanatics brand. We wanted to take this time to share some photos of Mike, celebrate his life and impact, and pay tribute to a wonderful coworker and friend.

If you knew Mike, we encourage you to please  share a story or favorite memory in the comments.

Are you a college basketball fan? I thought so. Want $3,000 with 3 ways to win? I thought so. Enter the I Love College Hoops contest running now through the end of February. You can win by entering the sign-up form, following us on Twitter or becoming a fan of Football Fanatics on Facebook. It’s so easy!

Here’s a quick breakdown of the prize giveaways:

- Twitter prizes – Three (3) $50 and Five (5) $100 gift certificates
- Facebook prizes – Three (3) $50 and Five (5) $100 gift certificates
- Enter to win prizes – Seventeen (17) $100 gift certificates
- No purchase necessary
- Contest ends February 28, 2010

What are you waiting for? Sign up now!

The New Orleans Saints are Super Bowl XLIV Champions! For the first time in franchise history the Saints have won a championship. What an amazing feeling that must be for Saints fans, players and organization members. The Indianapolis Colts put up a good fight, but they just didn’t play well enough on defense to stop the high powered Saints offense. The final score was 31-17.

Football Fanatics has official New Orleans Saints Super Bowl champs apparel and merchandise on sale now! Check out a small selection of what we have – and don’t forget we have 3-Day shipping for only $4.99 on any size order.

We are just three days away from Super Bowl XLIV in Miami between the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts. With the game coming up so soon we thought now would be a great time to run a contest. We’re giving you a chance to win a $250 gift certificate to Football Fanatics. To be entered, all you have to do is pick the winner of the Super Bowl and guess the final score. It’s that easy! Click here to enter.

I’ll be bringing you my Super Bowl XLIV predictions tomorrow afternoon so please check back.

If you have any questions about the contest, please post a comment here and let me know. Good luck!

Over the past decade or two, the Super Bowl has become somewhat of an American holiday. It’s the most watched television event in the world and people love to throw parties for the big game. I’m talking all-day events with food, traditions, games and friends – just like a holiday. Today I asked our Facebook Fans whether or not they would be in favorite of moving the Super Bowl to Saturday instead of Sunday.

Holding the Super Bowl on Sunday night is part of the traditions that we all love. But for people living on the east coast (and those of you in Europe) it can be tough to party all day, watch the Super Bowl at night and then make it to work the next morning on time. That’s what prompted my question on Facebook. I wanted to know how people felt about moving the game to Saturday. Would you sacrifice the football traditions for a more convenient weekend and an extra day of rest?

As of writing this, we’ve had 18 replies: 13 yes, 4 no, and 1 don’t care. Let’s take a look at some of the comments:

“Its super bowl Sunday… its tradition… but since most “football fans” don’t even watch the game and talk more about commercials then why not sell out a little bit more… Ruined the draft, Pro Bowl is now a bigger joke (didn’t know that was possible), now top it off with the super bowl…”

“YES! Monday’s suck…..Superbowl Saturday works for me. ”

“Yes!!! In Europe Super Bowl ends at 5:00 a.m. (Monday!!!), so of course YES!!!”

“For, unless we can declare it a national holiday and have the following Monday off.”

“Yes – then you wouldn’t have to worry about getting up for work the next morning, and since it’s after the college games end, it won’t interfere.”

“No way! Superbowl SUNDAY!!”

What’s your opinion? Post a comment below and let me know.