Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone unboxes a Tokyo Yakult Swallows Tsubakuro bobblehead.
Monday, May 29, 2017
Triple Bobble Weekend
Do you like the Cincinnati Reds? Do you like Marvel super heroes?
Do you like bobbleheads? Well then this Saturday is the day for you as you can
attain not one, not two, but three bobbleheads for your sports memorabilia collection.
Here’s how.
The Reds will be hosting the Atlanta Braves for a three game
series on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. It also happens to be the second and final
Marvel super hero weekend of the year, meaning you can receive a bobblehead of
Iron Man if you purchase a special ticket package. These ticket packages cost
more than regular tickets, and it is only through these packages that you
receive the Iron Man bobblehead.
The day you want to purchase your ticket package for is
Saturday as it is also Anthony DeSclafani bobblehead day. Should you get to the game early enough, you will
get one of 20,000 Anthony DeSclafani bobbleheads the Reds are giving to fans. It is a pretty sweet
deal that can net you two new bobbleheads. But wait, there’s more!
The Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum will also be
giving away a bobblehead that weekend. The bobblehead will be of the “Hit King”
and Cincinnati native and Reds legend Pete Rose. Only 6,000 Reds Hall of Fame bobbleheads
are made, and Rose will only be given away during the month of June.
So what are your plans for this Saturday? Hopefully after
reading this post, you will be heading to Great American Ball Park for some
Reds baseball and bobbleheads. I am planning on getting both Iron Man and DeSclafani, but I am still on the fence about the Rose bobble. I am a huge fan of Charlie
Hustle, but I already have three Rose bobbles so this one will have to be significantly
different in order for me to add it to my collection. If you do not have a Rose
bobblehead however, this is your chance to add a bobblehead of not only him but
of Iron Man and Anthony DeSclafani to your collection as well.
Go Redlegs!
Tuesday, May 23, 2017
Too Formulaic?
Is WWE too formulaic? I think it is. Every week Raw and
SmackDown follow a pattern that map out how the show will progress on
television. Don’t believe me? When was the last time Raw or SmackDown started
with a match? I honestly cannot remember as a promo is what usually kicks off
the show. A wrestler will call out another wrestler, and they will have a war
of words. Usually an authority figure appears and sets up a match between the
two jawing wrestlers. It happens on a near weekly basis, and the formula is not
restricted to just the opening segment.
Contract signings are very formulaic. A table will be set up
in the middle of the ring with the contract and a pen on top. There are usually
chairs as well, but the wrestlers rarely sit in them. Occasionally there is a
moderator such as a WWE authority figure or a commentator to oversee the
signing. One wrestler will cut a promo and sign the contract while the other
wrestler will respond with a promo of their own before singing the contract themselves.
The promos will escalate and before you know it, both wrestlers will be
swinging fists at each other. Contract signings don’t always end in a fight,
but nine times out of ten the wrestlers will end up going after each other.
Another formulaic approach WWE has is how it books wrestlers
leading up to a pay-per-view bout. The wrestler who usually wins at the
pay-per-view is usually beat down by their opponent on the show before the
event. For example, the last Raw before Wrestlemania 29 featured the Rock and
John Cena face to face in the ring. The segment ended with the Rock taking out
Cena. What happened at Wrestlemania 29? Cena defeated the Rock. Before
Wrestlemania 30, the Undertaker choke slammed Brock Lesnar on the final Raw of
Wrestlemania season. At Wrestlemania 30, Lesnar defeated the Undertaker. This
50/50 style of booking is not a guarantee, but it happens a lot in WWE.
Those are just a few examples of WWE’s formulaic approach.
While there are more examples of how WWE is set in a pattern of how it presents
its shows, those are just a few I could think of off the top of my head. Can
the formula result in some lackluster shows? Absolutely. Could WWE think
outside the box and throw some more surprises at fans? Without a doubt.
However, the formula has proven successful as they are still the undisputed
champion in the professional wrestling industry.
Bobblehead Page Update
#Bobblehead Page Update @ https://t.co/f6kg2Fon2e with a new #Baseball Bobblehead#bobbleheadaddicts #bobblehof #tokyoswallows #mlb pic.twitter.com/yNRYpQrYgL— Cincy Fan Zone (@CincyFanZone) May 23, 2017
Monday, May 22, 2017
Tuesday, May 16, 2017
Minnesota Twins T. C. Bear Bobblehead Unboxing
Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone unboxes a Minnesota Twins bobblehead of T.C. Bear.
MLS or NCAA?
Decisions, decisions. Will Cincinnati furnish an soccer
specific stadium or pay to renovate U.S. Bank Arena? That is the question that
the city could potentially face as FC Cincinnati seeks to move up to Major
League Soccer and U.S. Bank Arena tries to uphold its end of the bargain with
the NCAA to host the first two rounds of March Madness in 2022 in exchange for
remodeling the arena. Odds are both of these projects will need to be funded by
tax dollars, but which project will the city be willing to fund?
Let’s start with U.S. Bank Arena. It currently serves as the
home to the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL and also hosts various events such
as the circus, concerts and WWE events. While not a physically attractive
building, it does manage to house a decent amount of people. The inside of the
arena could definitely use an upgrade, as the jumbotron is quite dated and the
seats could be swapped out for nicer ones.
Now let’s discuss FC Cincinnati. The soccer team currently
plays at Nippert Stadium and manages to draw in impressive crowds of 10,000 or
more for nearly every home match. They are currently in the running to move up
from the USL to MLS and become the third major professional sports team in the Queen
City. A major requirement that MLS has for its teams is a soccer specific
stadium. With FC Cincinnati playing on UC’s campus, Nippert probably will not
cut the mustard for MLS. Should they move up, a stadium will need to be built.
So which project should the city fund? In my opinion, I think
the soccer specific stadium is more important. Don’t get me wrong. U.S. Bank
Arena needs to be renovated, and I would love to see the NCAA Tournament come
back to Cincinnati. However, the possibility of FC Cincinnati moving up to MLS
is very real, and I would rather have new major professional team to root for
than one weekend of college basketball. If the NHL or the NBA were knocking on
the door and saying that they would establish a new franchise in Cincinnati in
exchange for the renovations of U.S. Bank Arena, then I might consider switching
my vote. That is not happening though, and I already have a deep love for FC
Cincinnati. Hopefully the city can find a way to finance both projects should
FC Cincinnati be promoted to MLS, and the Queen City can be the home to three
professional sports team and the first round of the 2022 NCAA tournament.
Bobblehead Page Update
#Bobblehead Page Update @ https://t.co/f6kg2Fon2e with a new #Twins Bobblehead#mlb #sports #bobbleheadaddicts #bobblehof #baseball pic.twitter.com/E47iT8xsiH— Cincy Fan Zone (@CincyFanZone) May 16, 2017
Tuesday, May 9, 2017
Tommy Helms Bobblehead Unboxing
Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone unboxes a Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum Tommy Helms bobblehead.
A Controversial Pick
With the 2017 NFL Draft now officially in the past,
hundreds of former collegiate football players realized their dream of playing
for an NFL team. My beloved Cincinnati Bengals selected numerous players from
various colleges from across the country. There is one player, however, that
generated more buzz than all of their draft picks combined. That player is
former Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon.
For those of you who are unaware, Mixon was caught on
video punching a woman in the face in the midst of an altercation. He hit her
with such force that she was knocked off her feet and suffered broken bones in
her face. The incident occurred in 2014, and Mixon was suspended for one season
at Oklahoma. Mixon also had to serve 100 hours of community service and undergo
counseling. The woman filed a suit against Mixon in 2016 that ended in a
settlement. Mixon has since apologized to the woman, and both parties have
expressed their desire to move on from the incident.
Almost every team in the league said they would not select
Mixon. I was hoping the Bengals would follow suit as I found what he did in
2014 absolutely disgusting. Despite the immense baggage that Mixon would bring,
the Bengals still decided to draft him in the second round. When NFL hall of
famer and Bengals legend Anthony Munoz announced the pick, the entire NFL draft
crowd erupted in deafening boos. A Bengals fan was shown on camera giving a
thumb down to the decision. Despite the obvious backlash, the Bengals decided
to welcome Mixon into the fold.
Who Dey Nation can do nothing about it. Mixon is in the
Queen City and will help make up the offensive backfield alongside Giovani
Bernard and Jeremy Hill. Despite Mixon’s presence, I am still going to root for
the Bengals no matter what. I have been and will always be a diehard fan of the
team. Mixon being on the roster does not change that. Media outlets have
already criticized the Bengals for drafting the former Oklahoma Sooner. Let
them. They need to realize that it was not Mike Brown or Marvin Lewis or
anybody else on the team that punched that woman in 2014. It was one player. It
was Joe Mixon. The Bengals are merely offering him a chance to play football.
What Mixon does with it is up to him. It is his responsibility to change how
people perceive him. The Bengals gave him the ball. Let’s see if he runs with
it.
Monday, May 8, 2017
Bobblehead Page Update
#Bobblehead Page Update @ https://t.co/f6kg2Fon2e with a new #Reds Bobblehead#MLB #ATOBTTR #bobbleheadaddicts #bobblehof #LetsGoReds pic.twitter.com/PM0tecaO67— Cincy Fan Zone (@CincyFanZone) May 10, 2017
Photo Page Update
Photo Page Update @ https://t.co/JzwEdxiFEu With New #Reds & #Bengals Pics#ATOBTTR #LetsGoReds #MLB #StarWars #Baseball #whodey #letsroar pic.twitter.com/uIsLuqXYn9— Cincy Fan Zone (@CincyFanZone) May 10, 2017
Wednesday, May 3, 2017
Bengals Banner Page Update
#bengals banner update @ https://t.co/ofDxRycawe #whodey #letsroar #nfl #NFLDraft2017 #football #sports pic.twitter.com/ePAjKZqaEQ— Cincy Fan Zone (@CincyFanZone) May 3, 2017
Tuesday, May 2, 2017
Draft Dodger
The 2017 NFL draft has come and gone, and I can honestly say
that I barely watched it. Despite the hype and the amount of speculation that
media outlets pour into the NFL draft every year, I spend maybe a grand total
of two minutes actually watching it play out on television. The only time I
make sure to tune in it is when my beloved Cincinnati Bengals are about to make
a pick. Other than that, I could not care less about it.
Personally I do not understand its ability to lure in
football fans. I find it boring. Don’t get me wrong. I love football. Every
weekend during football season my eyes are glued to a TV as I watch either a
college game or an NFL game. Games are exciting, get your blood pumping, and
have been responsible for some of the greatest moments in professional sports.
The draft on the other hand is just a glorified version of picking teams.
That is not to say that the draft doesn’t have its moments
as the first few picks of the first round are the ones that people will remember
as a team selecting either a future franchise cornerstone or a total bust. It
is also a nerve-wracking experience for the players in the draft as they wait
with baited breath to hear their name called by an NFL team. For a fan though,
I think it’s boring
If you enjoy watching the NFL draft, more power to you. As
for me, I will probably be watching a Cincinnati Reds game and will switch to
the draft when the Bengals make a pick. It is what I have always done and will continue
to do.