The REAL. BIG. Blog

Is it just me, or does Mark McGwire seem a whole lot more likeable now that he has come clean about his steroid use?

I’m not saying that everything should now be excused, but it takes a certain level of humility to publicly admit your wrongdoings, and that, to me, makes him seem more human and likeable than he seemed while he was hiding from the public for the last five years.

Maybe I’m just a sucker for the truth.

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!

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!

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.

With all the new products we’ve been putting up at Fathead, everything from NBA and MLB Classic Logos, to new NHL, MLB and NBA Players, to Xeko Animals, you may not have noticed that we now have a full complement of MLS Logos.  If you follow soccer then you know that MLS stands for Major League Soccer. If you don’t follow it, you should. Why? Not because it’s the most popular sport in the world. That would be easy. MLS is great because of what it represents for sports in America – an opportunity. Isn’t that what every American kid hopes for – a chance?

America keeps giving soccer a chance and I’m confident we’re going to get it right. It’s not something we can just tune in for every few years during the World Cup or sneak a peek at on Entertainment Tonight because they’re talking about David Beckham. We have thousands of kids playing soccer in this country and we have fifteen teams now in the MLS; the latest, the Seattle Sounders, has fans in that city turning up in droves. There are great players, great teams and great fans of soccer in America right now.

So I challenge you. Give soccer a chance. Give MLS a chance. And, if you have a story about your love for soccer or your experience with MLS, share it with us.

We have been working with editor, Chris Olds, from Beckett Baseball and Beckett Graded Card Investor to keep the buzz going with MLB Tradeables. After sending a few packs for review he has gone and posted not only a nice editorial piece, but also taped a segment called Box Busters with Senior Marketing Analyst for Beckett’s Baseball, Brian Fleischer, to review Tradeables for all Beckett fans. Enjoy!

http://beta.beckett.com/group/475033/Brand/Collection/Fathead-Tradeables/?tab=Articles#ViewArticle

One of the coolest things about working for Fathead is that we get to see new products come together from start to finish.

After an athlete is deemed Fathead-worthy, it can be a very difficult process finding a suitable photograph. The resolution has to be amazing, the pose should reflect the athlete at his/her best, and we always want to include the athlete’s face.  I think our designers do an extraordinary job selecting the best images.

With that in mind, I present to you what I believe are the top 5 Fathead images.  Whether you agree or disagree, feel free to post your comments here.  After the overwhelming response to my last post, I’m predicting a huge reaction.  Please note:  Because we can’t do justice to the images on our blog, I didn’t want to post them here.  You’ll have to click through the links to see each image.

Number 5:  Tim Lincecum

In the heart of his wind-up, his eyes staring you down, this shot of Lincecum is great:  Exactly what the fans in the seats behind home plate see.

Number 4:  Nate Robinson

Taken from the Slam Dunk Contest, this may be our only top-view image.

Number 3:  Jonathan Toews

Right in the middle of a slap shot, and the look on his face shows how much effort he is putting into it.

Number 2:  Joe Mauer

Mask off, chasing down a ball popped foul.  You can see in his eyes exactly where that ball is.

Number 1:  LeBron James

One of our first NBA images, and still one of the best sellers:  King James about to throw it down, captured at the height of intensity in amazing high-def clarity.

You might have noticed:  Fathead is releasing classic baseball logos, and they are awesome.

If you grew up watching baseball and collecting baseball cards in the 80s and 90s as I did, you’ve got to love these. Fathead doesn’t yet have the classic Detroit Tigers logo (my personal favorite), but there quite a few great ones already on the website:

They bring you back in time, don’t they? It makes me think of old posters, t-shirts, hats, and baseball cards. It reminds me how much I loved baseball growing up.

In my opinion, the best of these ten logos is the White Sox’ and Brewers’. Just classic.

Which of these is your favorite? And which classic logo that isn’t already on the website would you like to see up for sale at Fathead.com (inside or outside of baseball)? Post your comments here, and also post them on Fathead’s image request page (http://www.fathead.com/fathead-request/). If there’s enough interest, Fathead could very well produce the one you want.

A game so simple and sweet

One that gets people on their feet.

Baseballs hit that touch the stands

Bring cheers from adoring fans.

Yankees, Phillies, Cubs, and Rays

Cardinals, Tigers, Sox, and Jays.

Many will play, a few will win

The pennant race that will soon begin.

Games will end, but memories will live

Forever in the hearts of those who give

A FATHEAD, the gift that brings passion to others,

Anybody know if Hanley and Manny are brothers?

-E. Allen Po-Excuseforapoet