Fanatical Sports Fans…

It never ceases to amaze me how fanatical sports fans of all walks of life are in relation to their favorite sport, team and/or, individual personality. They clamor for everything-there-is regarding their personal interest, from history, statistics, etc., all the way to sharing their passion with the ownership of cherished licensed sports collectibles and souvenirs. They proudly show, wear, eat, drink, sleep and still can’t get enough of their fill.

Have you been to a collectible/souvenir section/store/website recently? It seems like anything and everything is fair game. This frenzy of the thousands of items fans could purchase is fed by the companies who produce them, who are limited only to their imaginations of what the next prized piece might be.

Whether you’re an all-consuming serious or a casual fan, there’s something for everyone whether it’s a pennant, trading card, bumper sticker, die-cast car/truck, or one of the other thousand items. Personally, I get a charge out of being part of a company (Press Pass) who produces officially licensed sports trading cards, die-cast cars-trucks-choppers and knowing we’re a piece of that overall sports fan's pride and passion.

Jim

Olympic Sized Design

I'm not a collector, I'm a fan of sports and competition in general. I've always casually checked out the Olympics when I turned on the television and they happened to be on. This year was different for me. I am sure most of you witnessed those amazing opening and closing ceremonies with all of the synchronicity and cool technologies playing together. I was blown away! But then it went even further for me. I started to notice how much art and design have become an integral part of sporting events - especially The Olympic Games.

Every logo, each athlete's uniform, the graphics displaying results, and even the Olympic torch, medals and the stadium itself are all works of art. This year's Olympics have changed the way I will watch sporting events. I now have a full appreciation for the behind-the-scenes design teams who add almost as much excitement as the athletes themselves.

Eric

Full Circle

I went to my first NASCAR race on July 4^th 1984, the Firecracker 400 in Daytona Beach, Florida. I don’t remember much about the race save that we had infield camping tickets and that Richard Petty and his #43 STP Pontiac won the race. I don’t even remember what year we went to the race or if I was 8 or 9 years old. I asked my mom and she didn’t remember the year either, just that “The King” won. With little help from Wikipedia I was able to find out that Richard Petty won the 1984 Firecracker 400 so I was 8 when I saw my first NASCAR race live.

My family ended up spending a total of five Fourth of July weekends making the trip up the Florida coast to watch the Firecracker 400. I remember the last race much more than the first race for two reasons. My mom’s favorite driver, Bill Elliot, won but also the race wasn’t actually held on the 4^th of July. We celebrated Independence Day and set off fireworks at home that year since the race was on July 2^nd. My parent’s enthusiasm for racing combined with actually going to a few races has made me a NASCAR fan since my youth. From Cale Yarborough and Richard Petty to Dale Earnhardt and Bill Elliot to Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson I’ve enjoyed spending the last 25 years watching cars go fast and turn left.

An even greater passion of mine is collecting cards. My grandfather turned my brother and I into sports cards collectors. My grandfather had given me a Dale Murphy card, when Dale was the reigning National League MVP. That card mixed with TBS broadcasting (RIP Skip Caray) every game is what made me a die hard Atlanta Braves fan. I eventually moved from sports cards to trading card games. I was fortunate enough to get a job in the trading card industry almost seven years ago.

I started at Press Pass in early 2005 to help form the trading card game division. While I’d worked in the trading card industry for a few years before Press Pass, my previous company didn’t have any sports products. As much as I enjoy TCGs I am a much bigger sports fan than a TCG fan. Press Pass was my first chance to start mixing my childhood passions. Although I worked for Press Pass, my efforts were focused on making the TCG division successful. I didn’t get to spend near enough time working with the NASCAR or football product teams for my liking. I’m a sports fan - what fun is working for a sports-licensed company and not working on the sports products!

All of that changed this past April when I moved into the customer service/sales department. Now I get to be involved, at least a little bit, in every product that Press Pass produces. My racing passion might have faded some over the years, at least compared to baseball or football, but I do still remember being that 8 or 9 year old trying to stay cool in the Florida heat at infield at Daytona International Speedway while watching cars zoom by. Seeing some of the great NASCAR products from beginning to end brought back my racing enthusiasm pretty quickly.

Since moving over in April the first product I’ve seen from the very beginning was Press Pass VIP 2008. Even though we aren’t directly part of the product team, a member of CS/Sales takes part in the product meetings for each product and VIP 2008 was my first NASCAR product. I got to see early card rosters, autograph mock-ups, designs, and possible memorabilia pieces. Every year VIP is one of our best products and it was great that I was able to take part in the process from early planning to the logistics involved in making sure fans can get their cards on the release date.

Not everyone gets to relive a childhood passion in their job almost 25 years later. Being more involved with NASCAR really has certainly made following racing more exciting. I try and watch at least some of every race. I even repaid the 24-year-old favor to my dad and took him to the Coca-Cola 600 here in Charlotte this past May. VIP 2008 releases next week and I couldn’t be more excited. I hope you join me next week in opening a few packs looking for that Triple Grip or the Dale Earnhardt Jr. AMP Four Wide.

Trevor

Fourth Elvis Artist Sketch Card Revealed

Our latest Elvis trading card release Elvis By The Numbers will feature unique artist sketch cards of Elvis Presley. These "Mini Masterpieces" feature original hand-sketched artwork from renowned Elvis artist Joe Petruccio. Previews of the first three pieces can be seen on our website. This is the fourth (and my favorite)!

Elvis Is Back!

Forty years ago 33 year-old Elvis Presley put on what many feel was the greatest performance of his career. Although commonly referred to as the '68 Special or the '68 Comeback the spectacular production was simply titled Elvis.

Now, I wish I could write about what it felt like to share NBC's studio with the King of Rock 'n' Roll on that hot Thursday in Burbank California and hear him energize the crowd with classic hits like "Hound Dog" and "Heartbreak Hotel". I would even settle for being able to write about how it felt to see Elvis in his stunning black leather outfit sitting in a cozy circle next to Scotty Moore and DJ Fontana and belting out classic hits like "That's All Right" which made the 1-inch speaker on my 9-inch black-and-white television rattle on a cold Tuesday in December of 1968 when the show first aired. Sadly, I cannot. Unfortunately as an Elvis fan, I didn't come to existence until four years after his death (and hadn't even heard of the '68 Special until 2005). Now, the closest I have ever get to the Comeback Special is seeing it play in the visitor center across from Graceland's gates in Memphis as I wait for the bus to take me to Elvis' front steps for another tour of the house, which is where you can find me in two weeks.

Although I will never truly get to experience Elvis as so many of his fans did, I am lucky enough to get to help preserve his legacy. As Product Manager for our Elvis trading card brands I have had the pleasure of working with and getting to know some of those who were close to him. I must admit, when I hang up the phone after talking with Scotty Moore, DJ Fontana, or James Burton I often sit in silence for a minute and think about how surreal it is to talk to someone who was that close to perhaps one of the most famous entertainers in the world. And when I received the Elvis-worn Japanese kimono that we purchased for our latest trading card release, I swear you could feel Elvis' presence in the office.

It's a pretty powerful thing to hold in your hands a piece of clothing that he once wore, and one of the joys of what we do at Press Pass is getting to share that feeling with our collectors. Many of you probably can't afford to go out and purchase the red western shirt that Elvis wore in the movie Stay Away, Joe or a weekend Army pass that Elvis signed while he was in Germany serving our country. However, you don't have to because we get to bring a piece of him to you. When we tossed around the idea of cutting up shirts that Elvis once wore for a trading card my initial thought was "No way!" It just seemed so wrong. But as I got to know Elvis through my research and I found out more about the man he was, I realized that Elvis' fans meant the world to him, and he recognized that they were the ones who helped him along his rapid rise to fame. I also learned that Elvis was a giver. He always gave to his friends, his family, and his fans. So when I was faced with the dilemma of whether to let an Elvis shirt sit in a dark attic in some collector's house, only to be seen by a handful of people, or let thousands of Elvis' fans and admirers own their very own piece of Elvis, the choice was pretty simple.

You can own your very own piece of Elvis history with our latest trading card release Elvis By The Numbers which releases next month. If you're lucky enough to be at the Elvis Expo in Memphis during Elvis Week, stop by the Press Pass booth and you can be one of the first to open the newest release. Check our website for more information on Elvis By The Numbers.

I Was There!

So often you hear sports fans share their stories about some of the significant sporting events they have witnessed in person - a no hitter in baseball, a playoff clinching NFL game, a Tiger Woods US Open victory, etc... There are some things that just having the memories of "being there" mean a lot more than watching it on TV ever could.

In June, I had the opportunity to attend the third ever Subway Series between the Yankees and the Mets. The games themselves weren't particularly spectacular (unless you enjoy watching each team beat the other by 9 runs in the other's stadium). However, considering that both teams will be getting a new stadium in '09, it will go down as the last Subway Series played in either one of those ballparks. As a baseball fan, I was excited to witness that in person, and get the full experience of trying to rush out of one ballpark to get to the other in time for the first pitch.

It got me thinking about some of the other significant sporting events that I've been able to witness in person. Looking back, the two events that standout to me the most are a NASCAR race and a tennis match. I attended the Coca-Cola 600 back in 1994. The race itself wasn't spectacular, but the winner was. Jeff Gordon walked away with his very first NASCAR Cup Series victory in that race. Since then he has gone on to capture 80 more victories and four series titles. The other event that sticks in my mind as significant is a 2006 US Open third round tennis match. Like the Coca-Cola 600, the tennis match itself wasn't a top performance, but the result was meaningful. It was Andre Agassi's final match before his retirement. After he lost, he grabbed the microphone and gave a moving speech to the crowd. He walked off the court to an incredible standing ovation, where everyone in Arthur Ashe Stadium, regardless if they were an Agassi fan, understood how much he had contributed to the sport over the last 21 years.

So now that I've shared my "I was there" memories...what are some of yours?

“I got a Basketball Jones….”

Each year I look forward to the NBA draft in late June. There are many reasons...First of all, I enjoy watching college basketball; particularly the "Big Dance" in March/April. One reason is that my alma mater, the University of Memphis, usually has a competitive basketball program. This year the Tigers came as close as they ever have to winning the National Championship. If it weren’t for a lucky shot by Mario Chalmers, the Tigers would’ve have been #1 instead of Kansas. Of course, Jayhawk fans and alum (including our Press Pass Customer Service Manager, Terri) may disagree about the “lucky” part, but I digress…

Another reason I enjoy the draft is because, we (Press Pass) get to see where all of the rookie prospects (who we negotiate autograph deals with in April, May, & June) end up. We take pride in assembling a strong roster of the top rookie prospects each year. This year was especially gratifying for me since 3 Memphis Tigers were drafted (Derrick Rose, Chris Douglas-Roberts, & Joey Dorsey) and all 3 will be included in our set which ships in late July. Particularly satisfying was to see Derrick Rose be chosen first overall by the Bulls. While Memphis didn’t win the National title game, at least Memphis took the top spot in the draft! March Madness and the Final Four--that’s all old news now anyway! The “here and now” is NBA Summer League and rookie potential. I look forward to Derrick, CDR, and Joey making an impact at the next level---Go Tigers!

P.S. Oh yes, as difficult as it was for me to be objective, we also signed up a few of those Kansas Jayhawks to be included in our 2008 Press Pass Basketball releases…even that Chalmers guy.

Tom