June 8-10 Sports Spectacular
chopper31 > 06-11-2018, 10:18 PM
So I went to this show, which was my first time ever being at one of their events. I found it to be a great experience with very little to complain about.
Staff were mostly friendly and helpful, most of the athletes seemed happy to be there, and overall I think things were well run.
I was not there on Friday, so can’t speak for how that was, but Saturday was very quiet. Quiet is nice though, I don’t think any of us really look forward to constantly rubbing elbows with strangers. Sunday was a lot busier than Saturday (as expected), but honestly nowhere near as chaotic as I was expecting it to be. They did a great job with line control and signer scheduling.
I understand the vendor presence was much lower than it normally is, which was a tad bit disappointing, but I still found a really nice Authentic Jim Harbaugh Colts Jersey, that I got a great deal on. So in the end, I was happy.
There were 2 or 3 options for Authentication at the show, which were JSA, Beckett and PSA/DNA. I say 2 or 3, because I am not entirely certain that Beckett was doing Authentication services at this show. PSA seemed to be the clear popular choice, and they were taking each item into the back, and coming back out with the sticker a few minutes later. Truthfully they could have been doing nothing at all behind the curtain, but even if that was the case, I still say it’s better effort than most authenticators make at large shows like this. So kudos to PSA. JSA was the only one who offered the combined Authentication on the Bears Super Ticket, and I highly doubt they were examining each signature on the items that were signed by the 30+ Bears. It’s nice that they offered the deal price on that, but draw your own conclusion as to how valuable/legit that Authentication should be perceived.
My only real complaint with the event staff is specifically for the individual who was the handler for Wilber Marshall. That handler was essentially useless, and I would imagine quite a few problems occurred at that signing table as a result. Wilber signs items in an unusual way (basically upside down), which I actually did read about before the event, but with helmets it happens a bit different than I was expecting. I was thinking he would pick up the helmet and hold it upside down. It turns out, what actually happens is that he signs the helmet on the table but by reaching across the top and signing the side which is facing towards you. So for my item, he started signing the wrong side of my helmet, and I had to stop him (and later clean off a partial signature). One of my buddies I was with, had the Bears super ticket, and somehow his Marshall signature ended up on the helmet upside down !!! If this happened to 2 out of 2 in our party who got his autograph, and we actually knew to expect an unusual signing style, I can’t imagine how many people total at the show had some type of issue. I don’t blame Wilber for this either, I blame his handler, who did absolutely nothing to explain or help out with this. Wilber is sadly in pretty rough shape, and by the time we got to him, he had been signing for at least 90 minutes non-stop. A good handler should have been asking questions of where signatures where wanted, and placing the item the proper way in front of Wilber. Instead the handler was essentially a “ticket taker†which could have been done by a 12 year old. The mistake on my item was able to be cleaned up, but the upside down signature on my buddies helmet is unable to be fixed. I’m pretty sure I’m more upset about it than he is though.
Aside from Marshall, I also got 3 helmets signed by Eric Dickerson, who I have been unable to cross paths with the past couple years. ED was great, and his signatures turned out very sharp. I also got Canseco and Strawberry, as I needed their signatures as well on some items.
Overall, it was a great show to be at, and I’d return again without question...