March Madness Hits the Big 12 Region
March 11, 2011 by JeanieWheeler · Leave a Comment
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.
Big 12 Breaks Down
June 14, 2010 by CollegiateCamo · Leave a Comment
Does a border even matter—where are the minutemen of the Big 12 Borders when you need them? How can this happen in a seemingly overnight tragedy? What was one of the best bragging rights conferences looks to be no more in a matter of just a few days, or even hours. And, to think that it all started with the defection of University of Colorado, followed closely by Nebraska. For those of us who don’t understand all the money enhancements that come from these types of negotiation our hearts are broken.
The Big 12 is known for the best rivalries in the nation. Now with this fiasco we have become the “pity” of other conference fans. The pity mongers discuss poor Mizzou, KU, Kansas State and Iowa State (and Baylor). Baylor gets a little bit of a reprieve for having the Texas clout and being a private institution.
Where will everyone end up? Better save those old “Big 12” conference T-shirts – they could bring a mint on eBay! The big money is in football, but the above mentioned uiversiities aren’t all that bad at football, with bowl bids in the last several years. Yes, understandably it’s the TV money and Kansas City just isn’t a big market. However, these schools offer monetary support to the Kansas City economy and all of this shifting around is detrimental to the area.
So unfortunately, while the Big 12 commissioner was sleeping the big deals were being made that have desecrated the conference. I can’t imagine that KU would be too happy with this kind of representation; they are one of the most visible athletic institutions in the nation, not just the Big 12. Next to Texas (UT) I would guess the biggest in the Big 12. So where will KU end up? Oh yeah, they’re a “basketball” school and all of this commotion is about football—right?
The hot rivalries in the Big 12 is what makes this so much fun for the fans. The KU vs MU rivalry isn’t just born out of hothead college students. This rivalry goes way back to the civil war! Not to mention, the Kansas State vs KU rivalry never ends – just take a drive on I-70 between Lawrence and Manhattan and it’s quite visible.
The next few days will have fans of the original Big 12 biting their nails in anticipation of where their favorite team will end up. Will Mizzou possibly go to the Big 10 and the new big rivalry for them will be University of Illinois (less the civil war)? Will KU move to the Pac 10? How about K-State, Iowa State and Baylor?
It just doesn’t “pay” to be loyal these days — loyalty never got you anywhere but in a crisis. It unfortunately seems that it is only the money that counts. If you ask us here at CollegiateCamo, t is a sad, sad day in the world of college sports.
Iowa Deer Classic 2010 Recap!
March 9, 2010 by CollegiateCamo · Leave a Comment
CollegiateCamo just returned from a fantastic weekend in Des Moines, Iowa where we attended the Iowa Deer Classic show. Our booth was well-attended by all collegiate outdoorsmen and outdoorswomen, and it was a real pleasure to meet all of you!
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.
CollegiateCamo at Iowa & Missouri Deer Classic Shows!
March 2, 2010 by CollegiateCamo · Leave a Comment
Come see us! CollegiateCamo will have a booth at several hunting, fishing and outdoors events in coming weekends, including Iowa Deer Classic in Des Moines, Iowa, and the Missouri Deer Classic in Columbia, Missouri.
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.
