A MAGAZINE FOR THE GREATEST SPORTS FANSports InformerSports Informer

In this edition of Sports Informer we learn about up-and-coming athletes to look out for, get caught up on all the stats we’ve been neglecting, and most importantly learn how to be the best and most efficient fan possible. We will also be testing your knowledge on how good you are at identifying important sports figures out of their uniforms. That is, if you are ever fortunate enough to encounter them.

LINEUP

10 Fan of the Month

7 Test your Knowledge

3 Understanding the Athlete

5 Athletes on Our Radar

11 Tricks of the Trade

Have you successfully mastered the sports face? Then you just might be the fan of the month!

How efficient are you at identifying the most important sports figures in our nation?

Informing you of the newest up-and-coming athletes on the scene.

How do athletes feel after a game? How can you, as a fan, facilitate them? We will show you how you be the best fan in the stadium.

It’s important to be aware of who the athlete is and how to interact with them, were here to help.

Sports Informer / Summer 2014 / 02

Facilitate

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UNDERSTANDING THE ATHLETE

Athletes can be difficult to understand because it is nearly impossible to put yourself in their shoes. They are famous icons who demand respect and adoration from those who surround them. It’s important for a fan to know this and to be able to facilitate all of the athletes needs at a moments notice. Who knows if you’ll ever get a chance to meet an athlete but if you do you’ll want to be prepared because you may never get that chance again.

In our ‘Must Haves’ section we list some of the most important things for fans to carry on them at all times. In order to facilitate athletes you must always be prepared. To be a top fan you have to be memorable, having these objects on hand will not only make you memorable but admirable. To be admired by someone who is obviously so far above you would be astonishing.

Apart from interacting with the athletes, which you might never be able to do, it is also important to facilitate the fans around you. We know it sounds crazy but befriending those who also follow the same athlete you do could play in your favor. Think about it, you usually have to interact with these people at every game you attend and if you created a group atmosphere and comradely then you might be able to gain exposure. With this exposure you might be seen by a television broadcaster which might lead to you meeting your favorite team! In the end that is a fans true goal so it would be foolish not to facilitate the fans around you. Another benefit of socializing with these fans is that you just might make some great friends. But be careful not to get to caught up in friendships and forget to facilitate the athlete.

Demonstrate

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UNDERSTANDING THE ATHLETE

Often fans don’t think to demonstrate their understanding for the athlete. They wear the jerseys and go to the games but there is so much more they could do to understand what their favorite athlete goes through on a daily basis. (Now to clarify we aren’t promoting you to become the athlete but rather metaphorically put yourself in their shoes.) Below are some examples of athletes wearing traditional athletic wear. In order to understand the

Athlete it’s important that you don their garments. Not only is the material important but so is the color. Athlete’s wear very high chroma colors that are often complimentary. For example, the Chicago Bears colors of Blue and Orange.

Experiencing these materials is essential to understanding an athlete. They basically live in these fabrics and if you were to do the same it might allow you the potential to feel what they feel. It wouldn’t be the exact same, of course, but it would still make your understanding of what an athlete goes through all the better. While we recommend you wear similar fabrics, but we don’t recommend that you attempt to wear any of the accessories that an athlete might wear (i.e. helmet, pads, braces, goggles, ect.). The idea is just to understand the athlete not become them. In no way would we want fans to become the athletes.

MUST HAVES!

Water Bottle

Camera

Icy Hot

Heat/ Ice Pack

Healthy Snacks

Memorabilia

In case you are seeing them before they have had a meal you want to be prepared with something simple they can just munch on while you talk to them.

You might find an athlete out having a bite to eat or something and notice he’s in pain. Having some Icy Hot gives you a great lead in to start a conversation.

If you are seeing them after a game they are probably very tired and thirsty. Having a water bottle handy my give you some extra kudos.

You must casually document your inter-action with the athlete so you can work on your composure if you are ever lucky enough to see one again.

A lot of sports are played outdoors no matter the weather. Having these on you, depending the season, could not only benefit you but also make the athlete appreciate you!

You want to show the athlete that you’ve been a fan for a long time. Maybe show them a picture of you at a game or something you bought in the gift shop to show you allegiance.

Below is a list of things that you should carry on you at ALL times in case you were to come in contact with an

athlete of any kind.

ATHLETES ON OUR RADAR

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It can be difficult for a fan to branch out from their teams and see the potential some athletes have. Here is where we are showing you athletes to watch out for. They are up-and-coming and they are fierce competitors! Some of them you might recognize as they have been very present in the media but others may surprise you. We

know some talented people but some are just extraordinary, like the ones shown here. If you know someone who is amazingly talented and going unnoticed drop us a line. If you let us know they just might be featured in our Athletes to Know section next month! We are always on the look out for new talent.

Currently apart of the Green Tornados, Fletcher is an Up-and-Coming soccer player in Minnesota. Even though he’s only 12 Fletcher has a lot of promise because of how passionate he is. Attending every camp in the Midwest he is bound to blow up soon!

This 25 year old defensive end from Waukesha Wisconsin already made his debut in 2011 when he was drafted to the Houston Texans but is heating up in these recent seasons. This past year he won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award by a landslide!

Short might be little but he displays the promise of a young Reggie Jackson. Growing up in Philadelphia he hopes to become a

Philadelphia Phille. Short has unbelievable hitting skills even at age 7 so we can only imagine where he will go from here!

Raul Fletcher

JJ Watt

Peter Short

Who to Know in the Upcoming Season.

The Memphis Grizzlies have a realistic shot at the NBA Finals, which would elevate Gay’s status to a different level. He already averages more than 18 points per game, but it’s playoff success that will make him more of a household name.

Kass is a very passionate gymnast from Minot, North Dakota. Since she was a baby she has been interested in dancing and flexibility so it’s safe to say shes been training her whole life. Her interest lies in the floor exercises and she is ranked 1st in the U.S.

Sanderson has a bright future in front of her. Ranked number 1 in the country for her age division in the 5000m long distance run she is definitely showing promise. It’s important to keep an eye out for the ones with so much passion.

In 2013, Myers won the AL Rookie of the Year award and despite the fact that he did not join the Rays until their 70th game, Myers led AL rookies with a total of 53 RBIs in the 88 games he played.

He also is the first hitter to win the award in under 100 games.

Samantha “Sam” Gordon is an American football running back from the Salt Lake City area. Her abilities as a football player

gained her global acclaim when she was nine years old. If she doesn’t have deep potential we don’t know who does!

Kaminsky is currently a junior basketball player for the Wisconsin Badgers and holds the Wisconsin single game record for points.

Not only was he named to the First Team All-Big Ten but also named the West Regional Most Outstanding Player in 2014.

Rudy Gay

Livia Kass

Riley Sanderson

Wil Myers

Sam Gordon

Frank Kaminsky

Sports Informer / Summer 2014 / 06

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TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE

To be on the top of your fan game it is very important to be well versed on the characteristics of each athlete. Being a fan isn’t just about knowing the statistics of your favorite athlete, it’s also about knowing what they look like so when the camera angles get out of control you know who you are rooting for. This quiz will test to make sure you can identify your favorite athletes and other by only certain characteristics!

1.

2.

Do You Have What It Takes?

Quiz

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3.

4.

5.

Quiz

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1. Tim Tebow’s eyebrow and forehead, New York Jets [Influence: 29% - Awareness: 48% ]2. Michael Phelps’ abs, U.S. Swimming [Influence: 25% - Awareness: 70%]3. Usain Bolt’s armpit, Track [Influence: 23% - Awareness: 27%]4. Derek Jeter’s cheek and ear, MLB NY Yankees [Influence: 22% - Awareness: 46%] 5. Peyton Manning’s , neck, NFL Denver Broncos [Influence: 21% - Awareness: 56%]6. Gabby Douglas’ collarbone, Gymnastics [Influence: 19% - Awareness: 47%]7. Aaron Rodger’s mouth, NFL Green Bay Packers [Influence: 19% - Awareness: 27%]

6.

7.

Sports Informer / Summer 2014 / 10

FAN OF THE MONTH

LEIF SUKOW is this issues fan of the month! He is Kansas City, Missouri’s number one fan. Sukow has been following them since he was in utero. He comes from a long line of Chiefs fans and was not about to break the tradition.

You’re probably wondering what makes Sukow special enough to be our fan of the month. Well, unlike others he has learned to imitate the face athletes make and therefore can understand them better. This makes him an ultimate fan because he is learning to communicate more efficiently from afar. He came to the conclusion that he would not always be able to talk to his favorite athletes so he picked up on the silent cues that athletes use when they talk to each other.

Athletes have been doing this forever and we were surprised that no one else had picked up on this silent form of communication. When Sukow found out about this secret

niche he did not keep it a secret, like some might have. But rather was so excited by his discovery that he immediately went to the internet. He started putting out announcements of how to do this and when was the opportune time. He found it very important for others to be aware of this which lead him to write a book. You can now purchase Sukow’s book called “Face’s of the Athlete: Ways to Communicate from Afar” on bookstands at your local bookstore and Barnes & Noble.

He aims to help more people be able to communicate just like him and that’s why he’s our Fan of the Month! We at Sports Informer are always on the lookout for fans who passionately love their team but also care about the fans around them. After all, we interact more with the fans around us than we probably will with any member of the team. To apply to be our next Fan of the Month go to our website at SportsInformer.com.

Honorable MentionsWilliam Birk, 25Birk is a Green Bay Packers fan from the Twin Cities in Minnesota! Even though he’s not a Wisconsinite Birk proudly wears his Aaron Rodgers Jersey!

Dave Stohl, 45Stohl is a Boston Celtic’s fan from

Lowell Massachusetts! He has proudly painted his face green and white on more than one occasion!

Leif Sukow

Face’s of the Athlete: Ways to Communicate

from Afar

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TIPS ON TALKING

Athletes can be challenging to talk to because they are obviously so far above you. Even the people at Sports Informer cannot converse with athletes without practicing before hand. It’s important to always be on top of your game when talking with athletes because they are very important and have vary valuable time. It would be disrespectful to talk gibberish and run over your words while in front of them.

So how do you talk to them? Well always be respectful using words like, adore, empower, perfect, top notch, impressive, along with other appropriate positive feedback. Beware not to be critical of the athlete because you don’t understand them and your intelligence could never compare to theirs. The athletes are not looking for critical feedback when they are speaking with you but rather positive input on how amazing they are. Remember to never compare yourself to the athlete, they will always exceed you in intelligence, passion, and agility

passion, and agility. This is great because then you don’t have to focus on trying to hone in on these skills but can put your efforts on learning the language of the athletes. If you ever actually get to talk to an athlete be aware that their time is precious. You will probably not have more then 2 minutes to talk to them. With this time you should ask them to sign something and take a picture with them for documentation. To fill the silence you should compliment them and tell them a story of how you went out of your way to support them at a game.

Yet, if you are not fortunate enough to meet an athlete we would recommend that you learn the silent language of the athlete, shown above. This will help you communicate from afar instead of being up close. You can learn all about it in the new book, “Faces of the Athlete: Ways to Communicate from Afar” by Leif Sukow. It will teach you the ways of the athlete and make it easier for you to communicate.

FAN ENCOUNTERS Recently, Ryan Lochte was injured by a fan. The culprit? An over excited teenage girl. The girl ran at him and as he attempted to catch her the two fell. The girl remained unharmed but Lochte hit his knee on a nearby curb and tore his MCL and received an ACL sprain. The important take away here is that you should never come at an athlete without permission. If the girl had been patient and calmly approached Lochte then she probably could have gotten a photo with him instead of making him miss his training by foolishly injuring him.

SPORTS INFORMER© 2014 Proximity

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.A.

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