Award Ceremony Tips

Humilating your loser is the one of the best parts of Fantasy Football!

One way to ensure every player in your league 'brings it' for every game is to humiliate the worst team at the end of the season.

When punishing your fantasy league loser, it can get brutal.  Here are some ideas of how to put your loser to shame this season.

Guide to Humiliating Your Fantasy League Loser

Re-Name the Loser's Team:  My husband's league renames the losing team "The Feltchers" - look it up on Urban Dictionary - for the entire next season.  Jeff got that name for two years in a row...it was two LONGGGG seasons!

The perfect loser's trophy for the team that sucks.

Loser's Trophy at the Draft:  This includes presenting the worst team from last year a fantasy football loser trophy or maybe adding their name onto an existing perpetual loser's trophy, where it can last in infamy.  Get fantasy football loser trophies ideas here!

Car Humiliation: Create a bumper sticker or license plate frame that they have to attach on their car or truck for all to see how much they suck at Fantasy Football.

Jersey:  Make your loser buy and wear the jersey of their most hated team.  Have them wear it at the draft, the entire season, or at the Superbowl.

Costumes: Have the loser wear a tutu and tiara at the draft, or make them wear a costume at a bar.

Other Public Shaming: make them participate in Karaoke (where you choose the song) or an open mic night and prepare to laugh your ass off at them.

Permanent Punishment:  Some leagues are super hard core and make losers get tattoos, belly button piercings, and other more permanent badges of shame.

"I'm a Loser" license plate frame will let the whole world know how much the loser's team sucks.

For even more ideas of how to embarrass your league loser, check out these links:

http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-10-worst-punishments-losing-in-fantasy-league/

https://tuggboat.com/blog/22/10-hilariously-embarrassing-side-bets-to-make-with-your-fantasy-football-rivals

**R-Rated** - https://brobible.com/sports/article/fantasy-football-punishments/

All the more reason to study up before the draft and set your team each week - not only to win the league, but to avoid being the WORST!  Here's to a great season!

Cheers,

Jessica

“Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there.” – John Wooden, UCLA and NAIA teacher and coach

Model good sportsmanship for your young athletes!

When your child joins a sports team, it’s an opportunity to not only improve their physical skills, but also builds character that can spill over into other aspects of their lives, even as adults.  Sportsmanship is one of these aspects that is nurtured by great coaching and supportive parents.

Sportsmanship involves being a good sport both on –and off - the field.  We want to nurture our kids being both good winners AND losers.

How do you help kids learn about good sportsmanship?  Below are some tips.

Tips at the Game:

1. Set a Good Example. Children model adults, so if you are swearing, yelling at refs, making fun of the other team, you are setting a poor example.  You are a role model representing your child, their team, and your community – act like it.

2. Stay Positive.  Shout words of encouragement from the sidelines, not criticism. Celebrate good plays, even when made by the other team.

3. Remember you are the parent – not the coach. Don’t shout directions from the sidelines.

4. Respect the officials and their decisions – especially when you don’t agree with it.

5. Stay cool.  Don’t lose your temper, keep perspective that this is a game.

A good reminder for parents to be good sports.

Tips outside the game:

1. Remember this is your kids playing, not you.  Don’t push them into a sport just because you used to do it, let them decide what activities are right for them.

2. Teach your child the rules of the game.  The more they know about the sport, the more they can follow directions given by the coach and play fair.

3. For a sore loser:  Focus on accomplishments during the game, having fun, and working together. Help them swallow their pride and remind them there is always next time.

4. For an overzealous winner: instead of asking about winning, focus on having fun and specific skills.  Teach your child to be humble instead of boasting about a win; because like it or not, eventually they will lose.

5. Seek out good examples of sportsmanship in professional athletes and make it a teaching moment with your child.  Also point out example of bad sportsmanship and spark a conversation of why their behavior is wrong.

For more resources about sportsmanship, visit US Youth Soccer and NAIA.

Cheers!
Jessica

“Average people learn from their mistakes.  Smart people learn from other’s people’s mistakes.” –Neil Patel

Top 5 Trophy Mistakes

Don't be Homer...learn from other's mistakes so your award presentation is perfect!

Misspellings.  Don’t ruin your gorgeous engraved award with a simple misspelling.
-  Read the text backwards – bottom to top – you won’t have context for the words, so it’s easier to find mistakes.
-  Double and triple check the spelling of the name.  Spelling the person’s name correctly is EXTREMELY important for obvious reasons.

Broken awards.  Many customers don’t open their shipping box until the day of the event and to their surprise, find awards damaged during shipping. Because our items are fragile, be sure to open the box and check your awards as soon as they arrive.  In case of breakage, contact us immediately so we can send a replacement.

Trophy doesn’t match the accomplishment.  Be mindful of what you are celebrating and have the price and stature of the award match the achievement.

Too much text.  Many of our awards have a very limited space for etching.  Too much text on this small space creates tiny letters that are impossible to read.  If you have a lot of text, choose a wall plaque or other award with adequate space for your message.

Not presenting it.  The worst is not presenting the award to your honoree; just handing it to them in a box loses the impact of the accomplishment.  For more tips, read my blog post How to Present an Award.

Be smart - learn from past customer’s mistakes and make your award count!

What is a plaque award?  In the recognition world, there are two main definitions of what a plaque is:

An example of a small engraved plaque, also called a plate.

Plaque:  A small etched plaque, usually made of medal, but can also be made of plastic or cast bronze.  These plaques are small in size, usually just a few inches, and attached to an object, such as a frame, piece of artwork, bench, eagle scout project, industrial panel, etc.  Also known as an engraved plate.  These small plaques commemorate a special project, name an artist, explain an artifact, etc.

Plaque:  A larger engraved wall plaque that is a type of recognition award.  Wall plaques are most often made of wood (but can also be made of glass and acrylic, a plastic polymer) and contain a special customized message inscribed on the plaque.  The text and often times organization logo is either etched directly into the wood or on another medium, such as a brass or aluminum plate, which is then attached to the wood.  This is a traditional corporate recognition award that can be hung on a wall and admired for years to come.

An example of a perpetual wall plaque with a header plate and smaller plates for names.

Perpetual Plaque:  Another type of wall plaque, this plaque contains a larger plate at the top (called a Header Plate) which lists the name of the award and often times organization name.  Below are smaller individual plates, often times called perpetual plates, that can list winner's names and dates.  This award is perpetual, meaning that you can add to it over time.  It makes a great way to showcase your businesses "employee of the month" winners, for example.

To see all plaques at Trophies2Go, view our Plaque category, including engraved plates, wall plaques, and perpetual plaques.

Cheers!

Jessica

Less than a week until the biggest football day of the year - SUPER BOWL SUNDAY! Want to enjoy the game, the ads, and the half-time show with friends and family? Then throw a party with a contest!

Football and competition go hand-in-hand and a Superbowl party is the perfect opportunity to share football, food, drinks, and a little friendly competition.

Superbowl Sunday Competitions

Cheering the Hawks on to victory!

Football Pool.  Have party attendees buy squares and then assign numbers to the squares for the score after each of the quarters and the end of the game.

Prop Bet.  Who will win the coin toss?  Which team will score first?  Will Gronk do an end-zone dance?  These are all fun things you can bet on that only require luck!

Chili Cook-off. Have your family and friends bring their chili in a crock pot for blind tasting. Read my past blog on how to host a chili cook off. Don't forget the prizes, such as chili medals, blue ribbons and chili cookoff trophies for your winners!

Fantasy Football Awards.  Superbowl Sunday is the perfect day to award you fantasy football league winner and haze your league loser. Bring your perpetual fantasy football trophy to pass to the champ and an engraved toilet trophy for the league loser.

Other Ideas to Make the Game Festive

A sweet stadium made of snacks, get the idea on Pinterest!

Cute Decorations.  Decorate in your favorite team's colors and include one of our Championship Trophies, that looks like a Lombardi trophy, for your table centerpiece. This could go home with the big winner of your Football Pool.

Snacks: Chips and salsa, guacamole, nachos, cheese or bean dip, garlic bread, and cornbread all go great with chili. Cut up veggies with ranch or even a salad balance out the other junk so at least your guests get a little something healthy.  Check out our Pinterest page for great game day snack ideas!

Dessert: I personally like cookies, brownies, cupcakes - things you can eat with your hands, to keep dishes at a minimum.

For someone who blows up the game, award our popular bomb trophy!

Drinks: Beer, lots of it. Conserve fridge space and have a cooler with ice for the beer.

Awards:  To add some laughs at the party, I’d recommend one of our funnier trophies. Two of my favorites are The Golden Throne and The Bomb Trophy .

The Superbowl is a great excuse to get together with family and friends, and hosting a competition is sure to bring an unique twist to your party. But no matter what, Superbowl Sunday is all about hanging out with family and friends and enjoying the best commercials of the year!

Cheers,
Jessica