Marcus Allen, Terrell Davis, Mark Rypien, and Doug Williams (04/26/14)

Marcus Allen #32 Super Bowl XVIII MVP
Terrell Davis #30 Super Bowl XXXII MVP
Mark Rypien #11 Super Bowl XXVI MVP
Doug Williams #17 Super Bowl XXII MVP

GT Sports Marketing hosted their annual New Jersey autograph signing at the Garden State Exhibit Center in Somerset. I went last year to get autographs from Super Bowl MVPs Fred Biletnikoff, Jim Plunkett, and Len Dawson. This year Marcus Allen, Terrell Davis, Mark Rypien, and Doug Williams made an appearance at the NJ show. I definitely needed all four for my Super Bowl MVP collection.

Oakland Raiders Running Back and NFL Hall of Famer, Marcus Allen, was the first player I met. When I approached Marcus, I asked him if he can write his #32 and inscribe SB XVIII MVP on my football. I literally spelled out the roman numerals, because I was afraid he would write the number 18. He looked at me and smiled and told me he's been signing this inscription for years and knows how to write it. It was kind of funny, but I was just making sure he was going to write out the full inscription. The autograph came out sweet, so I was happy. I wasn't able to take a picture with him, because he was in a rush to leave.

Marcus Allen signed Wilson Official Super Bowl XVIII  Game Football.

Thanks to my friend, I was able to be in a picture with Marcus Allen.

Denver Broncos Running Back, Terrell Davis, was next. Terrell was really cool with his fans. He signed my football perfectly with his SB XXXII MVP inscription. I also asked if I could take a picture him and he gladly said yes.

Terrell Davis signed Wilson Official Super Bowl XXXII Game Football.

Terrell Davis poses for a picture with me.

Washington Redskins Quarterback, Mark Rypien, was my third autograph of the day. Mark signed my football with his SB XXVI MVP inscription. I asked if I could take a picture with him and he said he wasn't suppose to take pictures. I told him it will be really quick and he ended up being cool about it.

Mark Rypien signed Wilson Official Super Bowl XXVI Game Football.

Mark Rypien poses for a picture with me.

Washington Redskins Quarterback, Doug Williams, was my last autograph at the show. Doug was a very quiet guy, but he was good with the fans. He signed my football with his SB XXII MVP inscription and also took a picture with me.

Doug Williams signed Wilson Official Super Bowl XXII Game Football.

Doug Williams poses for a picture with me.

I now have 9 Super Bowl footballs signed by 9 Super Bowl MVPs and 39 more players to go!

Len Dawson Super Bowl III (3) MVP

Fred Biletnikoff, Super Bowl XI (11) MVP

Randy White, Super Bowl XII (12) MVP

Jim Plunkett, Super Bowl XV (15) MVP

Marcus Allen, Super Bowl XXVIII (18) MVP

Doug Williams, Super Bowl XXII (22) MVP

Ottis Anderson, Super Bowl XXV (25) MVP

Mark Rypien, Super Bowl XXVI (26) MVP

Terrell Davis, Super Bowl XXXII (32) MVP

As usual, the GT Sports Marketing show was a success. The event was very organized and everything went smoothly. After the show was over, I rushed over to East Hanover, NJ where former New York Yankees Shortstop Bucky Dent and former New York Mets Outfielder Mookie Wilson were signing autographs.

Andre Brown (12/10/13)

Andre Brown, New York Giants Running Back
Super Bowl XLVI Champion

Andre Brown was drafted out of North Carolina State by the New York Giants in the 4th round (129th overall) of the 2009 NFL Draft. He missed his rookie season due to injury and was released. Brown played for several teams before returning to the Giants in 2011. He also played on the New York Giants Super Bowl XLVI championship team in 2012.

Andre Brown was signing autographs at the Paramus Nissan dealership in Paramus, NJ. Fans were asked to donate a brand new toy to receive an autograph. Donations benefited Toys for Tots. During my lunch break, I went out to Toys R Us to purchase a unisex toy. I found the perfect toy, Mr. Potato Head!

I arrived at Paramus Nissan about 40 minutes early. Surprisingly, there wasn't a lot of people and I was the third person in line for the autograph signing. I decided to get out of the line to sit down in the waiting area and watch TV. Once the time got closer to 6:00 pm, one of the Paramus Nissan representatives came over and asked if I was here for the signing. I told him I was and he suggested that I start getting in line because more people started to show up. It wasn't that bad, I ended up being the fifteenth person.

Andre arrived on time and started signing right away. Paramus Nissan provided free photos of Andre Brown to everyone who was there for the signing.

Andre was really good with all his fans. He took pictures with everyone who asked and even signed multiple items. Here's a picture of Andre Brown signing my New York Giants mini helmet.

 Andre Brown signed New York Giants Mini Helmet.

After he signed my mini helmet, I asked him if I can please have a autographed photo as well. Andre was really cool about it and signed a photo for me.

Andre Brown with all the donated toys from the Toys for Tots drive.

This is another good New York Giants autograph to add to my collection. A big thank you to Andre Brown and Paramus Nissan for hosting a great event!

Check out my other blog posts on New York Giants autograph signings:

Brandon Jacobs
Ottis "O.J." Anderson
Tom Coughlin

Brandon Jacobs (11/22/13)

Brandon Jacobs, New York Giants Running Back
Super Bowl XLII & XLVI Champion

Brandon Jacobs, New York Giants Running Back, is a 2-time Super Bowl Champion. Jacobs played for the Giants from 2005-2011. In 2012, he played for the San Francisco 49ers. Jacobs second stint with the New York Giants came on September 10, 2013 when he signed a one-year deal. Brandon Jacobs currently holds the record for most running touchdowns in New York Giants history with 60.

Brandon Jacobs was signing autographs at Modell's Sporting Goods in Woodland Park, NJ. It was a ticketed event for the first 100 customers. I arrived at Modell's an hour and a half before the scheduled signing time. There was over 40 people in line when I got there and I was one of the lucky customers to receive a ticket. Here are some pictures of the line outside and inside the store.

Brandon Jacobs arrived a few minutes early and began signing right away.

Jacobs almost signed my mini helmet with a black sharpie, but I quickly asked if he could use a silver sharpie instead and he took care of me. He was very nice to everyone at the event. Here's a picture of Brandon Jacobs signing my New York Giants mini helmet.

Brandon Jacobs signed New York Giants Mini Helmet.

This autograph signing was a success! It was very organized and went as smooth as possible. I'm very happy to add Brandon Jacobs' autograph to my collection. Thank you Modell's Sporting Goods of Woodland Park, NJ for hosting this great event.

Ottis "O.J." Anderson (10/19/13)

Ottis "O.J." Anderson, New York Giants Super Bowl XXV MVP

Ottis Anderson was the New York Giants Running Back from 1986-1992. He won two Super Bowls with the Giants and was the Most Valuable Player in Super Bowl XXV (25). He's 1 of 27 players in NFL history with 10,000+ rushing yards. He currently ranks #25 all-time with 10,273 rushing yards.

Ottis was signing autographs at the Stop & Shop in Emerson, NJ. This was the second autograph signing I attended for Ottis. I met him last year at the Stop & Shop in Wayne, NJ.

I arrived about 15 minutes before his scheduled time, which is pretty late if you ask me. I usually try to show up at least an hour early. Luckily, there was only a few people there when I arrived and I was the 7th person in line. My goal was to have Ottis sign my Super Bowl XXV football and inscribe it with his Super Bowl MVP inscription. Last year he denied the same request, because he only inscribes that when it's an item signed by all the New York Giants Super Bowl MVPs (Phil Simms & Eli Manning).

Ottis was very good with all the fans. It was a 2 item per person limit, but he was signing everything you brought for him. If you had more than 2 items for him to sign, he politely asked you to make a donation to Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. 

Once it was my turn to meet with Ottis, I asked him if he can add his Super Bowl MVP inscription to the autograph. He then got up and made an announcement to everyone. He said he never signs his MVP inscription unless it's an item with all the other Giants Super Bowl MVPs, but he was going to make an exception. Ottis told us if we purchase a pink Emerson Police hat, which all the proceeds go to breast cancer research, he would sign his MVP inscription. This was amazing! I purchased the hat for $25, which all went to a great cause.

Ottis Anderson signed my Super Bowl XXV football and added the inscriptions: #24 NY Giants SB XXV MVP.

This was awesome! He even posed for a picture with me, while still holding the ball. Ottis is the man! 

Below are some pictures from last year's signing with Ottis.

A signed Giants mini helmet inscribed with SB XXV Champs and a photo with Ottis holding my autographed mini helmet.

Two signed 8x10 photos of Ottis Anderson.

He also signed two New York Giants flyers. One of them was personalized to me.

I will forever be an Ottis Anderson fan. He's truly one of the nicest athletes you can possibly meet. Thank you Stop & Shop of Emerson, NJ for a great experience! Stop & Shop also provided a nice lunch to everyone who was there for the signing. 

Thank you Ottis for adding your Super Bowl MVP inscription. I now have 5 Super Bowl footballs signed by 5 Super Bowl MVPs and 42 more to go!

Len Dawson Super Bowl III (3) MVP

Fred Biletnikoff, Super Bowl XI (11) MVP

Randy White, Super Bowl XII (12) MVP

Jim Plunkett, Super Bowl XV (15) MVP

Ottis Anderson, Super Bowl XXV (25) MVP