The REAL. BIG. Blog

In my family, Central Michigan alumni run rampant. My parents, sister and uncle are all CMU grads and proudly support the Chippewas every football season. This is rarely a problem between me and my boyfriend, a MSU Spartan named Howie.

He is an AVID (putting it lightly) MSU fan and alum and is constantly talking “smack” about how MSU has a premier football program. Michigan State has had Top 25 seasons consistently throughout the last 10 years. CMU has been decent the last 4 or so (but the love runs deep J). Central doesn’t have the quantity of a student section that Spartan Stadium boasts, but the pride and quality is the same.

So being the wonderful Fathead employee that I am, I purchased a Spartan Helmet for Howie, in hopes of revitalizing the basement as well as making him happy on gameday. And being that Central is a small school and there wasn’t a Fathead for them yet I felt this was an appropriate alternative.

To continue the saga, the mighty CMU Chippewas visited Spartan Stadium to take on the Spartans this year. I was optimistic at best. Sure we were the underdogs, but in that stadium, with that student section, and that history, did we really stand a chance? Howie and I decided to make the 60 mile trek west to find out for ourselves.

Long story short…CMU was victorious (I’m still gloating) and I’m now awaiting the delivery of my own Central Michigan University Fathead. I think I’ll put it above the MSU one to show superiority…what do you think??

A little over 20 years ago a true Blockbuster event happened. Herschel Walker was traded from the Dallas Cowboys to the Minnesota Vikings. This deal was certainly groudbreaking… for the Cowboys. For those unfamiliar to what Minnesota gave up for the  All-Pro Running Back, heres the deal:

Minnesota Received:

Herschel Walker, Dallas’s 3rd (’90) round pick, San Diego’s 5th round pick (’90), Dallas’s 10th round pick(’90) and Dallas’s 3rd round pick in the ‘91 draft.

Cowboys Received:

LB Jesse Solomon, LB David Howard, CB Issiac Holt, RB Darrin Nelson (who was traded to San Diego), DE Alex Stewart, Minnesota’s 1st, 2nd, 6th round picks in the 1990 Draft, their 1st and 2nd round picks in the 1991 Draft, their 2nd and 3rd in the 1992 Draft and their 1st round pick in the 1993 Draft.

Yes, draft picks are only draft picks and there are countless big name busts, but to put this into perspective a little bit, with the first round pick in the ‘90 draft, the Cowboys picked Emmitt Smith, the NFL’s all-time leading rusher. In the ‘92 draft, they picked Darren Woodson, NFL Hall-Of-Famer and one of the best safety’s to ever play the game. Those two players alone would have made the deal worth while.

Now why do I bring this up you ask?

There are rumors floating about that the Detroit Tigers are putting Curtis Granderson on the trading block. Granderson is young player in his prime, with gold-glove fielding capabilities and the potential to be a 30-30 man every year. Many teams have reported interest, including the Yankees, Red Sox and Cubs, and the asking price is not cheap.

What will come of Curtis Granderson this offseason?

Congratulations to the New York Yankees on winning their 27th World Series title. The exhausting MLB season has finally come to a close, along with the best time of the year for sports…

October and November are some of the most exciting months for sports fans. It is the only time of the year that all 4 major sports are on at the same time.

The MLB Playoffs are nearing the end, where every pitch, every catch and every move matters. This year in the playoff you had two of the more storied franchises in all of sports with the Yankees and Dodgers. Let’s not forget the Red Sox and Cardinals who have both won a World Series title in the past 3 years. And then there are the two most consistent teams in baseball: the Twins and Angels. Year after year, those two teams always seem to be near, or at the top of their respected divisions. After starting 19-28 and firing their head coach, the Rockies came back and made another impressive run to the postseason.

The NFL is in full swing with intriguing story lines, bone-crushing hits and highlight reel plays. There are always surprises with the NFL. Who would have thought that at age 40, Brett Favre would be playing as well as he is… who would have thought that in week 9 we would still have two undefeated teams (Indianapolis and New Orleans both 7-0)… Who would have thought that the Wildcat would make defensive coordinators cringe… From the Ram’s, Lion’s and Buccaneers to the Saints, Colts and Vikings, Sunday’s are days where you can always find excitement with any team.

The NBA season tips off. A clean slate for every team. The Clippers look to spring forward with Blake Griffin, Stephen Curry looks to show off his sweet shot at the professional level, and the rest of the NBA Rookies look to make their mark on the league. This is a league full of superstars. From LeBron and Kobe to Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade, each player brings a different dynamic to the court that can only be classified as incredible.

And finally, the puck drops in the NHL. After a come from behind win against the Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Penguins are looking for the first repeat since the Red Wings went back to back in ‘97 and ‘98. With all the free agent moves and offseason trades, the tides may be turning for some teams in the NHL.

Of course, I cannot forget College football. Every sports fan has a favorite NCAA team. With tailgaiting, face painting, BCS discussions, conference title hopes, stadiums with 100,000+ people, and bowl games… College football definitely demonstrates the true passion of fans and athletes.

Ah yes, it really is a great time of year!

Fathead is delighted to share the latest editions  to the NFL and Fathead bloggers: Mr. James Laurinaitis, Mr. Jeremy Maclin, and Mr. Darrius Heyward-Bey! Fathead will be having weekly posts from the recently Fathead-ed NFL Rookies and giving fans their first hand experiences in the Pros.  Sports Fanatics, Friends and Family can all put themselves in a day in the life of each of these talented athletes. Stop by their blog pages and make your comments, let them know what you think of their new Fathead, encouragement for the next big  game, ask them the questions you are most interested in hearing and welcome them to the team.

Check their blogs and images out at:

http://blog.fathead.com/fathead-insider-darrius-heyward-bey/

http://www.fathead.com/nfl/oakland-raiders/darrius-heyward-bey/

http://blog.fathead.com/fathead-insider-james-laurinaitis/

http://www.fathead.com/nfl/st.-louis-rams/james-laurinaitis/

http://blog.fathead.com/fathead-insider-jeremy-maclin/

http://www.fathead.com/nfl/philadelphia-eagles/jeremy-maclin/

I don’t know if any of you were watching the” Shaq Vs.,” show that aired on ABC.  For those of you who didn’t, it is Shaq Vs. top athletes at their own sport. This video is the final episode which included, 14-time Olympic gold medalist and world champion swimmer Michael Phelps. This looked like a great show, I’m sorry I missed it!

Enjoy the clip!

Whether you’re a baseball fan or not, baseball ejections are hilarious to just about any one!

My personal favorite of all time is the one with Phillip Wellman, Manager (Mississippi Braves) on June 1, 2007.

Enjoy!

In our quest to cover every wall we continue to look around corners for something that will help you make your kids happy. We don’t want to leave someone out of the Fathead Revolution just because they’re not into sports. In the past few weeks we’ve introduced everything from cartoon animals like jungle animals, farm animals, sea creatures and baby dinosaurs to awesome photographs of horses and lions. There are even these realistic looking dinosaurs like an 8ft Apatosaurus and a T-Rex that will have you running for cover. OK, not exactly the perfect thing for little kids but your Jr. Paleontologist is going to love it.

If Pirates, Princess Castles or Outer Space are more in line with your child’s playful imagination then we’ve done our part to provide the type of experience you’re looking for. Remember, Fatheads are moveable and reusable, and while we don’t recommend moving them every day, you can use them to create a special adventure with your child as you decide what fantasy scenes you want to create.

We have thousands of reviews on our site and it’s amazing how many of them talk about how Fathead is what brings the room together and “gives a room personality”.

Here are a couple of examples:

“We put the Lightning McQueen graphic in my 2 year old grandson’s room to match his new car bed! He loved it! It jumps off the wall at him and it really pulled the whole room together. We even put one of the graphics on the bed!! It was easy to put up and will be even easier to take down when we move!!!” – By Nana from Tucson, AZ

“My son loves Spiderman - and we are re-doing his bedroom. This is a perfect addition to his room.
We also have a Steeler room with a giant helmet, and a Ben Roethlesberger Fathead. They MAKE the room. Everyone comments on it. They are easy to apply and does not mess up the wall. - And they stay up - we’ve never had a problem with it at all! We also bought a Hannah Montana for our daughter. These bring a room to life - so much better than a poster - these are life-sized and give a room personality!” - By Sheila from Southeastern Ohio

We want to hear from you about how you decorate with Fathead so we can share your ideas with Fathead Nation. We’re waiting to hear from you!

To pretty much everyone on the planet outside the US and maybe Canada, football is a 90 minute game (called a match) that involves a lot of running, kicking, heading and no hands (unless you’re the goal keeper and you’re inside the box). Football is played on a pitch, which looks a lot like a field. When Fathead introduced players from Manchester United and FCBarcelona to its ever-expanding roster last week, there was some debate about what to call the new category. Well, actually, the debate took place mostly in my mind because when it comes to the world’s game there aren’t exactly a lot of aficionados around here. I settled on International Soccer because to most Americans that’s pretty clear and leaves little room for confusion over the phrase “pass the football” which in this case does not involve a tight spiral.

In case you don’t follow International Soccer, Manchester United and FCBarcelona faced off in this year’s UEFA Champions League final match which FCBarcelona won. These seemed like two really good clubs to start with since we had our pick of some well-known players like Lionel Messi, Samuel Eto’o and Thierry Henry of Barca and Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov and Cristiano Ronaldo of Man U. And yes, we know that Ronaldo is most likely off to Real Madrid but he’s had such a great career at Manchester United that we felt like everyone should have a chance to get him in his Red Devils jersey. We have a couple more clubs waiting on the sidelines that we’re finalizing now. We’re also planning on having the club crests which you might call the team logos.

Since Fathead is just getting into the world of International Soccer it seems like a good time to hear from all you fans out there about which clubs and footballers you’d love to see as a giant wall graphic. Give us a shout and let us know what you think. And, if you have any opinions about what to call the sport, you can share that too.

We’re a pretty deeply engaged bunch of folks here at Fathead by which I mean we don’t just live with our products at work, we go home to them. Which we think is perfectly normal. In fact, we wonder what it would be like not to. Which brings up a point – you. Do you go home to your Fathead? If not, why not?

Well, it occurs to us that maybe you just haven’t found the right Fathead for your home. That’s why we’ve been busting our butts here the last few months creating more and more product for you. Seriously, have you checked out the huge new lineup of MLB players, team logos and classic logos? What about all the new NHL stuff – no excuses now, every team’s being represented. And MLS too – every team. And the NBA? Well, if you were waiting for that 80’s look Cavs logo, Brandon Roy, or Ray Allen to complete your Boston Three Party, look no more. Only you should, because in addition to all that, there are about 100 other new images.

Which brings me back to the Fathead home. Not everyone’s a sports nut. We’ve known that for a long time. That’s why we offer Disney, Marvel, DC, and other great entertainment products. But lately, we’re thinking maybe you just want something you can use to decorate – like animals and general sports graphics. We’ve got Dolphins and Frogs, Turtles and Snow Leopards. Just want some sports themed graphics like a collection of player silhouettes or sports balls? We’ve got it. Maybe we haven’t always made the point strongly enough but Fathead is an awesome home decorating solution.

Look at your options. You can paint; that means a lot of time, a lot of money and it smells. You can wallpaper; messy, time-consuming, pretty difficult even if you’ve done it before, and generally expensive. There are posters; you have to use tape (tacky) or tacks (ugly, and they damage the wall), plus posters are always getting beat up and looking pretty shoddy in no time. Of course you can do nothing, which is pretty boring and basically says you have no imagination whatsoever.

And then there’s Fathead. Hundreds and hundreds of images to choose from. Very affordable, especially when you compare it to wallpaper or paint. Takes about five minutes to put up – get a friend though because a Fathead is HUGE! You’ll probably spend more time figuring out where to put all the free extra images that come with the main image than you will putting up the big one. And here’s the kicker – you can move a Fathead and reuse it. You’re not stuck with one look.  And when you move it you don’t have to worry about the holes that the tacks or nails left behind, or the paint that the tape took off. If you live in an apartment this is a major advantage – no worries about getting charged for repairs plus you can take the Fathead with you when you move.

So, I’m just saying, we’re working really hard to get you the Fathead that works in your home because we think (and we’re right) that Fathead is an amazing decorating solution. If you still haven’t found the Fathead that works for you, just tell us – a lot of what you see at www.fathead.com was created because someone like you told us you wanted it.

We know the Celtics made it past the Bulls in round one of the NBA playoffs but they had to play as many overtimes as games to do it – seven games, seven overtimes. Are the Bulls rising or did the Celtics just find out what it takes to win without Kevin Garnett? Speaking of Garnett, word is that the Orlando Magic have been watching film of KG as they prepare for their series with the Celtics. Well, when you have an extra day or two, why not. On the other hand it’s not like Garnett is going to walk onto the court one day and everybody’s going to wonder “who’s that?” Orlando lost both games against Boston in the regular season with Garnett in the lineup. They won both when he was out or playing limited minutes. So the question is, do we see another seven game series with multiple overtimes in this next round between the Magic and the Celtics? I mean, overtime is pretty cool and admit it – wouldn’t you rather have your team win a close one in triple overtime than be 20 points ahead at the end of the first quarter and coast to a 10 point win. And what about that twofer we got yesterday when the Red Wing and Ducks played what amounted to two games worth of hockey in a single afternoon!

So two questions for you today: 1) Will the Magic and Celtics go the full seven games, and 2) What’s the greatest overtime game you remember? Fathead wants to know.