The REAL. BIG. Blog

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.

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.

I’m sure you can imagine how much time we spend here at Fathead talking about the sports, players, and entertainers we represent and the ones we’d love to bring on board. Provided they’re Fathead worthy that is. March Madness has us speculating about which basketball players we expect to make the Fathead roster once they turn pro. We can’t do a Fathead of a college athlete no matter how good they are so let’s not even go there. Still, we’ve been throwing some names around here at Fathead Central and we thought we’d open up the forum to all of you out there in Fathead Nation. Tell us which players you’ve been watching this past week that you think are Fathead worthy and why. You never know what might sway us.