It was a Page Six Bonanza!
The three-day Fanatics Fest at Jacob Javits Center over the weekend was a tremendous success. Like they predicted, it was a Comic-Con for sports fans, but more than that, it was filled with rare opportunities for your average sports fan to get up close and personal with their favorite athletes and more celebrities than a Met Gala.
Over 70,000 sports “fanatics” were able to rub shoulders and be entertained by ballplayers from just about every sport, plus Olympians, TV stars, movie stars, rap artists, and even those muscular athletes who combine acting with sport – wrestlers.
It was loud, it was raucous, a pseudo “after hours” party throughout each day, with its own VIP Room, red carpet entrances and exits, and a parade of headline-makers who got into the spirit of the weekend participating in panels, “fireside chats,” and autograph sessions.
Many fans went home with personal stories of joining in with their heroes as they enjoyed this unique sporting playground.
Tom Brady was seen shooting hockey pucks alongside fans, tossing soft passes to welcome recipients, and granting Make-A Wish meet and greets. His former teammate, Ron Gronkowski, was equally among the fans, and even “raced” kids in the 40-yard dash lanes set up in the NFL area.
Ever the kidder, the always smiling Brady teased the local football fans during an interview with ESPN host Stephen A. Smith. When asked about what kind of TV analyst he will project this season, Brady predicted he would not be as critical to others as he was to himself during his playing career.
“I don’t want to be so critical, because in some ways, I don’t necessarily know what the problem was on that play,” said Brady.
Going further, he expounded on a potential situation.
“Let’s say Daniel Jones throws an interception. Wait. I didn’t mean to say it like that. I wasn’t trying to be critical of Daniel Jones…uh, maybe I was a little.”
Boxer Jake Paul, who will soon be facing Mike Tyson in the ring, teased his fans by dressing up as KC Chiefs Tight End Travis Kelce and wandered through the collectibles area searching for Kelce trading cards.
Tyson and Paul also took the opportunity to hold their official face-to-face pre-fight press conference in this public “arena.” Muhammad Ali used to be the best trash-talker in this boxing tradition event, so Paul gave it a New York intensity.
“Hey, New York, you’re just like Mike Tyson. You were good twenty years ago.”
It didn’t surprise the boisterous attendees the confrontation between Paul and Tyson turned into a shoving match that shut down the event.
Famed gymnast Livvy Dunne donned a fake moustache and dressed as her boyfriend – Pittsburgh Pirates rookie Paul Skenes – and raced comedian Druski in the 40-yard dash.
Fans and celebrities took turns doing WWE “walkouts,” parading down a specially created gauntlet runway.
Jay-Z was an unofficial host of all the A-List appearances and festivities. Rap star Travis Scott performed a mini concert.
A panel discussing the New York Knicks and the NBA was manned by Ben Stiller, Spike Lee, Walt Frazier, Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart.
Clyde, of course, was enthusiastic about the Knicks’ chances this year.
“I think this is going to be our year,” said the Knicks’ great. “Obviously, health is going to play a big factor into it. But if the Knicks can stay healthy, I think we can get back to our former grandeur.”
Peyton Manning and Stephen A. Smith had a public conversation about his upcoming Manning Cast season, which will now include Bill Belichick. Smith asked Manning about his Top Five current NFL quarterbacks. Manning checked off Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen.
Guess Aaron Rodgers and Daniel Jones didn’t make the cut.
Mets and Yankees Dwight Gooden made headlines when he offered his thoughts during an interview session about where Juan Soto was going to sign during the offseason.
“Me, personally, I think the only way – and this is just my opinion,” suggested Gooden, “but the only way the Mets really go after Soto is if the Yanks can’t sign him.”
Doc might have a point. With Pete Alonso also entering free agency, the Mets might be faced with an either-or situation, despite owner Steve Cohen’s virtually unlimited budget.
The Fest was a very immersive fan experience. The NFL put every Super Bowl ring on display, along with the Hunt and Super Bowl trophies for fans to pose alongside for photo-ops.
Of course, fans could shoot hoops, get in batting cages, play baseball on a mini field, hit golf balls into a computer screen fairway, and kick around soccer balls in various designated areas. A very popular destination was an actual UFC Octagon on display where fans could take turns fake fighting each other.
Various exhibits were essentially art galleries, with many of the works for sale, some with artists working on their paintings during the event.
Sports Illustrated set up a walk-through museum of enlarged magazine covers and memorabilia. Topps held periodic giveaways of their trading cards.
Topps is now owned by Fanatics, the company owned by Michael Rubin, and the company responsible for the entire event.
WFAN broadcast most of their radio programming for the weekend from the show floor, and gave out trading cards of their show hosts, including Boomer Esiason and Tiki Barber.
A huge vendor area featured collectibles dealers from literally all over the country. If you wanted to find just about any high-profile trading card, they were there, as well as all kinds of sports memorabilia. If you were looking for a rare Mickey Mantle card, it was there. If you wanted even a Babe Ruth autograph, it was available for sale. There was even a Ted Williams MVP plaque on display from Hunt Auctions.
Lots to see. Lots to do. Hard to squeeze every moment into this limited collection of words. It was a three-ring circus, make that a ninety-three-ring circus under a scorekeeper’s Big Top.
One could see this becoming an annual event, and you could also see Fanatics taking it on the road. Los Angeles also would make a good site to attract celebrities and athletes. But if they bring it back next year to the Big Apple, it might be a good idea to make plans for another fun ride.
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