Virgil Posted June 14, 2018 Posted June 14, 2018 Heading to training camp this year with my daughter and some friends. My friend's have twin boys who plan to get Allen jerseys. Does anyone know how autographs work at training camp now? When I went almost a decade ago, they did night practices where all the players lined up at a fence at the end and you waited in line. I got a lot of players this way. I've been told they've done tents with certain players on certain practices. As it stands right now, we are going to the Panthers preseason game and practice on either Sunday or Tuesday. Any hints or insight on the best way to get the kids jersey's signed?
fridge Posted June 14, 2018 Posted June 14, 2018 18 minutes ago, Bills Wilk said: Hey Two Bills Drive, don't post articles that we have to sign up and pay for . Even though it's only 2.99 a month . Not good business This world has passed you by completely. 3
mead107 Posted June 14, 2018 Posted June 14, 2018 7 hours ago, Bills Wilk said: Hey Two Bills Drive, don't post articles that we have to sign up and pay for . Even though it's only 2.99 a month . Not good business And this has what to do with getting autographs?
Not at the table Karlos Posted June 14, 2018 Posted June 14, 2018 I went 3-4 years ago and some players came up to the fences/guard rail in the stands and signed.
Canadian Bills Fan Posted June 14, 2018 Posted June 14, 2018 Don't they still have the Kids Zone Autograph tents? They usually post the list of players/positions around the time camp starts
teef Posted June 14, 2018 Posted June 14, 2018 you're probably going to have to show a little skin. 1 2 3
Baba Booey Posted June 14, 2018 Posted June 14, 2018 I went last year with my son, Darby and someone else came over. Seemed not fan friendly, I guess you have to pay to get signatures.
Mr. WEO Posted June 14, 2018 Posted June 14, 2018 1 hour ago, Baba Booey said: I went last year with my son, Darby and someone else came over. Seemed not fan friendly, I guess you have to pay to get signatures. Darby always needs a 5 yard cushion... 2
BadLandsMeanie Posted June 14, 2018 Posted June 14, 2018 (edited) 15 hours ago, Virgil said: Heading to training camp this year with my daughter and some friends. My friend's have twin boys who plan to get Allen jerseys. Does anyone know how autographs work at training camp now? When I went almost a decade ago, they did night practices where all the players lined up at a fence at the end and you waited in line. I got a lot of players this way. I've been told they've done tents with certain players on certain practices. As it stands right now, we are going to the Panthers preseason game and practice on either Sunday or Tuesday. Any hints or insight on the best way to get the kids jersey's signed? Send the Jerseys to Josh Allen at one bills drive. Include a picture of the kids, and a letter, and a postpaid package so he can send them back. Put the kids first and last name on the jersey with a safety pin and paper or something so if they get mixed around somehow he will know the right ones to mail back in the package. Do that now. Then, when camp comes, have the kids wear the jerseys. Go to some of the first practices. New guys almost always sign a lot when they first get here. The enthusiasm wears off fast though. High profile guys will be out there for an hour or more if the team doesnt grab them. So they dont have much time before they can'tr afford to do that. Also McD is a dink when it comes to pleasing the fans at camp so be on your toes. So you want to be at the first second or third practice. You have to watch and see where the players go after practice. Follow where Josh Allen goes. Somebody wil have a TV interview with him. See where they have a camera on him and a reporter. get near there. There will be a big crowd along the fence or rail. See which end he starts on. The see if an adult will let the kids squeeze in front of him. If Allen sees their little face he will make sure he signs for them. Have a mini helmet or autograph ball or whatever for the kids because they will already have their jerseys signed. That way if it goes wrong they still have the autograph. And if it goes right they can show him and thank him and they will have something to say to him. Also bring your own sharpie leave nothing to chance. Also have something for random players to sign too. You might get a few autographs while waiting for Josh to get there. Last if any of the kids are little and cute, get them to wave and smile shyly at Kelly Pegula. She is the youngest daughter. she likes kids. So if they charm her she might help hook them up. Edited June 14, 2018 by BadLandsMeanie 1
CodeMonkey Posted June 14, 2018 Posted June 14, 2018 (edited) 16 hours ago, Virgil said: Heading to training camp this year with my daughter and some friends. My friend's have twin boys who plan to get Allen jerseys. Does anyone know how autographs work at training camp now? When I went almost a decade ago, they did night practices where all the players lined up at a fence at the end and you waited in line. I got a lot of players this way. I've been told they've done tents with certain players on certain practices. As it stands right now, we are going to the Panthers preseason game and practice on either Sunday or Tuesday. Any hints or insight on the best way to get the kids jersey's signed? 4 hours ago, teef said: you're probably going to have to show a little skin. Get there early and catch them coming out onto the field. Some will go to the fence at the end of practice, again near where they go into the building. They used to post a schedule of the 3 players per day that were going to be in the kids autograph tent after practice. My kids used to look at the schedule and figure out which days they wanted to go. However I heard a rumor they don't have the tent anymore. The players do tend to go towards the hot women at the fence, so camp out by a group of them if you can. Edited June 14, 2018 by CodeMonkey
BuffaloBillyG Posted June 14, 2018 Posted June 14, 2018 16 minutes ago, BadLandsMeanie said: Last if any of the kids are little and cute, get them to wave and smile shyly at Kelly Pegula. She is the youngest daughter. she likes kids. So if they charm her she might help hook them up. I tried this with her and being a chubby middle aged man did not have the same success. She did sign her name beautifully on the restraining order however. 1
blacklabel Posted June 14, 2018 Posted June 14, 2018 Yeah, like others have said, you just have to hope you pick an area to spectate from where players will come by after practice and sign stuff. Depends on which field they use as well, there are two practice fields at Fisher, one is artificial turf and the other is grass. Keep an eye on the Bills website for the training camp events schedule. They have an autograph tent set up for the kids and a handful of players are scheduled daily to do an autograph session for an hour or two. It's probably a certainty that Allen will be scheduled for the tent at some point since all the rookies have plenty of appearance obligations to meet in their rookie year. Other than that, just try to find out which way guys are headed after practice and see if you can catch them. Few years back I bought a Clemson mini helmet because I wanted Watkins to sign it. Took it with me two years in a row and just missed him both times. On the upside, I have a friend who gets VIP access for camp and that year (2014) they had the "Cold Front" DL and I ended up with a mini helmet signed by Hughes, Mario, Kyle and Dareus, as well as a bunch of other defensive players. Apparently it was their day to sign stuff along the VIP fence after practice. Aaron Williams stayed out there for over an hour, great kid, signed any and everything that came his way. And when Tyrod was there he was often one of the last players to head inside after a practice as he spent plenty of time signing stuff and giving selfies with people. Also... and I know how most on this board feel about EJ but holy crap in a bucket, the dude is GIANT. I'm 6'1" and felt like I may as well have been 3'7" or whatever. Monster of an athlete. Same thing with Mario Williams. Kyle on the other hand, same height as me and aside from being built like a tank, you wonder just how friggin' strong he is to be able to win his fair share of one-on-one's against OL who are 6'6" and 340 lbs. Leverage, technique and fundamentals, Kyle Williams is an expert at these. Plus he puts in 100% every practice. Model player. Easy to see why McDermott has personally confided in him regarding the direction of the team and why he leans on him heavily as a team leader.
JÂy RÛßeÒ Posted June 14, 2018 Posted June 14, 2018 They do not line the whole team up against a fence any more. I'm interested to see how autographs work this year. They only have 11 open practices at SJF and 5 of those are ticketed. They in the past have had 2 players per session sign in a tent after practice, but to get a guaranteed spot you basically have to get in line early and miss the practice. They don't sign for very long. And they only sign for kids. Signing at the edges of the fields after practice is hit or miss - some players do, some don't. You never know who will be on a certain day, and where they will be so that you can get to them before they move on. The best place that I've seen is in the walkway between the 2 stadiums, but it is reserved for VIP attendees. Looks like this: (PS - I think the guy in the red Bills shirt with the shades is Matt, AussieW's son) I for one am glad I'm not big on autographs...
CodeMonkey Posted June 15, 2018 Posted June 15, 2018 According to the Bills camp website, they still do have the tent. Quote Players will sign in the autograph tent following practice sessions for children age 14 and under (limit one item per child). Due to high demand, waiting lines will be limited to the number of children that can be reasonably accommodated that day. Players may also sign unnanounced along fenced areas after practice. Start time of the autograph tent is flexible each day based on the end time of practice. NOTE: No organized autograph sessions will be conducted following night practices or on those dates in which camp is closed. 1
FappyTheClown Posted June 16, 2018 Posted June 16, 2018 I'll be signing autographs every practice. Come say hi to the worlds greatest clown.
Johnny Hammersticks Posted June 16, 2018 Posted June 16, 2018 It has been my experience that it is quite rare for starters to stay after practice and sign a bunch of autographs. A guy like Shady might stop to sign one or two, or take a quick picture, but then quickly into the locker room. You’ll have better luck getting autographs from rookies and/or lesser known guys. Also, you have to fight through a crowd of middle aged men, who seemingly are looking to get autographs to sell on eBay or something. I “had words” with a guy who kept nudging my 7 year old son to the side, so he could reach over top of him to get his “glossy photos” closer to Charles Clay, Preston Brown, and Tyrod. I’ve found that the best place to get autographs is on the fence just to the right of the large bleachers. Get there 10-15 minutes prior to the final horn, and stay right on the fence. It’s really hit or miss, but I’ve found that we’ve been more likely to get autographs at the night sessions. FWIW.
BadLandsMeanie Posted June 18, 2018 Posted June 18, 2018 And I should add, no thanks necessary to any of the 5 or so posters who gave your straight answers to your question Virgil.
CountryCletus Posted July 27, 2018 Posted July 27, 2018 On 6/15/2018 at 12:13 PM, CodeMonkey said: According to the Bills camp website, they still do have the tent. They always release a schedule of which players will be in the tent each day... well... until this year. I asked my ST account rep and she reached out to the media dept and they said that schedule is to be kept internal... so much for people like me going up... I would pick a specific day that someone awesome was in the tent and drive the kids up for the day... 6 hours round trip to gamble on the kids getting autographs of a decent player isn’t something I like to do... 1
Buffalo716 Posted July 27, 2018 Posted July 27, 2018 I went with a group of old friends and at the end of practice we just stood next to the gate at the end of the field and just hollered at some players that were running sprints Andre Holmes was the first to come up, them Austin Proehl, than finally Peterman who we tried for 15 minutes we were showing him the Peterman Jersey my buddy had so I think that was the only reason he came cus he didn’t really sign others
CodeMonkey Posted July 30, 2018 Posted July 30, 2018 On 7/26/2018 at 10:41 PM, CountryCletus said: They always release a schedule of which players will be in the tent each day... well... until this year. I asked my ST account rep and she reached out to the media dept and they said that schedule is to be kept internal... so much for people like me going up... I would pick a specific day that someone awesome was in the tent and drive the kids up for the day... 6 hours round trip to gamble on the kids getting autographs of a decent player isn’t something I like to do... That sucks man. We live very close to SJF and my kids would always plan out what days they wanted to go based on who was going to be in the tent, so I know exactly what you are talking about.
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