December is here!
That means one thing for football fans – College Bowl season!
You are also likely to be asked for potential gift ideas at this time of year. Hard to believe, but there are people out there who do not follow football and do not know which gifts to buy for the NFL fan in their life.
So, settle down with a cold beer in front of the famous Idaho Potato Bowl while leaving this page open in the browser window of your significant other, and you may be pleasantly surprised on Christmas Day.
Branded Merchandise
One of the key things to bear in mind when getting branded merch is your teams logo.
Would the NWA have sold a million records if they had been waltzing round in a blue baseball cap with an orange letter C on it? Probably not.
You have to be blessed with a team that has a great logo. This must have been the driver behind the decision in 2023 to change the Chicago Bears primary logo from the orange C to the snarling bear face – which is infinitely more marketable.
The failsafe stocking filler for the UK NFL fan at this time of year is the bobble hat. The Bears hats look solid and are a top choice for a gift. Just do not get the alternate orange one, or you will end up looking like a red alert siren. But easy to find in a crowd.
If buying from the official NFL Europe site, order now for next Christmas.
Snack Helmets
These are an absolute no-go for me and are akin to burning money.
A couple of years ago a popular German supermarket chain ran these as a generic NFL snack helmet for £15. You can now buy a team specific snack helmet for £70.
It is literally a helmet with the top chopped off to put crisps in. And a mouth grill for sweets. You are paying the equivalent of a ticket to a game to eat crisps out of a players head.
Just eat them out of the bag for no extra cost.
Autographed Photos
A quick look on the Bears NFL merchandise site shows you can buy signed pictures of various Bears players for around £50 – £100.
About 90% of these photos are signed by Noah Sewell. Either all the other players have sold out, or Noah was very keen to sign autographs when asked.
By far the coolest autograph is Rome Odunze. The guy literally signs his photos ‘RomeO’. Which is a lot more marketable than last years’ star ‘JustinF’.
Bargain Bin
If you are strapped for cash, there is always the trusty Bears keyring which comes in at around a fiver.
Or a pack of three Bears face coverings reduced to £2. You never know, the next pandemic could be just round the corner.
