Pez Huly HH & OVC trip to NYC for the NFL (long post lots of photos)

[Huly]

Hi

As some of you know I won an NFL photo shoot as the Redskin fan and HH won the NFL Design a flag challenge for the the Redskins.

Well I got in Monday morning and Pez and I spent the day wandering around NYC. The NFL had put all of us up at the Times Square Marriott Marquis Hotel. We visited Chelsea Market and had some amazing Sushi at TOY. We also walked around Times Square with one of our Ravens friends (he won the photo shoot for the Ravens) and of course we had to cause a little trouble.

Pez and I with the NYE ball

Look what we found

And so perfect for this store to be right across the street from our Hotel


HH & OVC arrived on Tuesday and spent the day wandering while I was at the photo shoot
Here are a few photo shoot photos. It was a long day started at 8am and we got back to the hotel at 11PM then met up with OVC and HH to wander Times Square again.

Pez's photos



NFL/Nike Photos (they just released these)




Back at Hotel


On Wednesday Pez and I had another long day (I will let HH tell his side). It started with lunch at the NFL HQ on Park Ave. Then a Q&A with Goodell. I asked (can't remember exactly how I phrased it) Being a Redskin fan and having to deal with the DC media can you please explain how contracts can be signed off on in an uncapped year and then the Redskins received a fine the day before FA for restructuring contracts? His answer that all of the NFL owners and the NFLPA agreed that no one could restructure contracts that would benefit their cap in future seasons. I tightened my lips quickly as I knew if I responded it could have been ugly. From there we went back to the hotel to change quickly drop stuff off then went to the NFL kickoff events in Times Square. They had a Ref booth where you have to determine the play. It was a call on if the guy was in or out of bounds. Both OVC and I got it right that he was in bounds and it was a catch so we each got a whistle Pez missed it He always gets the calls right so to me it is too funny that I got one and he didn't. He calls these things before the ref do half the time. From there we went to Rockafeller Center for the Back to Football Concert (Mariah Carey & No Doubt). The NFL gave all of us VIP passes and it was free food and open bar. Also HH presented his flag with Pat Fischer as our legend. We stayed at the event for the viewing of the game (free food and free drinks ) while HH & Ovc got swept off to the game.

Concert and Back to Football Kickoff







HH's Flag Presentation









After the concert and the game we met HH and OVC and some of the other fan winners back at the hotel and hung out until 3AM. It was then an early morning to fly back to DC for all of us and naps when we all got home. I hope you enjoy the stories and I hope I represented y'all proudly. I know HH, OVC, and Pez will chime in when they wake up or get time. HTTR and Go Redskins!

I can not say enough Thank you to the NFL and Nike. This event was a memory I will never forget and an event of a lifetime! All of our reps were amazing and THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

[DC9]

Very cool! Thanks for sharing. Looks like you guys had a blast!

Looks like it got heated between Pat Fischer and Willie Roaf.

[HapHaszard]

Great Pics Huly and Pez, congtratulations......

[slackermike]

Awesome and Congrats! Looks like you had a good time.

[Bang]

Awesome!
HH.. Pat Fischer is a gas, isn't he? You've lost a lot of weight! Looking good!
Congrats to all of you, and way to represent!

~Bang

[redskindan07]

Congrats, seems like a cool experience!!

[Dan T.]

What a dream weekend that must have been. Good on you guys...

[Bang]

I thought the Naked Cowboy was white?

is he franchising?

~Bang

[pjfootballer]

Pat Fischer looks like he still wants to knock someones head off.

Any photos of HHs flag that shows the whole flag?

[Huly]

Thank you everyone!

yes Naked Cowboy is franchising LOL There was a girl too!

Here is the photo of the flag ( I stole it from HH's Facebook page to send to y'all while we wait on him to chime in)

[Teller]

What an amazing experience. I don't even know where to start, honestly.

I guess we'll go from the beginning. Derek (OVC) and I got to NYC early in the afternoon on Tuesday. We go to check in, and the guy at the desk says, "I have you on the 45th floor. Is that going to be too high?" I told him that would be perfect, and off we went to our room.

Little did I know that the elevators were glass, and you could see ALL the way down, as you shot up 45 stories. Not being a fan of heights, I stayed over by the door during most of our trips up and down. Eventually, I warmed up to being up that high, and thoroughly enjoyed the view of Times Square from nearly 500 feet up.

Tuesday was a free day for us, so we roamed around NYC, enjoying a nice lunch at O'Donaghue's Irish Pub. We made a few trips back to the room, just to crash a little bit and decompress from the sensory overload that is New York.

A little later, we were headed back out, and a very nice lady from the NFL saw our Skins gear. She asked if we'd like to meet Pat Fischer. Are you kidding me?! Of course!!! So she took us out to the concourse area in front of the hotel, where we met Pat, and Jerry Olsen, the Skins Alumni director. We stood and chatted with them, and Pez and Huly for about 15 minutes before going back on our way.

I have to say that Pat is probably the most entertaining Redskin I've ever met. He's down to earth, has a wonderful sense of humor, and really enjoys being recognized and doted on by fans.

Dinner on Tuesday was at Famous Ray's for pizza, then some more exploring.

Wednesday morning, the NFL provided breakfast at the hotel, where the flag contest winners were presented with our final designs. We got to meet the other fans, and really built a lot of camaraderie with some people who are great fans of their own teams.

After breakfast, we had a little bit of down time, before walking over to NFL headquarters for lunch. At lunch we were presented with the jerseys that we would wear during the flag ceremony. Mine was Fischer's, which he later autographed, and inscribed "1961-77."

After lunch we attended the Back to Football Fan Forum with the commissioner, hall of famers Gale Sayers and Willie Roaf, and Chad Pennington.

It was a religious experience meeting Mr. Sayers. He was very kind, and signed a football that I brought with me. The ball came back home with his signature, as well as Jack Youngblood's, Roaf's, and Chad Pennington's (GO HERD!!)

After our visit to the league offices, we were off to Rock Center to rehearse the flag presentation, then met back up with our guests in the VIP area for dinner and drinks.

The players trickled in before the concert, and I got to meet many of them, including Roger Craig, Brian Dawkins, Steve Tasker, Alge Crumpler, Antonio Pierce, Keith Bullock, Dermonti Dawson, and others.

It was funny because Chad Pennington (representing the Jets) came in late. He explained to his fan that he had gotten stuck in traffic, and apologized for getting there just in time for the flag presentation. Pat overheard the conversation and yelled out, "Leave it to the quarterback to be the one holding things up! Jurgensen was the same way!!"

I also got to spend a little time talking to Bulluck about how we would've brought down Earl Campbell. I told him that I would have gone low -- like, hope to grab his shoestring on the way by kind of low. He said, "Absolutely man. Gotta know your limits." I got the impression that he would've done the same thing, even if he didn't say so.

The actual presentation was a lot of fun. Pat, being his crazy self, was a trip. He had a little trouble taking direction, since the players weren't there for the rehearsal, but we made it work.

At one point, he locked eyes with one of our NFL reps, Maggie, who looked like a young Halle Berry. Just stunningly gorgeous, and even sweeter than she was beautiful. Pat turns to me and says, "Hey Jason, can I go over and talk to the pretty lady? I'll be right back!" I convinced him to stay in place, and we didn't disrupt the ceremony with him wandering around.

A short time later, the "house" lights dropped, and they cut to a live shot from the stadium. Pat goes, "OK, that has to be it," and starts trying to fold up the flag (captured brilliantly by Huly in the second flag photo above. A little more direction convinced him to leave the flag as it was, until we made our exit.

He is such an entertaining guy that I can't fully explain it. I told Huly that he reminded me of everyone's favorite crazy uncle. And that's exactly who he is; quite simply a gem of a man.

Following the ceremony, we boarded a bus for the trip to MetLife Stadium and the Kickoff Game. To our surprise, an NYPD van BLOCKED traffic in the HEART of New York City so our bus could get out and get us on our way. Talk about royal treatment!!!

The game surprised me, quite honestly. Not the fact that the Cowboys won, but what an overwhelming disappointment the Giants fans were. THEY PUMP CROWD NOISE!!!!

They have video segments when the defense is on the field. It's a player (usually Tuck) saying "Go Big Blue!" or "Get up!" with music bumping. While the video and music are playing, the crowd noise is overwhelming. But as soon as it stops, it's almost silent, then builds up slowly. I'm CERTAIN that the crowd noise is pumped in along with the music that plays. (Which means they're doing this while the opposing offense is in the huddle, trying to get their plays in.) It also means that the Giants don't believe their fans can do the job. I have to agree with them.

When Dallas scored to make it 17-10 in the third quarter, the "faithful" started streaming for the exits. And when they made it 24-10, we were in a ghost town. I was shocked. I was under the impression that that stadium had some great fans....and maybe they do....when the J-E-T-S play there.

After the game, we went back to the hotel concourse and met back up with Pez and Huly, and some of the other fans. I was excited to learn that a lot of the leftover beer from the concert was being delivered there, and we happily accepted it. If you want to spend an evening at a NYC bar, you'd better take out a second mortgage. The "Beer Buses" as we affectionately called them were a Godsend.

Thursday morning, I realized just how many free beers I'd had. I was HURTING; exhausted from an amazing couple of days, and my own indiscretion the previous evening (errr...early morning.) We made one more trip in a loaded Yukon Denali with the NFL logo on it, to the airport, for the trip home.

I cannot say enough good things about the treatment we received from the NFL. It really was rockstar level. Maggie and Kathy from the NFL were incredible hosts, and never stopped smiling despite what was an 18-hour work day for them. Alison, who helped direct the flag ceremony was a firecracker too. I can assure you that NO league, hell NO organization anywhere could possibly treat anyone better. I'm immensely grateful to have had such an incredible experience.

Pez, Huly, it was an honor to share this with both of you. I think we represented Redskin Nation well, and being there with you guys made the whole experience infinitely better. Thanks so much for the great pictures too. Just awesome!

I'll stop rambling here. HAIL TO OUR WASHINGTON REDSKINS!!!

[Dan T.]

Thanks for the recap, Hog.

Nice glamour photos Huly. Now I'm waiting for H_H's glamour shots.

[Teller]

Thanks for the recap, Hog.

Nice glamour photos Huly. Now I'm waiting for H_H's glamour shots.

No one wants to see that.

Hell, I don't even want to see that.

[LD0506]

Y'all did a fine job representing Skins fans, I don't know who would have been a better choice. Sounds like a trip of a lifetime there, sure hope there are a lot more pics

[Teller]

Y'all did a fine job representing Skins fans, I don't know who would have been a better choice. Sounds like a trip of a lifetime there, sure hope there are a lot more pics

Thanks kindly, sir.

And man, it could not possibly have been better. I've been trying without success to find the words to describe it since I got back, and I just can't.