New England Patriots Player Appearances

Hello PatsFans and welcome to the first official New England Patriots Player Appearance blog!  It’s the goal of this blog to keep you, the best fanbase in sports, in the know on where the players will be and how to meet them.  I’ll also be trying to share my personal thoughts and opinions on autograph collecting -specifically Pats autograph collecting - with you and will hopefully be able to provide some insight on how to start or expand your collection with some insider tips and hints.  You may also come across a fair share of anecdotal narration on my own experiences travelling across New England trying to add to my personal collection and attain my obsessional and completely unachievable goal of meeting every player to don the Nautical Blue, Red, New Century Silver, and White (the team’s official colors - there’s your first of what will be many useless gems). 

Before I go any further, however, I’d like to take a moment to thank Ian for this great opportunity.  As you all know, PatsFans.com is simply the best Patriots site on the net thanks to the hard-work and dedication of Ian and it is my great pleasure to attempt to contribute to this thriving and energentic community in this manner.  Thanks, Ian.

And next please allow me to take a moment and introduce myself.  My name is Dennis Boyer, although you may know me better as Den-in-NH.  I’m the guy who has been trying to keep PatsFans appraised of local (and by local I mean the entire Northeast) events involving the players and former players.  I’ve been doing this via the Offical Patriots Player Appearance Thread for awhile and I see this blog as an opportunity to expand upon that idea.  Ian and I both agreed that this was the next natural step in the evolution of the thread and I am committed to making PatsFans.com the best place for fans to find out what’s happening on the appearance scene. 

So how do I, your humble host, come across all of this precious information?  In a few ways, actually.  My wife Jenn and I own a small business called New England Player Promotions which is a Patriots-themed sports memorabilia company.  And unlike the big guys, we focus exclusively on the teams of  the New England Region, which makes us specialists of sorts.  In doing so we’ve built relationships with some key people and groups which keep us up-to-speed on where the players will be at:  other sports memorabilia vendors, sports agencies, charitable foundation organizers etc.  Plus, we try to organize and host several signings a year ourselves.  So if a Pats player is signing an 8×10 glossy somewhere in New England, chances are we’ve come across the info - and we’re here to share it with you.

So let us delve into our first topic of discussion:  how to score free autographs!

…wait a minute, here.  Why is a guy who sells autographs telling me where I can get them for free?  A couple of reasons.  First, I am a Fan and a Collector first and a Dealer second and am always happy to relay info to fellow fan.  Secondly, free autograph signings are great for the collecting industry and anything that helps foster interest in the hobby is something I’m interested in promoting.  And remember, nobody is going to get rich collecting free signatures and hocking them on eBay - there’s just no way to do that kind of volume to make it worth the travelling expenses.  And it’s generally agreed upon to be bad form to sell a signature which a player gave you for free.  Personally, I keep all my free signatures for my personal collection or I give them to friends and family if they’re duplicates which I already own.  Think of free signings as a way to supplement your collection.  You could collect exclusively free sigs if you wanted.  But if so, you may never end up with that Randy Moss or Wes Welker piece you’ve been eyeing.

So free sigs - training camp, right?  Yeah, we already know about that, thanks anyway, Den.  Ah, but the opportunity for free signatures does not rise and fall solely with the coming and passing of the summer months. 

Outside of training camp, free signing events fall mainly into one of two categories:  charitable events and promotional events.  In both cases the appearances are not typically heavily promoted or announced very far in advance of the event, so you’ve got to be on the lookout for them.  Hopefully, this blog will be one of your best sources for that and shortly I’ll be telling you about an event which will feature four former Patriots alumni and will be 100% free!

Promotional events are usually sponsored by companies and businesses which will hire a player to appear in order to generate publicity and foot traffic for their respective business.  For example the Reebok store at Patriots Place recently hosted Laurence Maroney for a free signing and when the Circuit City at Patriots Place held their grand opening Matt Light was on hand to sign for free.  It’s usually the big chains that can afford to sponsor such an event, especially if they’re affiliated with the Patriots in some way - your Lowe’s, your Bass Pro Shops, your Bob’s Discount Furniture Stores.  The opening of the retail stores at the megaopolis which is Patriots Place will be a cache of such event in the future.  Keep your eyes on Grand Openings and Anniversary Celebrations in the future.

Charitable events are also something which the players love to be involved in.  Nearly every player I’ve ever met has supported or been affiliated with one charitable cause or another.  Most of the current players have even started their own foundations to support and publicize their own personal causes.  Most players consider themselves to be blessed to be paid so well to do something which they enjoy as much as they do for a living and giving back to the community is one of their major commitments.  Heading out to a charitable event is a win-win-win situation:  the players enjoy it, the charities raise funds, and you’ll feel great not only for scoring that free Vince Wilfork sig, but for helping a good cause as well.  I highly recomend attending a charitable event which a player will be attending -the atmosphere is truly special and thoroughly enjoyable.

So here’s your first big payday:  How would you like to meet four former Patriots alumni and support a great cause simultaneously?  Sounds good?  Well, head on down to Gillette Stadium on Tuesday Dec. 16th anytime between 12:00 PM and 7:00 PM because the Red Cross and Bob’s Discount Furniture Stores will be hosting a blood drive at the Fidelity Clubhouse which will feature food, music, games and prizes and the appearance of four former New England Patriots Players:  Scott Zolak, Joe Andruzzi, Jon Williams and Roland James.  As long as you don’t mind giving a little blood (which is something we all need to do more of - well here’s our motivation!)  you should have an opportunity to meet these great guys.  Here’s a brief bio on each of the blood drive’s guests:

Scott Zolak spent seven seasons with the Patriots as a backup quarterback and won his first start as a Pat over the Indianapolis Colts.  His final start as a Patriot was also memorable when Scott replaced an injured Drew Bledsoe and lead the team to a win over the San Francisco 49ers and clinched a playoff spot in doing so.  Scott also played in Superbowl XXI in his sole year with the Miami Dolphins.  Scott is a frequent televsion and radio analyst and offers some of the best insight and analysis around.

Joe Andruzzi is a three-time Superbowl winner with the New England Patriots.  The Offensive tackle, whose three brothers are New York City firefighters, is well-remembered for paying for 100 NYC firefighters to attend a Patriots-Jets game.

Jon Williams was the team’s running back in 1984 and was a National Champion with Penn State having played under Joe Paterno.

Roland James was a fantastic cornerback who was a part of the 1985 AFC Championship team.  Roland spent his entire ten-year career as a New England Patriot and recorded the game-ending interception on the last play of the infamous 
“Snowplow Game” over Miami to secure the 3-0 victory.  On a personal note, I worked with Roland just last week at my “Night of Legends” signing event in Warwick, RI and can tell you he is phenomonal person and all-around great guy.

Please come on down to the Fidelity Clubhouse on Tuesday and enjoy this great event while supporting this extremely important cause.  I expect it to be a lot of fun and hope to see some fellow PatFans on the 16th.

But Den, I don’t have any 8×10 photos of Scott Zolak hanging around…  Well, my friends, neither do I honestly.  So what to have signed then?  Anything with a Pats logo will make for a special and unique piece - an old media guide, a pennant, cap, or T-shirt is fine.  Personally, I love to get signatures on mini-helmets (you can check out my mini-helmet collection on the “Mini-Helmet Collecting” page of our website at www.neplayerpromotions.com).  They make for fantastic display pieces and show off a signature very well - I recommend blue over black sharpie, for what it’s worth.  As a dealer I always have some minis of both the “Pat Patriot” throwback and Flying Elvis variety on hand, but if you’re a hard-core collector like me I would definately advise keeping a small supply of each around - you never know when one of these events may come up.  And yes, I can help you secure some if needed.  And please remember not to overdo it when getting a free signature - I will typically ask for two pieces, a solo item and a multi-signed item from everyone in attendance.  And as always, please defer to the kids when getting your autograph.

Free stuff - good times, right?  Well check out this bonus tidbit then:  How would you like to get a free photograph of you and/or your loved one ON THE FIELD AT GILLETTE WITH THE STADIUM IN THE BACKGROUND!  Very cool!  Well this Saturday and Sunday just swing on down to Foxboro and you can make this happen.  On December 13th and 14th from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM stop by Patriots Place and show your same day receipt for $25 or more from any of the Patriots Place stores or restaurants or bring a new or slightly used child’s coat to benefit the Cradles to Crayons organization and you will be able to have your photo professionally taken on the field at the Razor.  You will recieve a 4×6 print with the stadium as an awesome backdrop.  How cool is this?  Don’t miss this rare opportunity.

And if you really want to make the 16th an all-day autograph-hunting affair (I don’t know, maybe you have that day off from work!) you can head on down to Dave’s Marketplace on 1000 Division St. in East Greenwich, Rhode Island between 6:00 and 7:00 PM to pick up a free Jarvis Green signature as well.  Just bring along a non-perishable food item for their food drive.  Or head on down to the American Nutrition Center on 718 Broadway in Everett, MA for a Jerod Mayo signing from 6:00 to 8:00 PM being hosted by Your Sports Memorabilia Store (details at www.yoursportsmemorabiliastore.com).  And make a note autograph hounds, Tuesdays are typically VERY busy days in the autograph world because it’s an off-day for players.  Game on Sunday, film on Monday, Tuesdays off and back to practice on Wednesday.  You may want to remember that.  Hey, switch your schedule if you can to keep Tuesdays open - at least during the football season!

Well, if you’ve made it this far, my friends, I wish to sincerely thank you for reading my first attempt at blogging for PatsFans.com - I hope you enjoyed it.  I welcome all of your comments, critiques, suggestions and feedback.  Please feel free to leave a comment or to contact me via a PM here at PatsFans.com or by e-mail at dennisboyer@neplayerpromotions.com. I promise I will respond to all messages.

I look forward to hearing from you and will be keeping you current on all signing news, both free and commercial, in the future.

Thanks, take care & Go Pats!

-Den