Tony Reid offers his weekly dose of happenings inside Sports Zone, the Central Pennsylvania shop where he works.
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It’s the week before Christmas and there’s good cheer inside and outside the shop, football…and some head scratching.
Late in the week one of our customers was waiting at the door when we opened and he bent down to pick up a shopping bag and as he handed it to me and I opened it there were a number of cards with a note attached that advised us to sell the cards and do something nice for a child. The lot consisted of a few rookie cards and a few vintage star cards and was a great gesture from some anonymous person in town.
Just know that we are indeed selling the cards and we’ve already donated time and resources to help someone in the community.
Of course, this time of the year the post office, FedEx and UPS all hate us equally, with the number of packages we have coming and going each day. Heck, I can’t say I blame them as it becomes nearly unbearable for some days for us, too. We’ve had a little back-and-forth with the post office as far as how they want our items prepared and waiting for the carriers when they pick up as we have 300-plus boxes and bags for them most mornings. We have used the classic plastic USPS tubs for quite some time now but this week someone from the post office suggested a better alternative. I was eagerly awaiting the improved way of transporting boxes but when they dropped off a big plastic garbage can, I must say I was a little underwhelmed.
They literally dropped off blue garbage cans and wanted us to fill them with our product. Maybe this is part of the ingenuity that has the post office billions of dollars in debt. I guess the big blue cans hold a few more packages, but…
On Thursday, my friend Chad and I traveled out of town to meet up with Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford for a piece I am working on. There will be plenty more on this front very soon but I can say I was incredibly impressed with the 24-year-old and his team literally across the board.
Travel was a little rough, so we left Wednesday night to beat any ice or snow but we definitely battled it coming home but it was all worth it for an awesome morning with Penn State’s all-time passing leader who is hoping for a shot at the NFL.
The week ended in a flurry, literally and figuratively, as we had one of our busiest days in store on Saturday. With it being the last weekend day we are open before Christmas, I expected a barn burner and that’s exactly what we got. We’re anticipating more of the same starting Monday as the countdown to Christmas brings more customers–and more online orders which we’ll do our best to deliver before next Saturday.
Before the pre-holiday craziness began, we began the week with a trip to Pittsburgh for the Steelers-Ravens game last Sunday afternoon. It was a great experience to take my son and his best friend to what was the first NFL game for both of them. We had pretty good seats a few rows up in the end zone, so they got to experience the action up close as they both prepared to make the transition from high school to college football next year.
Earlier in the week, we had our annual Sports Zone Toys & Comics holiday party.. Shop owner Jason rents out a local arcade and we get to enjoy some games, a catered meal and a fun night with our fellow employees. That employee list was–well, me– until about a year and a half ago. Now we have Felix, Traci, Matt, Evan and a few others to help out when need be. I know I’m thankful for the assistance.
We all brought our significant others and those with kiddos could bring their children as well. My daughter Isabella had a great time playing pinball grom the moment we arrived until we left for the night.
Here’s hoping everyone is enjoying this great holiday season. I’ll be sure to check back in again soon.
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