First and foremost we are almost done with the Giants signing. I will do one last post/recap on it later in the week. It has been beyond exciting and I cannot wait for you all to see the robust product line that will soon be unveiled. Anyway, I just returned home from our appearance at the Steiner Sports Store with Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin. Ovechkin has become a household name and is, by far, the best hockey player on the planet. Despite all those accolades I was still a little pessimistic about a Caps player signing in Long Island...I was way wrong. There was a sickly huge line awaiting the fashionably late mega-star. There were a ton of kids wearing #8 jerseys salivating for an autograph from Alex. Ovech did not disappoint. We got through th entire huge line in no time while he took photos with everyone holding a camera or camera phone (Camera phones have become a new pet peeve of mine. I am so down on them...they take way too long to use. What happened to disposables?) After the public portion we took Alex to the stockroom to sign some pieces in private. I was able to build up a pretty strong variety of items for our inventory over that hour or so. Ovechkin signed Caps pucks, mini-helmets, jerseys and a few different amazing images in both 8x10 and 16x20.
So I was wrong about the turnout (not the first time and surely not the last). What I did realize today is that Ovechkin completely transcends hockey. He is the biggest star in the game and even the casual observer or fan (like myself) is familiar with the name and face. Alex is a must-have autograph for any hockey collector.
Tomorrow is President's Day and I am off (first day off in the better part of a month). After that short break I am back on the road. Tuesday I am flying out to Oregon for a private signing with 1998 World Series MVP Scott Brosius. It should make for quite a blog entry as should the Giants recap later in the week.
Check back for an update from McMinnville, Oregon (not sure if I spelled it right and there is no way spell check will pick up on it so it is what it is)
Enjoy the rest of the weekend!