Tag: Tim Brown

Raiders Hall of Fame RB Marcus Allen releases first-ever NFT’s

Raiders Hall of Fame RB Marcus Allen releases first-ever NFT’s

With the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremonies coming up this weekend, a few Hall of Famers are putting out some pretty cool collectibles. In a series called Playbooks, six greats will be featured including Raiders greats Marcus Allen and Tim Brown.

This is the first-ever NFT for Allen who, like Brown, is in the rare group that won the Heisman Trophy and later was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Allen carries the distinction of being the only NFL player ever to win a Heisman, NFL MVP, Super Bowl, Super Bowl MVP and be enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

With that resume, you can bet he’s got a lot of stories to tell. Many of which people may not have heard before and which offer a unique in-depth look at what made Marcus Allen one of the NFL’s greats. He tells those stories through his NFT’s.

“I’m surely captivated by new technology and I also thought it was an innovative way to tell different stories,” Allen told RaidersWire.

“It’s my words and really, truly what it means to me. There are several plays in my career that may not be as meaningful to some, but once I tell the story, it’d sort of a stepping stone to get me where I eventually got to in the Hall of Fame.”

The Playbook series features a set of four NFT’s called Phenom, Star, Legend, and Icon. Essentially covering each stage of his football career from USC to being a star running back for the Raiders, continuing his legendary career in Kansas City, and ultimately being immortalized in Canton.

“I think the stories are endless,” Allen continued. “I could go on and on. When you play as long as I did and played in as many great games that I played in, and you had as many challenges that I had, when you played in a phone booth, and you played in a different era — the game was different, the rules were different, all those different things — I think you’d find that interesting.”

These NFTs are brought to you by the Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Company and Dolphin Entertainment. They are priced at $25 each and go on sale today at Blockfolio by FTX with a limited number of different custom NFT’s available.

Other Playbooks NFT’s feature RB Earl Campbell, TE Shannon Sharpe, QB Joe Theismann, and RB Doak Walker.

The purchase of these NFTs provides several opportunities to unlock a variety of “extra” opportunities for engagement and interaction, including signed memorabilia, “meet and greet” opportunities and other unique experiences.

Collectors purchasing all “Playbooks” from a particular player within a certain amount of time will automatically be invited to join a video conference with that player, for example, while collectors who purchase the most “Playbooks” from a specific player within that same window will have the chance to receive signed jerseys, helmets and in the case of Doak Walker, even two tickets to next year’s Hall of Fame Enshrinement, courtesy of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. More details can be found here.

“I’m just looking forward to this new genre and what we’re creating for collectors. I think it’s fascinating,” Allen added. “It will be interesting to find out how many people are really excited about it. This is what we call progress. This is what we call change. It’s something new and exciting and hopefully, people will see this as something they want to be a part of.”

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Tim Brown talks Notre Dame in interview with Houston TV station

Tim Brown speaks about his time at Notre Dame.

If you win a Heisman Trophy, you’re a legend. Win one at Notre Dame, and the achievement is magnified. Tim Brown is one of those players, and he was asked about his time with the Irish during an interview with Greg Bailey, sports director at Houston ABC affiliate KTRK-TV. The 12-and-a-half-minute interview, which Brown did in advance of appearing at an upcoming local charity event, shifts to Notre Dame at the 7:29 mark.

Brown mentions how his high school team went 4-25-1 during his time there, so it baffled people that Notre Dame would take a chance on a player whose program was in a bad place. Longtime Irish fans with a good memory might remember that in 1984, Brown fumbled the opening kickoff in his first game before making a play that vindicated the second chance he got in that game. The Irish eventually gave Brown the opportunity to be on his first team that finished with a winning record. Given that Brown had played football since seventh grade, that first winning team was a long time coming.

Brown also fondly talks about Notre Dame during his Heisman season in 1987. The Irish that year got off to an 8-1 start and were very much in the national championship conversation. Instead, a one-point loss to Penn State put an end to those dreams, making the following game against Miami irrelevant, though the Irish also lost that game. Regardless of what had to be a bitter ending to his collegiate career, Brown clearly holds everything that happened on and off the field at Notre Dame in high regard, and that’s all any Irish fan can ask for.

Raiders Hall of Fame WR Tim Brown launches first ever H2H collectible NFT

Raiders Hall of Fame WR Tim Brown to launch first ever H2H collectible NFT

How many players in NFL history can boast of earning a Heisman Trophy and a bust in the Pro Football Hall of Fame? That list is a short one. Just ten players long, in fact. And it includes legendary Raiders wide receiver Tim Brown.

To commemorate that accomplishment, Brown is the first of the select group to debut his own NFT. The H2H series will be released by Hall of Fame Resort and Entertainment Company along with Dolphin Entertainment and will feature others such as Doak Walker and Earl Campbell soon to follow.

For those unfamiliar, NFT means Non-Fungible Token. To put it simply, it’s a digital collectible. But this isn’t just like a football card or an autograph. This is next-level stuff. What Tim Brown refers to as a “quantitative leap” from the sports memorabilia that existed during his playing days. The kind of thing that many rabid Raiders or Tim Brown fans will want to own.

“I didn’t know anything about this a couple months ago,” Brown told Raiders Wire on Monday. “So, when it popped up as a memorabilia piece where your fans can possibly have something that is really special, I was all in. I’ve been signing autographs for people since I was 19 years old. Most of the time you’re signing the same pieces; you’re signing the same cards or pictures and jerseys or whatever and really nothing new has come on the scene for a while, as far as NFL players anyway, and this was the opportunity to throw something out there for your fans that is a piece of art that they’ve never seen before that they can own by themselves, that one person can own. We’re doing the Playbooks deal too. I think for me just being excited about reconnecting with the fans in a different way was high on my list.”

In total, there are two NFT’s. The first is a one-of-a-kind collectible which is being auctioned off starting today and going over the next week and includes a surprise virtual meet-and-greet call from Tim to the auction winner’s person of choice, a personalized Notre Dame or Raiders official jersey and two tickets to a future Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony of the winner’s choosing.

The second release is a limited edition (100) collectible called Playbooks. Those collectibles sell for $1500 each with the person who buys the 100th one receiving their choice of a personalized Notre Dame or Raiders official helmet.

What these two NFT’s promise is to allow fans to connect with Tim Brown on a deeper level than perhaps they ever had before.

For Brown, this NFT is about navigating his football journey from lining up in a three-point stance in the backfield at Notre Dame to coming into the league as primarily a return man, to an injury threatening to cut down his career just as it was beginning, to ultimately becoming the most prolific receiver in Raiders history.

“It’s just an incredible thing to be where I am right now, because in my mind I knew I could play in the NFL as a punt returner and a kick returner,” Brown said of the start of his NFL career. “I knew I could do that. I didn’t know all the little nuances of being a receiver, because in my mind, even when I was in high school and in college, I always thought of myself as a running back who was a receiver, even though I played the receiver position most of the time.”

“If you’re a real Raider fan . . . [you] know how this wasn’t easy for me. And my relationship with Al Davis, both good and bad, so I think the real fans that followed me over the years know that,” Brown added. “Is it possible to get all that into an NFT? Maybe not really, but at the same time I think some of the things that you’ll hear and see will remind you of some of the things that I’ve gone through in my career.”

In the 1-of-1 NFT, Brown narrates the experience in which the viewer is led on a journey through the highlights of his career. It was created by Dolphin Entertainment’s Digital Studio in partnership with Shane Griffin, an award-winning visual artist, director and NFT developer. Griffin’s recent work includes projects with Wiz Khalifa and Kanye West, and brands such as Nike, Apple, Adidas and Givenchy. He is a winner of PRINT Magazine’s New Visual Artist and ADC Young Guns award.

The second offering will be the first in an exclusive H2H limited edition series of NFTs which will be available on a mass scale. This series will be spearheaded by the award winning partners at Reference.

This NFT auction will take place on OpenSea digital marketplace from May 17th (today) thru Monday May 24th.

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Who would make up a Notre Dame team on ‘College Bowl’?

Would you like to see these former athletes represent Notre Dame in a different type of contest?

Those of you of a certain age might remember “College Bowl”, a program that featured teams of college students testing their knowledge. Well, NBC is bringing it back in June with Peyton Manning as host and Cooper Manning as his assistant. Presently, Notre Dame is not listed among the schools that will participate. But wouldn’t that be cool if it did?

In fact, what if their was a “College Bowl” version in which the schools were represented by famous athletes that went there? Notre Dame certainly would have its pick of the litter with all of the big names associated with it. With only three spots available, that makes the selection process even tougher. However, we think we’ve picked a team that would be perfect to represent the Irish, one that was put together by virtue of name recognition, if not qualification to be quizzed on their knowledge of the world we live in.

81 days until Notre Dame football returns!

In 81 days Notre Dame football returns to the gridiron. Count down the days now by looking back at Notre Dame’s last Heisman Trophy winner.

81 days from now will be much different.  We’ll all be gathered around televisions getting set to watch Notre Dame start off their 2020 campaign for the first time in Annapolis as they play Navy.

Until then though we’re left counting down the days and remembering some of the best players, coaches, seasons and moments that have helped make Notre Dame football as legendary as it is today.

Today, with 81 days to go until kickoff, it’s a pretty easy guess where we’re going.

81:  1987 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown’s number at Notre Dame

Tim Brown won Notre Dame’s last Heisman Trophy in 1987.  Although some have been finalists and taken the trip to New York’s Downtown Athletic Club since, no Fighting Irish player has won one since.

Brown was a tremendous receiver that went onto a fantastic NFL career with the Raiders before one season with Tampa Bay.  At Notre Dame however, his junior year was statistically better than his Heisman winning senior season.

Brown totaled 174 more yards from scrimmage his junior year (1164 to 990) and scored the two more touchdowns (nine to seven).  That’s what happens when teams blanket you in coverage do everything possible to not let you get the ball and instead let someone else beat them.

Brown’s pair of punt returns for scores against Michigan State in ’87 stand out as his biggest highlight of the memorable year.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9T67HDocsEY&w=560&h=315]

And in Tim Brown days from now we’ll be watching Notre Dame take on Navy.

Let’s go!

Notre Dame Football: Ten Best Jump Ball Catches Ever

Notre Dame has been playing football a very long time and have had some incredible jump ball catches for touchdowns. See the top ten here!

Notre Dame’s advanced media team has been cranking out top ten lists all spring and summer long, helping us get at least some of the sports content we so desperately crave with so few live sports taking place.

They recently released the “Top Ten Jump Ball Catches” in Notre Dame football history, complete with highlights for all.  As always, let’s first watch the ten they chose before briefly discussing them on the next page (to avoid any spoilers).

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACcg9WCvcXo&w=560&h=315]

My thoughts…

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WATCH: Notre Dame Ranks Top 10 Kick/Punt Returns (We React)

Timmy Brown went on to win the Heisman Trophy in 1987 and the campaign got kick-started with a pair of punt returns against Michigan State that season, a team that would go on to win the Big Ten en route to the Rose Bowl.  I’m more on Team Rocket here than Team Timmy

In the days of no actual events we’ve been given different types of content from the places we’re used to seeing press conferences, highlights of practice or sound bytes from different players and coaches.

Notre Dame Athletic Department’s YouTube channel has done that as well.  Last week they introduced the “Notre Dame Minute” in order to keep fans connected with the Fighting Irish football team.  This week we’ve already seen the Notre Dame Fighting Irish athletic page release their own fresh content.

#NDTopTen debuted Monday afternoon with the YouTube channel counting down the “Top Ten Kick/Punt Returns”.  Since we crave sports highlights of any type right now, enjoy their work and the trip down memory lane:

OK, so they made their top ten, now it’s time for mine.  Or at least thoughts on their ten…(made it on a different page to avoid any spoilers that might upset some of you)…

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2 Notre Dame Players Named to ESPN’s All-Time All-American Teams

On the list, two former Notre Dame players were named, but neither to the first-team.

ESPN released their All-Time All-America college football team on Thursday for the 150th anniversary of college football.  On the list, two former Notre Dame players were named, but neither to the first-team.

First up was former Notre Dame offensive tackle Aaron Taylor who was named to the second-team.  Taylor played for the Irish from 1990-93 and helped make holes for the likes of Reggie Brooks, Jerome Bettis, Lee Becton and Ray Zellars to run through.  Taylor was twice a consensus All-American in 1992 and ’93 and won both the Lombardi and Jim Parker Awards in 1993.  He was an absolute monster that would help lead the Green Bay Packers to a Super Bowl XXXI crown at the next level, as well.

The only other Notre Dame representative was Tim Brown who was given the second-team all-purpose position.  Brown won Notre Dame’s most recent Heisman in 1987 but had an insane career leading up to that despite the Irish going just 25-21 in his four seasons in South Bend.

Brown finished his Notre Dame career with over 5000 total yards, 2935 of which came from scrimmage.  He also found the end zone 22 times while wearing blue and gold.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9T67HDocsEY&w=560&h=315]

Perhaps I’m a bit biased but I’d have considered Quenton Nelson for an offensive guard position.  His highlight tape is as impressive as you’ll ever find for a guard and I know Notre Dame never won big during his tenure but he’s an extremely-rare case that made drafting an offensive guard in the top-ten a cool pick.