By Jason Klein
Originally Written For New York Yankee Legacy Magazine – October 2010
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By Jason Klein
Originally Written For The Official Steiner Sports Blog – 1/5/10
The sign outside may have read “
Giants Stadium,” but the building finally felt like home for Jets fans on Sunday night.
The Jets, perhaps, saved their best performance for last as they did battle with the Cincinnati Bengals in the final game played in Meadowlands history. Gang Green overcame frigid temperatures, and all the odds, to defeat the Bengals 37-0 in a rout. In the process, they clinched the 5thseed in the AFC playoffs, the franchise’s first trip to the post season since 2006.
Final Game at Meadowlands
The Jets were destined to do what their co-tenants couldn’t the week prior. The Giants’ final Meadowlands performance left a sour taste – falling to the Panthers 41-9 in week 16. By contrast, the Jets refused to lose, holding the playoff-bound Bengals to just 72 total yards of offense…in the whole game!
Mark Sanchez completed an up-and-down rookie season on a high note, managing the offense and feeding Thomas Jones. Following the game, and a refreshingly frosty Gatorade bath for head coach, Rex Ryan, players did a victory lap, shaking hands with the fans and shutting out the lights at the old building in style.
It was the final great moment inside a building that provided many along the way. Jets fans will always remember moments like the Monday Night Miracle victory over the Dolphins in 2000, the 1999 Divisional Game against Jacksonville, and the back-to-back routs of the Packers and Colts to end the 2002 regular season and start the playoffs respectively. Giants fans will quickly forget the team’s 2009 shortcomings and focus more on the three Lombardi Trophies, hoisted after the 1986, 1990 and 2007 seasons.
Whatever your allegiance, there is tons of history oozing from within the Meadowlands walls. A new partnership joining Steiner Sports with the Meadowlands allows fans and football historians alike to own pieces of that nostalgia.
Interested in owning a pair of seats from within Giants Stadium? Steiner Sports new partnership makes that possible. Fans will have access to seats, seatbacks, pieces of the turf, goal posts, and various other items from within the building. It’s the perfect way to commemorate the past and look forward to a bright future inside the New Meadowlands starting in 2010.
As the Jets prepare for their Wild Card Weekend rematch with Cincinnati, and the Giants start to prepare for what will no doubt be an exciting 2010 campaign, the lights inside Giants Stadium are now dark. There will never be another game played inside the building that served as home for two teams, and enjoyed one glorious timeline of moments.
It finally felt like home for Jets fans on Sunday night. Giants fans have always felt ownership. With both teams moving across the parking lot next season, now it’s the fans who can start to make pieces of the building their own.
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By Jason Klein
Originally Written For The Official Steiner Sports Blog – 12/24/09
“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
Those words, once spoken by Matthew Broderick in the 1986 hit “Ferris Bueller,” couldn’t be more apropos when thinking back on 2009 at Steiner Sports. It was a year that had Steiner Sports employees’ heads spinning with activity and customers’ heads turning with curiosity and intrigue. Though it flew by, it was a challenging, yet rewarding campaign, filled with moments and achievements that revolutionized the sports collectibles industry…again.
The final year of the “double zeros,” the “oughts,” or however one chooses to refer back to this decade, saw Steiner Sports prosper through three defining moments in company history, events that changed the way the company functions, and further developed the way sports fans collect memorabilia.
The Move
In recent years, Steiner Sports has developed relationships, and partnerships with some of the most successful organizations in professional and collegiate sports. The company currently provides exclusive access to game used collectibles from the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Dallas Cowboys, and Notre Dame, Alabama, North Carolina, and Syracuse Universities. The growing roster of partners, presented a growing inventory for a growing company occupying, what seemed like, a shrinking warehouse.
In an effort to satisfy the company’s need for more space, Steiner Sports moved into new digs in March. Just like their pinstriped partners in the Bronx, the company shifted across the street into a new venue, better equipped to handle their needs in an ever-changing marketplace. The move has been a positive one for all parties involved. The state-of-the-art facility has allowed the company to function more efficiently, better serving loyal customers – many of whom made the pilgrimage over the last nine months to check out the new place.
The Seats
In 2009, Steiner Sports urged all Yankees fans and baseball historians to “Take a Seat in History.” In May of 2009, the company announced plans to offer authentic seats, and other stadium artifacts including sod,monument park bricks, and foul pole pieces, from the original Yankee Stadium. A flurry of activity ensued. Eager fans were able to gobble up pieces of the historic stadium, scooping up whatever relics became available. Owning an actual piece of Baseball’s Cathedral was an opportunity that few fans passed up on.
In addition, Original Yankee Stadium memorabilia was on display throughout the Inaugural Season inside the Great Hall, courtesy of Steiner Sports. The Yankees-Steiner Collectibles Store flourished inside the Stadium too, giving fans insider access on game days. Throughout the season, Steiner Sports employees were on hand to meet fans, and explain the unique line of items pulled from the “House That Ruth Built.”
What an unbelievable season it was too! The Yankees broke in their new quarters in grand fashion! The Greatest Closer of All-Time, Mariano Rivera, converted his 500th career save in June, and The Captain, Derek Jeter, passed Lou Gehrig on the all-time Yankees hits list in September. Both historic moments served as appetizers for October’s (and November’s) main course…
The Title
The instant Mark Teixeira squeezed the final out of the 2009 World Series, the Yankees hard work towards a 27th Championship was over. However, the work within the Steiner Sports office was just beginning. Commemorative collages, plaques and crystals had already been prepared weeks in advance, but the quest towards a team signed project was quickly underway.
Over the course of about three weeks in November, twenty-nine members of the World Champions made their way through the Steiner Sports office, signing everything from team signed baseballs and photos, to game usedproduct from the 2009 season. Once again, Steiner Sports had the most complete and intriguing collection of commemorative memorabilia to offer customers, featuring an unprecedented collection of superstars – perfect timing for the upcoming holiday season.
The Future
While 2009 was a legendary year in the history of Steiner Sports, the future is bright for the innovative leader in sports collectibles and gifts. There are many exciting announcements on the table for 2010, events that will fire up customers, and further transform the collectibles industry. 2009 was fast. 2010 will move just as quick. Just be sure to stop and look around. Big things are coming so pay attention! Bueller?
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By Jason Klein
Originally Written For New York Yankee Legacy Magazine – October 2009
Click each individual thumbnail below to read the feature story, exactly as it appeared in New York Yankee Legacy Magazine:
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By Jason Klein
Originally Written For The Official Steiner Sports Blog – 5/19/09
It’s hard to pinpoint the exact date, but it started sometime last summer. The topic remained scorching hot throughout the frosty winter months. It continues to be the number one question being asked by Yankees fans, and sports collectors alike: when are the seats from Yankee Stadium going to be available for purchase?
The wait is over!
These precious gems are starting to be unearthed, pried from withinbaseball’s cathedral in the Bronx, available for fans to take a seat in history, within the comfort of their own home. This summer, throw some dogs on the grill, grab a beer from the fridge, and watch the Yanks while resting in an actual Yankee Stadium seat – from your living room!
Last Tuesday, May 12, 2009, Yankees-Steiner Collectibles and the New York Yankees announced the beginning of this historic opportunity, immediately giving fans the opportunity to purchase seats from the club’s former home. The press conference set off a flurry of phone calls as thousands pounced on the once-in-a-lifetime items.
A set of seats, and other Yankee Stadium artifacts, were put on display at Gate 2 of the New Yankee Stadium and remain there for all home games. Thousands of fans have stopped by, admiring the relics during the game – and reserving their own personal pieces of The House That Ruth Built.
If looking to purchase the iconic blue seats, it’s important to know there are many different packages available. The first basic package gives fans the opportunity to purchase a pair of non-specific seats, not designated for regular season ticket packages. These seats will be chosen at random and will sell for $1,500 a pair.
If fans are looking to scoop up the actual seats, specific to their season plan, the second basic package is the way to go. For $2,000 fans can own the actual pair of seats they sat in while personally witnessing history each summer. These fans must have their Yankees season ticket account numbers handy, and have had either a full plan, or partial plan A or B to qualify. Seats are being sold in pairs, not individually. Additional packages, including hand signed and game used collectibles, along with seats are also available.
To reserve a set, anxious fans won’t have to dive headfirst into a pile of seats like their Captain did in July of 2004. Seats are available through Yankees-Steiner Collectibles via web or phone. Each set of seats will come complete with a Yankees-Steiner letter of authenticity.
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By Jason Klein
Originally Written For The Official Steiner Sports Blog – 5/12/09
Fifty-seven thousand empty blue seats quietly rest in the Bronx. They are the last remaining witnesses of the historic grounds. There is a sense of tranquility inside the most decorated venue in sports. Gone are the nightly throngs of Yankees fans anxious to greet “mystique” and “aura.” In its place is…silence. It is the “calm” following an 85-year pinstriped storm – a whirlwind that brought 26 World Championships to town.
True, the famous blue seats currently filling “The House that Ruth Built” are not the original occupants. But they have certainly observed their share of history since the Stadium’s renovation in the mid-seventies. They were there every step of the way as recent Yankees teams dynastically rebuilt themselves. Now they will be part of history one last time as the building dramatically comes down.
It is an eventuality that draws varied emotions. Many are sentimental about losing such an iconic stadium. After all, change can sometimes be difficult to accept. Still, others have embraced the team’s new digs across the street. Ready or not, the Yankees have moved!
There will never be another game played at the original Yankee Stadium, a structure dripping with history. Every crevice contains a valuable memento, a keepsake sparking memories to last forever. These souvenirs are now available for Yankees fans and baseball historians alike to personally own, thanks to a joint partnership joining the New York Yankees and Yankees-Steiner Collectibles.
As the stadium is methodically taken apart, each piece will be preserved and transformed into an instant collectable. Pieces of the clubhouse, dugout, and private offices will be available. So too will famous stadium signage, pieces of freize, the foul poles, turnstiles, bricks from Monument Park, and yes, those fifty-seven thousand empty blue seats, each with so many stories to tell. Throughout this exciting and unprecedented process, I will share some of them with you.
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Jason Klein 