By Steve Springer
Through a mind-blowing, surprising and pleasing whim of fate, I was selected in October to be the University of Louisville’s contestant in Volvo’s Biggest Fan of the Big East promotion. The company whisked me off to New York, a driver picking me up at dad’s (the observer’s) house, off to the airport, staying overnight at The New Yorker and on to Big East Media Day at Madison Square Garden. A whirlwind trip, but first class in every respect.
A dream come true. My lifelong passion of being a UofL fan and obsession with Big East basketball making it happen. So how’s the contest going?
Well, thanks to all the Louisville fans who have voted for me, I’m currently in the lead in the Big East fan poll with 41% of the total vote in the contest that includes reps from 16 Big East cities. Thanks for getting involved, and I hope you will continue to support a fellow UofL fan.
The fan poll, however, is only one part of the contest, which runs through mid-March. The stakes are huge. In addition to $10,000 donation to the winner’s alma mater and a trip for two to New York for the Big East Finals, the winner of the overall contest will win a brand new naughty Volvo S60.
Over the next four months, Volvo will issue six challenges to contestants to publish blogs (mine will be on Card Game) around the Volvo S60 Biggest Fan promotion. The first one is related to the contest providing my wife Casey and I with a Volvo S60 for the New Year’s weekend and tickets to the University of Louisville-Kentucky basketball game. I will blog about the experience here, as well as make entries on Facebook and do tweets on Twitter. A dream-filled weekend, a wacky, wild, wonderful way to wrap the old year and tip off a new one.
A major part of the challenge is how UofL fans respond to my communications. Please comment and comment often about our favorite team on Card Game, on Facebook (my account is Steve Springer) and on Twitter (@racercard). The judges will be paying close attention to the amount of interaction. So I need lots of friends and followers on those accounts, if you will.
Finally, I can’t tell you how humbled I am to be representing the University of Louisville fan base in this contest. It is an awesome responsibility and I appreciate all of your support. Thanks fellow fans, thanks Volvo, and Go Cards.
Oh my, Steve. Of course, we had no idea of your daughter’s condition. Please pardon any implied insensitivity. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
Thank you, Tom. No offense taken.
Prayers are what we need.
And votes, retweets, facebook status comments, etc. because we could really use that car! 🙂
Speaking from the wife (aka daughter in law of the observer)
We have spent literally months in and out of Children’s hospitals this year. Our only daughter became paralyzed in April and we have spread Card Cheer all year.
As a matter of fact I have been sporting Card Gear all week here at Johns Hopkins and have been asked endlessly how you really pronounce the home of the Cards.
Thank you for all the support you have shown him in this Biggest Fan Endeavor! I really do think he is the biggest fan!
The Springer family is blessed to have a mom who is so on top of everything for our granddaughter Mackenzie. Give her a hug for us, Casey.
I like your spirit an positive nature…..and, based upon my reading posts from The Observor, you come from good stock!
Here’s a suggestion. If it feels authentic to you, I suspect it could influence the outcome of your contest. Spend a little of your time with this contest to engage those who are less fortunate, especially this time of the year. Just like some of the athletes, spend a little quality time one-on-one at the Home of the Innocents, Children’s Hospital, St. John Center, etc. Let those you meet know what’s up with this contest and how they can follow your success. Periodically, touch base with them. No matter how good of a person you may be, this will make you better.
Keep in mind the story of the starfish flinger: A man was walking down the beach one morning picking up starfish and flinging them back into the ocean. A jogger stopped to ask him whay he bothered. The jogger said there were so many starfish on so many thousands of miles of beaches. How could this one man’s efforts possibly make any significant difference? After the man tossed another starfish back into the ocean , he looked at the jogger with a warm smile and said, “It made a difference to that one!”
That’s a great story and thanks for the sage advice. Not a bad strategy, especially considering we’re not too far from a hospital usually nowadays. Just see my wife’s comments below!
You’re representing well, Steve. Keep it up, we’re behind you.
Thank you Keri. Thank you for the kind words and Go Cards!
I just happen to drive a Volvo S60, a red one, and I love that vehicle. Good luck, Steve. You will have my support.
Glad to hear a comment about the car. I am really looking forward to actually driving one in a couple of weeks. The car is comparable in size to an Accord or Camry but with AWD and 300 horsepower! What year is yours? I think the new naughty S60 is revamped and will be a blast to get behind the wheel of.
Hey, Steve. You sound like a great young man and your heart is in all the right places. I look forward to your future posts and will support you every chance I get.
You can thank The Observer for my heart being in the right place – spoon fed the red from the womb. Thanks for the support.
Behind you all the way, Steve. Looking forward to your posts and interacting with you!
Thanks R. I appreciate the support.