Fan Pack # 3

Yesterday’s mail brought fan pack # 3 for this season.

 

 

The thank you for being a fan from the Calgary Flames.

 

 

Two pocket schedules for this short season.

 

 

11/12 Jay Bouwmeester player postcard

 

 

11/12 Tim Jackman player postcard

 

 

11/12 Lee Stempniack player post card

 

Calgary has always been great at returning something in the mail.

 

Hopefully this isn’t the end of these hockey goodies.

Fan Pack # 2 and Fuji’s contest

Received my second fan pack in the mail today. Another reliable team that always sends something.

 

Vancouver Canucks

 

 

 

The mandatory thank you for being a fan form letter.

 

 

 

Vancouver Canucks decal

 

 

11/12 Vancouver Canucks player postcards.

 

 

More goodies for my collection.

 

 

 

 

Follow the link to enter Fuji’s third anniversary contest

 

http://sanjosefuji.blogspot.ca/

 

 

 

Hockey Program

You never know when you will add something to your collection. Yesterday, I received the fan pack in the mail from the Carolina Hurricanes.

Today I received this 

 

 

Tampa Bay Lightning Game program from the Feb 19/13 vs the Toronto Maple Leafs. ( a 4-2 W for the Lightning). Ojay, a fellow Leaf fan and co-worker was in  the Tampa area with his family and friends and had to see the game. He knows that I’m a collector, and LEAF FAN. It was nice of him to remember me. First one of these in my collection. Thanks again Ojay.

NHL Fan Pack Success

A few weeks ago, I decided to e-mail some NHL teams requesting a fan pack. I have done  this for a couple of years and have received some good stuff to add to my ever growing hockey collection. With the lockout this year, I didn’t know what to expect. Today, my first success arrived.

 

 

Form letter thanking me for being a fan from President and GM Jim Rutherford.

 

 

Home game schedule, tattoo and sticker

 

 

 

 

Two cards. Hurricanes info card and captain Eric Staal.

 

Carolina has always been good sending something. There are some US based teams that don’t send to Canada. There are others that thank you for your interest but “unfortunately” don’t have anything to send. One down, ???? to come.

Hockey Day in Canada, National Hockey Card Day 2013 Canadian Edition

Saturday Feb 9th

 

 

Since the year 2000, the CBC has aired an annual special Hockey Day in Canada broadcast to celebrate the game in Canada. The broadcast includes hockey-related features all afternoon, leading up to  NHL action featuring the seven Canadian teams . This year we had the Oilers vs Wings, Jets vs Senators, Leafs vs Canadiens and Canucks vs Flames. Upper Deck has helped celebrate by having NHCD. You can see pictures of the cards and see the checklist on other blogs and on the UD site. This year I had to find a new LCS as the last one closed in t he last year. First of, my pal Sal at PunkJunk bought a case of OPC hockey.

http://puckjunk.com/2012/11/08/i-bought-a-case-of-opc/

There was a Canada only redemption program where 50 wrappers got you a 6 pack of cards , 5 special red-bordered version of the entire 600-card set and one unique card from a 50-card All-Star set .  I brought these in two weeks before NHCD and they were ready to be picked up on Feb 9th. Killing two birds with one stone. My new store is CloutsnChara

http://www.cloutsnchara.com/

I brought my wife with me some I could get another pack. When I arrived, they handed out a 2011/12 UD series 1 tin with one pack of 2013 NHCD and one pack of 2010 NHCD. Inside was also a raffle ticket for a signed mini helmet by rookies from the NHLPA Rookie Showcase (didn’t win) ;(  After buying a few singles, I’m still two cards short of a set but I should be able to get them somewhere. Now a few days before this, I joined Upper Deck’s National Hockey Card Day Facebook page. There was a contest  where you could show pictures of you and your NHCD cards for the opportunity to score FREE Team Canada autograph cards

 

We know that our fans love free trading cards, but they love FREE AUTOGRAPH trading cards even more! Upper Deck has put together a small allotment of autographed Team Canada cards from players like Casey Cizikas, Marcus Foligno, Jonathan Bernier, Jamie Benn, Adam Henrique, Tyson Barrie, Cody Eakin, Ryan Ellis, Brayden Schenn & Sean Couturier to use with Canadian fans on National Hockey Card Day .

 

I did get notification that I was one of the lucky recipients of an autographed card.

 

 

Plus I got my wife to pick up some packs for me and I got a 12/13 UD Tomas Holmstrom jersey card and a UD 11/12 SP Authentic Future Watch Rookie autograph of Sean Couturier. Better let her pick any future packs. I’m trying to decide which one I hope to receive. I’m leaning toward Henrique as he is a local boy.

 

And in the US of A, hope your National Hockey Card day is a great one.

AHL IP CIC PM

Why do we have so many acronyms?

The title says it all. American Hockey League In person custom index cards tonight. I just found out yesterday that the Hamilton Bulldogs were having a practice, then a community practice with some young hockey players followed by an autograph signing. This was happening at a small rink in Ancaster, where I got some autographs during the Erie Otters training camp. This was on my way home from work so it was perfect. I didn’t have much time to get any cards or wirephotos but did a quick job on some index cards. Apparently the players got dressed at Copps Coliseum and drove to the rink. After the practice, they signed autographs as they were leaving. There weren’t a lot of people around so it was good for me. A big thanks goes to Kellin Enslev, an account executive with the Bulldogs. He was handing out sharpies to the players and giving the kids some autograph sheets. He noticed me trying to figure out who some of the players were. He would tell me who the player that was coming was and their number.So here is what I got tonight.

 

 

Pretty good night I'd say. And then I got home in time to see the Leafs lose.

Toronto Maple Leafs Mantra 2013

 

 

 

After the opening game win, the Leafs are on pace to go 41-0-0-0

 

Anyhow, I digress from what I want to post about today.

 

Posted above the whiteboard at the far end of the Maple Leafs dressing room is one puzzling slogan.

"Burn the Boats" reads the  mysterious and striking mantra posted at the team's practice facility.

 

Legend has it that when Cortes landed in Mexico in the 1500s, he ordered his men to burn the ships that had brought them there to remove the possibility of doing anything other than going forward into the unknown

When we burn the boats and declare a point-of-no-return we can finally stop looking back and assess the way forward with clarity.

We want exit strategies and Plan B’s; but for some things in life, the only way out is by pressing further in. When we don’t burn the boats and we leave room for a way back, we also leave room for hesitation, fear, anxiety, self-sabotage, and resistance to creep in.

 

The mystery behind the message lies with Leafs coach Randy Carlyle.  Carlyle delivered a motivational and seemingly moving speech to the team, weaving a tale into his efforts to illustrate the point.
"He had a story about people crossing the sea to take the treasure," says goalie James Reimer.. "When they got there they burnt their boats so they either had to take their treasure or die. That's what 'Burn the Boats' means."

Essentially the story and subsequent slogan comes down to one central message.

"We're all in it together," said Reimer. "There's no looking back. There's no turning back. There's no out. We're in it together. We're going to fight for each other. There's no safe zone to go back to and regroup really."

 

Okay, I guess they should have some kind of motto for their t-shirts.

 

Surprisingly, a couple of days later I heard the phrase again.

 

Chip Kelly was being introduced as the new head coach of the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagle.

 

“We’re going to find a bunch of like-minded individuals that understand that the game of football is played by everybody, the best team wins,” Kelly said. “We’re going to surround ourselves with the best team. I’m all in. I think it was Cortez that burned the boats. I burned the boats. I’m not going back [to college], so I’m an NFL coach and this is where I want to be. I made the jump and I’m here.”

Really. You’ve got to be kidding me. Twice in one week from two different sports. Maybe it’ll join

 

“giving 110 percent”

we’re just taking it one game at a time”

“there’s no ‘I’ in ‘team’”

“at the end of the day…”