Here comes January and with it come another hectitc Tradeshow season. Which tradeshow do I go to and what is going to be the "Hot New Promotional Item"". Sure everyone is going to be handing out all of the usual Promotional Items such as Eco-friendly Tote Bags, Candy, Business Card Holders, Sport Stress Balls and so on. I love it when someone hands me a "Gumvelope", who does'nt love gum? Minty and refreshing it keeps my breath fresh even after all of the coffee I drink from my Tech Travel Mug on the way to the show. I always ask for extra Gumvelopes at the shows because I know my wife is going to take mine that way I have some extra's hidden just for me.

 

This NFL season was a great one. My NY Giants are defending their crown very well thus far, having secured the #1 seed in the NFC. The team that shares Giants Stadium, however, wasn't so fortunate. The Jets crashed and burned (which wasn't entirely unexpected. Sorry Jets fans).

The defending AFC Champion Patriots also fell just short of the playoffs. It was a valiant effort to go 11-5 after losing Tom Brady in the first game. Too bad for them they didn't play in the AFC West, where the Chargers snuck into the playoffs at 8-8.

As a Giants fan, I would've been happier with Tampa Bay securing the 6th seed rather than Philly. The Mets fan in me has had enough of that town. Westbrook is a scary guy to go up against. Maybe the last second Vikings field goal will give them a nice boost of confidence and they can take care of the Eagles.

January is going to be a great month for football. It's also a great month for Trade Show Giveaways. We work very hard here at Motivators to give you the right products for your trade show. Our trade show page is broken down by industry, Trade Show Giveaways by price, and even some best selling trade show items.

With the end of football season comes the beginning of trade show season. Come back to Motivators for my football updates and some great trade show giveaways!

The G-men did it again. Another week, another win over a team with a winning record. There is alot to enjoy with this team. If the running game isn't working (which is rare), the passing game works. If the running game does work.. well, there's nothing better than demoralizing smash mouth football. And when all else fails, they can just do this:

If you're looking for corporate gift ideas, don't be afraid to think outside of the box. Corporate gifts and promotional gifts can be pens or bags, no problem. The NFL fans that you want to reach, however, will see your logo every game day if you give an imprinted bar set or a custom printed sport cushion.

I'm not usually an obnoxious sports fan, but I had some fun with the response to last week's blog. I was referring to the past when I brought up WIDE RIGHT to Anthony... yet it turned out I was prophetic as well. With the Bills AND the Jets looking terrible against supposedly inferior opponents, the Giants are once again the toast of the town. That is, if we ignore the legal issues of our star bonehead receiver. Who needs him?

Hey everyone, back with some football blogging from Week 1. It was a great opening week, filled with upsets, star performances by rookies, and, of course, a win by the New York Football Giants.

The G-men looked great in the first quarter. The defense held up their end of the bargain for the remainder of the game, but the offense still has to work some kinks out. No worries, nobody expects them to be in mid-season form Week 1. Superb debuts by Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, and Matt Forte led to surprise victories by the Falcons, Ravens, and Bears.

I've blogged before about my fantasy football league. Week 1 was a success for Meepos in the Lightside League. Fast Willie Parker, Jon Kitna, and Calvin Johnson were the top players on a squad that is sure to impress. Once Stephen Jackson, Brandon Marshall, and Chad Ocho Cinco start playing up to their potential, Meepos will be plowing forward towards the playoffs.

I had a decision to make last Thursday before the game started: Wear the lucky Eli Manning jersey that I wore throughout the playoffs last year or wear my new screen printed t-shirt that celebrated the Super Bowl win. I went with tradition and it looks like I made the right choice. The next big decision will come if the Giants continue to win (because I will refuse to wash the jersey). Poor Laurie dealt with the smell last year, but I don't know if I'll get away with it again.

Everyone who faithfully reads the Motivators Company Blog should count themselves lucky that the blog did not exist in January and February of this year. There probably would have been daily blogs by yours truly accompanied by pictures:

Yes, I'm a HUGE NY Giants fan. As my poor fiance can tell you, I couldn't understand before the season why all of the "experts" predicted that they would play so poorly. I couldn't understand the lack of respect as the playoffs started. Then they went on maybe the most spectacular run in NFL history. Just think about it. In the Wild Card Round, they defeated Tampa Bay, whose QB (Jeff Garcia) had dealt the Giants losses in previous postseasons as a member of the 49ers and the filthy Eagles. Next up were the just as filthy Cowboys in the Divisional Round. They had beaten the Giants twice during the season (but I never believe they were really anything special). The NFC Championship brought the G-men to the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field. Once again, nobody thought they had a chance in the -24 degree weather against one of the top QBs in NFL history in Brett Favre. Turns out his (possible) last pass in the NFL was caught by Corey Webster. Nope, he's not on the Packers. Giants advance to the Super Bowl. The undefeated Patriots were next. Eli Manning beat Tom Brady at his own game with a last minute drive to clinch Super Bowl XLII. This drive included the most amazing play in Super Bowl history, as Eli eluded a pass rush and scrambled to throw a bomb to David Tyree, who trapped the ball against his helmet while getting crushed by a Patriot.

As you can tell, this was a pretty exciting season for my fellow Giants fans and I. I still get a smile on my face when I think about it. Should a professional sporting event mean that much to me? Probably not. Oh well. I'm ready for the 2008-2009 season and an opporunity to watch the Giants repeat as Super Bowl champions. What better way to get people amped up for football season than with Promotional Products ">football promotional products. Whether you represent a youth league team or an NFL team (we just got an order from one of the 32 NFL franchises for the Excursion Tailgate Cooler), items such as these can raise money or excitement for your upcoming season.

With all the talk concerning the latest in the never-ending Brett Favre saga I am reminded that football season is here, which I am absolutely ecstatic about.  My two favorite sports are basketball and football and every year there is a lull in my sports life between the time basketball season ends and football starts.  The only major sport going on between those two time periods is baseball, which I completely detest watching.  Now, I do enjoy playing, but, I have not watched an entire game I would say in about twenty-five years.  The game just moves way to slow for me.  I mean between the adjusting of the cap, the gloves, the uniform, and all the other preparatory stuff between pitches one can go to the bathroom, take a shower, and cook dinner without missing the next pitch!  The other night they had the Baseball All-Star Game in New York and I was dumbfounded to hear that many of the people who attended the game stayed the entire time for a game that did not end until about 2:30am!  Hey, whatever floats your boat, but, there is no way in God's green Earth I would have stayed that late!  I do know one thing, to last a game that long requires a nice comfortable seat or seat cushion, the Baseball Shaped Sports Cushion I am sure would have been perfect.

 

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Over the course of Sunday, 7/6/08, we watched the Wimbledon final. Thanks to the magic of DVR, we were able to start the match late and leave for a few hours after the 4th set (for an anniversary movie/dinner) before finishing at around 10:30 pm. What a match! I'm no big tennis fan, but a couple of years ago I had a lazy Sunday and decided to watch the Wimbledon final of Federer vs. Nadal. It was an entertaining match and I've tried to catch some more between the two. After consecutive French Open and Wimbledon Finals, yesterday was a must watch. It is being described as one of the best tennis matches in history. I definitely don't have enough tennis watching to have a valid opinion about tennis history, but I can easily say it was the best match I've ever watched. These guys went back and forth for HOURS and they never looked tired. The respect between the two is also something great to see (in this time where many American athletes are worried about who's disrespecting who and blah blah blah). Can you picture this happening after a Yankees Red Sox game?

 

 

Well known events like Wimbledon offer great sponsorship opportunities. Haagen-Dazs partnered with Wimbledon and were able to imprint the Wimbledon logo on their products. If you can find an event that works well with your company, promote it! Check out the wide selection of Special Event promotions and Awareness Event promotions that are offered by Motivators.

Last friday I was on the phone with a customer looking at our Promotional Drawstring Backpacks.  He told me he was looking for a quality piece made from nylon for a reasonable price. So I showed him through some of our items.  Ultimately, he decided to go with the String-a-Sling Backpack.  During our discussion he mentioned all he has been doing all day is going from site to site looking for the best option at the best price.  He said he was on the phone with another promotional products company, and he had told them he found a company that had the same item they have on their site for .30 less per item! So the guy told me the representative says "How do you know you can trust that company?"  The man I was speaking with said "I replied, because I trust Pat Summerall, Pat Summerall is on their website."  I really got a kick of out that, im sure you guys will to.

It's once again approaching a great event for all young football fans... Fantasy Football Draft Day! My friends and I are in a keeper league, which is a much more involved format. We can keep a certain amount of players from the previous season on the team; we even have a constitution that governs the league. This will be the third season for our keeper league, which we named "Lightside" when the consitution was written. The reason for this name is that we started anew after being led into a land of lopsided trades, arguments, and frustration by our ex-commissioner. This exiled former leader often responded to message board posts with the evil laughter "muahahahaha!" and would refer to himself as this guy:

As our league evolved into its second year away from the Darkside, we tried to think of ways to make Draft Day even more fun than it was the year before. We made the Draft its own event by having a golf outing in the morning and the draft in the afternoon. It was a great time, but we're going to try to top it this year. We're looking through Motivators for some low minimum quantity golf items. The current leaders in the clubhouse (nice golf reference, eh?) are the custom imprinted valuables caddy and the imprinted Top Flite XL Distance golf balls.

We're still trying to come up with a league logo to imprint on the item that we choose. Either way, we'll have great and usable promotional items to help remember Fantasy Football Draft Day 2008.

Summer is here, we went from rainy days of spring to our first 96 degree day (and yes i am one of those guys that is whining when it is raining and whining when it is wicked hot out.)  My wife and I were out on a training ride for our upcoming century and we got going late and didn't beat the heat. I loaded up my two 20oz water bottles, that I got when I bought by bike, and away we go.  They are really cool looking and they match my bike but not big enough for the hot days.  At mile 30, I go to get a drink of water and YIKES out of water.. dang nabbit, I needed a bigger bottle.  I am going to keep my eyes for something like our sport bottle 32oz.  Two of these bottles would have keep me hydrated.  The last 10 miles my wife had to hear my whining about me being thirsty and it being hot out.  I am going to recommend to the bike shop to start giving away 32oz sport bottles with the purchase of a new bike.