Big 12 Conference in March Madness Tournament

CollegiateCamo Headquarters are located outside of Kansas City, so it is hard to ignore the Big 12 tournament at Sprint Center in the always happening Power and Light District. Everywhere you go, there are promotional materials for the tourney, it’s always on the news, billboards, commercials, and if it is a form of advertisement- it’s around town.

The first round boasts some pretty good games. In my opinion rivalry is the best part about any college game. At any given sports bar, we have KU, K-State, Mizzou, Iowa, Iowa State and Nebraska fans all in the same watering hole. I’ve never heard of an argument breaking out, so it’s nice to know we can take our passion, team pride, wins, losses, humiliation and triumphs in stride. No matter how low or high a team is ranked, fans stay loyal to their teams.

Fans around here are so rabid that they take vacation days from work so they don’t miss a single moment of it. Oftentimes, companies will even have televisions available for employees to watch the game on. It’s nice to see that the boss is a fan, too! Just make sure you hide your enthusiasm when his favorite team and your favorite team are rivals!

For four short days in March of every year, the 12 teams come in, play their best and the victors go home at the end, knowing the outcome of this tourney has changed the players’ basketball careers permanently. CollegiateCamo is very happy to have this 2011 NCAA Tournament supporting the college basketball teams within and near our headquarters in Kansas City. We know that you all will be watching, either at home, at a friend’s house, your favorite sports bar or even in a seat at the game.

CollegiateCamo had a proud presence at the South Dakota State National Wild Turkey Federation Convention!   I was able to attend the SD NWTF state convention (wearing of course only the latest gear from CollegiateCamo.com, including the new IA Hawkeyes AFlex cap) last month!

The National Wild Turkey Federation Convention in South Dakota was great, full of two days of fun and fellowship!  Day one included an evening social to catch up with friends from across the state. Day two brought cold temperatures, but an exciting time of learning about the wild turkey, and more importantly, how to make your hunts more successful!  During the evening there was the state banquet where CollegiateCamo donated plenty of University of South Dakota Coyotes camo decals and University of Nebraska Cornhuskers camo decals for bidding to help raise funds for the NWTF and the Hunting Heritage.

Many thanks goes out to the South Dakota chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation and CollegiateCamo!

Last month my wife, kids and I had the trip of a lifetime… to Iowa City, Iowa!  While most would think, “What would be so great about going to Iowa in December?” Well, to a wrestling fan, it’s like going to Hawaii for most others!

We had the privilege to meet up with a member of the Iowa Hawkeyes coaching staff, whom we met previously and now call a close friend, Mike Zadick.  Mike took time out of his busy weekend to make us feel like members of the Hawkeye family.  We met legends of the mat Tom and Terry Brands, and even my son, Major, got to show his two-year-old wrestling skills with Mike.

From the moment we entered Iowa City, and now even a month past we still feel as if we are a part of the Hawkeye family and always will remember our special trip!  To the Hawkeye staff and team members if we haven’t said it enough, thank you for making us feel like family!

Sincerely,
The Aarstad Family
Matthew, Jill, Major and McCoy

The Plain Outdoors will also be raffling off some decals, so make sure you get there and get registered early! The North East Iowa Outdoor Expo will happen at All Seasons Center, located at: 770 7th Street NE, Sioux Center, IA 51250.

You can find us at the North East Iowa Outdoor Expo on Friday, April 16 from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturday, April 17 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Make sure to come out and meet the Plain Outdoors staff and visit their booth. Maybe you could even make it into one of their issues with your buck trophy pictures! (Not to mention win some CollegiateCamo camo college decals.)

It was a struggle but we managed to calm the rivalry at our booth between the Iowa Hawkeyes fans and Iowa State Cyclones fans. We were very careful not to let any of the merchandise intermingle. Who knows – it could have started a fire, or something worse!

And-we quickly learned not to assume what loyalty our customers have – the scowls and verbal beating that we took if we assumed wrong was stifling! So we learned to ask the question “What is your favorite school?” on a regular basis, haha!

We heard comments like, “You can’t tell me there’s any other school in Iowa other than the Iowa,” or perhaps, “We don’t recognize that school over there with the big yellow bird!”

It was especially fun to see how fired up Iowa State University (IA State) fans were about their big win Saturday night over #5-ranked Kansas State Wildcats.

So who won out in the ultimate battle to show their team pride along with a healthy dose of camouflage? It was a tie! The sales were about even for both schools.

The Northern IA fans were thrilled to see that we had their merchandise.  They say it has been extremely hard to find Northern Iowa Panthers stuff! (Not anymore thanks to CollegiateCamo.) And their panther looks so good on our caps and decals. Congrats to NIA for clinching their title game – Missouri Valley Tournament Championship over Wichita State!

Then of course we had the fan of the Bradley University Braves that scoffed at the public institutions, but was both shocked and excited to visit our website to find buy the Bradley University camo decals and apparel.Surprisingly, the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers came in as the 4th biggest seller at the Iowa Deer Classic! Those guys really love their “Big Red.” Camo combined with the big “N” – just gotta have it!

People really came out of the woodworks for the Iowa Deer Classic show. We sold Mizzou Tigers stuff, Pittsburg State Gorilla stuff, Arkansas Razorbacks, Kansas State Wildcats and Kansas Jayhawks stuff too. One of our customers, the parents of a who son plays on the Minnesota Mankato baseball team, was excited to send some of our cool Mankato stuff his way! Hope he loves it – send him our well wishes for this baseball season! (Browse CollegiateCamo Schools to find your favorite college sports team in camo.)

One of the best kept secrets about the Iowa Deer Classic shows is one of the most amazing drives just south out of Des Moines headed toward Kansas City (witnessed it many times).  The herds of deer (yes, herds) on both sides of I-35 are unbelievable!  It’s truly like driving in a national park. And the beauty goes on for miles. We highly recommend it.

Thanks again, Iowans, for giving us such a great experience from the Iowa Deer Classic show to the local restaurants, the local people and the beautiful drive home with a glimpse of the wilderness that keeps us in business. It was a great experience.

Iowa Deer Classic
Iowa Events Center Hy-Vee Hall and Vet’s Auditiorium
Des Moines, Iowa
March 5 – March 7, 2010
Friday: 3pm to 9pm
Saturday: 9am to 7pm
Sunday: 9am to 4pm

Visit our booth and see Collegiate Camo’s University of Iowa decals and apparel, Iowa State decals and apparel, and Northern Iowa decals and apparel.

Missouri Deer Classic
Boone County Fairgrounds
Columbia, Missouri
March 6 – March 7, 2010
Saturday: 9am to 6pm
Sunday: 9am to 4pm

Of course we will feature our University of Missouri Tigers decals and apparel! This is your chance to get Mizzou camo decals and caps.