Thursday, July 26, 2012

Getting Closer to the Goal


Yesterday morning I was invited to join the Greg and Dan Show live in studio to talk about my project.  It was a blast and I enjoyed talking with them and all of the listeners about the project.  There was also a pretty  big step taken as I may have found somebody that will get the Super Bowl tickets for the end of this project. While nothing is official it seems this project is certainly set for success.  I am still continuing to trade and am actively looking to trade the package of the Ike Davis glove and the autographed Ernie Banks retired number flag.  If you have an offer please let me know!

You can listen to the full radio conversation by clicking here.  Once I can get the ball rolling on a couple more trades I think we can make this happen and send a child to the Super Bowl!  Thanks for all the support!  I also have some much BIGGER news that I will make official within the next few days!  As always, follow along on Twitter for more immediate updates @TwoBlueDice.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

A Little Help Goes A Long Way



Today was quite a day.  After setting the views records and getting all the support that I did, I couldn't be more proud to be doing what I'm doing.  There was another piece of big news that I am just now able to sit down and tell you all about.  I was given the item above, an Autographed Ernie Banks Retired Number Flag, by a good friend of mine Justin Hopper (@jhopper11).  He didn't want anything in return for the item, but instead wanted me to add it to the trade item I currently have and increase the value for the next trader.  So with that being said I am adding it to the list of items to auction off to raise money for the cause.  

I will keep that one short and sweet and just get right to it. Who wants to trade for the now TWO items that I have.  Please email me with any offers at againsttheodds2012@gmail.com.  Also let me know if you would like to donate any items or make a monetary donation to the cause.  As always, follow along on Twitter for faster updates @TwoBlueDice.


It Just Keeps Getting Better

This week just keeps getting better and better.  When I got to work today I was looking over the blog views and I saw an unusual spike in the views for that time of day.  I investigated and found that many people were being driven to the blog from a Yahoo Sports page!  when I read over it I was amazed at how fast this story has gotten to this level.  The project is getting so much attention so fast that I am in disbelief.  I did not think it would all happen so fast, but I could not be happier about it.  If you would like to check out the article please click here

I can't thank them enough for what they did to help put it on the map.  Today we went over 500 blog views, which, for the third straight day, was a new record for views in 24 hours!  There are many other people contributing to this as well.  There are almost too many to count and I appreciate each and every person that helps spread the word.  My alma mater, Western Illinois University, also did a write up about me as well, which can be seen by clicking here

Again, thanks to everyone who is making this possible.  I am also taking donations in any form.  If you would like to donate (or trade) an item please email me at againsttheodds2012@gmail.com.  If you would like to donate a monotary value of any number please click here and you can be taken to the donations page.  All donations will go straight to the child and his/her family to help pay for the trip to the Super Bowl.  Also please follow along on Twitter for immediate updates @TwoBlueDice.

Friday, July 20, 2012

Big News and Notes


Not even 24 hours after what I believe was one of the biggest days yet in the project, things got even bigger!  I was surprised by a tweet from ESPN personality, Mark Simon, that he included my project at the end of his and Eric Karabell's nationally broadcast sports radio show "Baseball Today".  Although it was just a couple minutes at the end, I felt that I was on top of the world when I heard it.  It means so much to me that people from ESPN would even consider talking about this project.  Click here if you would like to take a listen to the recording.  If you want to skip to the part about the project, start around the 47:30 mark and you will hear it shortly there after. 

It doesn't end there either.  I had a man call me out of the blue and offer up $100 as a donation to the project.  It is the first of hopefully many donations to come.  I will use that money to cover transportation costs for the child and family or for any other costs the family may have.  You can make a donation on the right side of the page if you would like to do so!

Last, but certainly not least, my fraternity brother from college gave me a call and said that his news station, WAND Decatur, was going to be coming out and doing a story with me about the project sometime in the next week.  So in the next week or so this project will be published again in print, I will appear live on radio, and there will be a story on television.  This couldn't get much better and I can't wait for the next trade!  As always shoot me an email at againsttheodds2012@gmail.com if you have any ideas or would like to trade!  Thanks so much for all of the support and please follow along for all update on twitter @TwoBlueDice.

The Word is Spreading


There is no new trade just yet, but the word is spreading and I can feel the next one coming in soon.  My project was recently featured on the front of the sports page in the Peoria Journal Star.  I have received so much positive feed back from just one article and it is such a good feeling.  I was fortunate enough to have people around me that put me in touch with the right people to get this done.  You can read the article here.

I was also featured in a New York Mets blog.  I contacted the blog, Mets Police, a couple days ago in an effort to reach out to Mets fans about my Ike Davis glove for trade.  They were kind enough to put a posting up on their website as well about the project to drive traffic towards the glove.  That article can be read here.

Next week I will be doing a in studio interview on a radio station here in Peoria trying to spread the word about the project even more.  I can only hope that the media attention will catch fire and turn into something bigger so that I can accomplish my end goal of sending an ill child to the Super Bowl.  I may also be expanding the project shortly as well so please stay posted and as always if you have a trade that you would like to propose please email me at againsttheodds2012@gmail.com and follow along on Twitter @TwoBlueDice.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Moving On Up- Second Trade




There for a couple weeks I was thinking that nothing was going to come up.  Boy was I wrong.  I have learned to become much more patient with the process after these past couple weeks of gaining attention to the project.  Many people have started to follow the cause and I have been overwhelmed by the support.

After waiting for a couple weeks the next item has finally arrived.  Although the trader wishes to remain anonymous, I cannot thank him enough.  I traded the A-Rod Rookie card for a Game Model Ike Davis A2000 from Wilson.  Wilson makes Davis's custom gloves that he wears on the field.  While this glove is not game used it is one of very few that were ever made.  This New York Mets Infielder takes this glove out on to the field with him each day in the big leagues.  This particular glove was never sent out to him and is in mint condition with him name stitched into the side.  


I felt these last couple weeks as if the project was going to fail, but after this recent trade I know that it will be a great success.  I have been putting a lot of hard work into this whenever I can and it appears to be paying off.  I really do feel like this is going to change a kids life and I am thoroughly looking forward to the next trade.  If this item is something you are interested in trading for send me an email at againsttheodds2012@gmail.com.  You can also follow along on the Twitter account @TwoBlueDice.  Thanks for all of you supports and I hope to hear from all of you soon!