Braves "AutographFest" 2009

I’m guessing the $100+ ones assure you autographs, and that the gold and silver ones do not. Considering last year at the World Congress Center actually had activities to do could justify the cost, but to go back to Turner Field when it’s going to be chilly and outdoors, on top of charging exorbitant amounts isn’t going to fly well with a lot of people.

And if it’s not for autographs, and for kids, I wonder how they can explain how 90% of the attendees are over 21?

For the past 3 years my buddies and I have been among the front 5 in line. I must agree that last year’s clusterfrock made me not want to go back. I’m starting to get the feeling this may be the end of what was once a good thing. Oh well, I guess leaving at 2 in the morning from Birmingham to stand in the cold outside the Ted for 5 hours is probably detrimental to my health anyway.

my god, why is hudson less than francoeur? and why is FREE AGENT TOM GLAVINE there at all?

They should have least explained it a bit more than just sticking you with the “what the heck is the gold and silver levels mean?” question and wondering who is going to be on those levels. Hopefully someone gets/they give out more info on it.

this is ridiculous. “StandFest” 2008 was ridiculous. I was lucky enough to get chipper’s auto, but i had to stand in line 4 hours to get it. They need to go back to the way it was in 2007.

the phillies do this TRAVELING CARAVAN every year where they send players and coaches to various places around PA…when i was a kid, it was held at a hotel, but in recent years, its been at a mall…each person gets one item of their choosing signed. and its not all scrubs too…i’ve got signed 8×10s of ryan howard & aaron rowand on my wall, and have cards of guys like curt schilling, scott rolen & gregg jefferies somewhere in my closet.

no utley, rollins or hamels though

Take the money you’d spend on this, add a little more and go see them in Spring Training. I usually focus on the minor league guys when I go see the Braves, but without barely trying this year I got John Smoltz and Chipper Jones within a minute of each other, as well as Yunel Escobar, Martin Prado, and Brandon Jones.
Though really, the best bet is go to the minor league field, pound the hell out of the 200 guys over there, and be able to say you saw them when nobody cared.

pay $100 bucks for Francouers autograph, he signs before games more than anybody!

only an idiot that cant push there way through a pile and yell loudly would go to this

Fan/AutographFest exists mostly for those who are foolish enough to pay a ton for active and/or unproven player autographs. Sure, it might be tougher for those who don’t live in Atlanta, but most popular players do signings all throughout the year. Last season, Lizziebeth gave me word that Tom Glavine was doing a signing at a Macy’s department store, and sure enough, I got him to sign a ball for far less than $100 going to Pujols-knows-what.

Before Cingular got merged with AT&T, Heap used to do appearances at the stores that were closer to his part of the city (Gwinnett). John Smoltz does his canned food drive every year, for where $20 worth of canned goods, anyone can get anything signed by the great one.

Those who pay attention can find out where Mrs. Huddy, the queen of Atlanta Braves charity work is targeting, and she often brings the real Huddy with her.

And then there’s always the annual Brown Bag Bonanza, where you can shell $40 for a crapshoot of signed balls. (I got Jeff Francoeur last season)

And as already mentioned, Francoeur signs more stuff than anyone else, so paying to get him is kind of absurd. Chipper is a little elusive, but if you’re an attractive girl, have an attractive girl, or polite children, he’ll still sign stuff before the games.

And then there’s always away games – most players are nicer on the road, since there aren’t as many people there to see them. Yunel Escobar is extremely polite, and bonus if you speak some Spanish. I only wish I had something to get signed when I met him.