A memorable birthday! (featuring Nick Swisher)

This July I celebrated my 25th birthday which makes me entirely to old to be so excited about birthdays. However this was clearly one of the most memorable to date.

On the day of my actual birthday I got what I consider to be one of the greatest pieces in my collection. My mother in law works in a spectrum that allows here to deal directly with a few members of the Montreal Canadiens. Now most of the people who read this blog can conclude that I am a huge fan. When she handed me the gift I had a good idea what I was looking at and luckily for me my assumptions were confirmed with a Game Used Erik Cole Autographed stick!

She explained to me that she was on the hunt for this stick for months and was able to seal the deal with Erik Cole just days before he left back to South Carolina for the off season. Nothing can make this stick more legitmate then having Mr.Cole himself hand her the stick to have it passed on to me.

Erik Cole Signed stick on the blade

Stick shaft with Player edition name.

Needless to say I was speechless. Game used memorabilia is harder and much more expensive to come by then most of the pieces I collect. A great gift by both of my parents in law who were so considerate of my interest and exceeded my wildest dreams with this gift! Thanks again Kelly & Jay!

The night of memorable gifts was not quite over there. I was also given a pair of tickets for the Yankees Vs. Blue Jays in Toronto! Being a big Yankees fan since the departure of my beloved expos this was a great gift also. Thanks Nick & Sheena!

Prior to going to the game I decided to make jumbo Nick Swisher heads for the game which I thought would be fun. Not only was the idea fun for the event but ended being the key ingredient in one of the greatest sports events I have ever been to.

Nick Swisher Jumbo Head

When the ball park opened I presented myself to the 3rd baseline gates. I waited around during the whole session coming up empty on the autograph front. However highlights included Derek Jeter asking me why the jumbo head was not made of him and Yankees catcher Russell Martin explaining that the sign was "fucking awesome".

Batting practice was now over and no autographs or any sign of Nick Swisher. The security guard started kicking people out for the start of the game. I was lucky enough just to sit and have no one tell me to move. Two minutes prior to the National anthem out came Nick Swisher and walked towards my sign. As expected Nick was awesome, he signed autographs and the whole nine yards. I was also lucky enough to capture the whole Nick Swisher event on tape!

Nick Swisher and I

Also in between innings I was told by a Yankees fan that this photo had made it onto the Yankee's Official facebook page and had over 17 000 Likes! To say this was a good time was an understatement.

Screen shots of my internet stardom!

 To recap Curtis Granderson was also nice enough to stop and sign my ticket stub which I turned into a cut for a mcfarlane base. Here is a look at everything I was able to obtain that day.