Earlier today I began our newest Sack Exchange project. As the years go on Jet fans seem to get even more nostalgic about their glory days on defense. I have done countless signings with the four but this one is actually a little more special than the rest. For years we have been bringing Joe, Marty, Abdul and Mark to our stores for public appearances. There is always a strong turnout and after the public part is over we do some signing in private. Having all four of them at once in a store is not that conducive for a serious signing. I have been saying for years that we need to bring the four guys in separately to our office to sign during different time slots. We were finally able to coordinate that and it all began at about 11:00 this morning when Joe Klecko arrived. It takes a minimum of an hour and half to get through all the pieces so there was plenty of time for conversation.... and as we all know too well there is so much going on in sports and politics and now somewhat of a mixture of both that no one should be at a loss for words for awhile. I immediately grilled Joe on his playoff predictions. Him and I both are rooting hard for the Colts in the AFC. His son Dan is a defensive tackle for Indianapolis. Dan also has three Super Bowl rings at the age of 26 (how sick is that?) . Anyway we like the Colts and the Giants.
Klecko completed the signing at about 12:50. Less than five minutes after he departed I saw Marty Lyons coming up the escalator. Marty has always been one of my favorite people. He does such amazing work with his foundation and really has an understanding of our industry as well. I urge you all to check out his website so you can see firsthand the incredible (I do throw around adjectives a lot on here but it truly is incredible) job the Mary Lyons Foundation has been doing for terminally ill children for the past twenty five years. Anyway, the topics of conversation with Marty were basically the same as the ones with Joe. They are the two most extroverted of the Sack Exchange so I knew I would get an earful on all the hot topics (I enjoyed every minute of it) Not only are Joe and Marty the vocal leaders of the four but they are also the fastest signers. Marty clocked in at about an hour and a half (beat Klecko by about twenty minutes) After Lyons was done I reset up the room for tomorrow's signings. Abdul Salaam will be coming in the morning to add his signature and the great Mark Gastineau will be arriving sometime in the afternoon. In tomorrow's post I will get a little more into the product mix. We obviously re-upped on some of our strongest Sack pieces as well as added some tenacious new photos to the line.
Not only are Mark and Abdul signing on Thursday but we will also be visited by Cooperstown's newest member Goose Gossage. I have worked with the Goose for quite some time and was ecstatic to hear that he finally got in (it was long overdue). Hopefully next year the writers get it right with Jim Rice.
Check back tomorrow for a recap of the day's activities.
Congratulations Goose!