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Kickoff Parties HUGE Success

The first Kickoff classic we held was the event at the Proctor Blackwoods Restaurant, December 17 th. It was a very pleasant and entertaining affair, with roughly one hundred people attending. They enjoyed food, beverages and football on not one but TWO big screen TVs, frequent drawings for door prizes and a great chance to mingle and get to know each other as well as making or renewing acquaintance with the author, Carl ‘Gator’ Nelson. It was nearly a perfect day...except of course that ‘artifact’ (read: books) HADN’T arrived yet !!. Fortunately, Mike over at Savage Press managed to save the day by binding some of the ‘printer’s galleys’ into a soft-cover ‘preview edition’ of the book, so people could have an idea of what they were buying. What a great idea-the fans were most impressed and a great day was had by all!!

Mike Savage said on www.savpress.com

Coach Carl "Gator" Nelson's Packers "verses" Vikings book launch party is this Sunday from Noon to 3:00 p.m. at Blackwood's in Proctor! (There's a second launch party Thursday the 21st at 7:00 p.m. at the Keyport in Superior). It is going to be a blast! Be there if you can. Door prizes every fifteen minutes! The game on big screen TV! Food, fun, frivolity! What could be more fun?

Well, for one thing...having the book. Sadly, do to circumstances beyond anyone's control the official book will not be ready for the party. But we will have bunch of decent facsimiles and a whole bunch of fun, so come and look the galley over, plunk down your order and have a helluva good time!

The second Kickoff event , held at the Keyport lounge in superior during the December 21 st Packers/Vikings game was HUGE !! I couldn’t hazard a guess as to the number of attendees who came for their chance to get an autographed first edition of “ Packers verses Vikings”, or one of the fabulous door prizes or terrific food. (Well, maybe some of them came to watch the game, too). As previously mentioned- the Keyport was jammed and business was brisk, with many, many people taking advantage of the chance to meet the author and have a copy personally autographed. (Yes, the books DID arrive in time for this event, although it was at 2:30 that afternoon !)

Unfortunately, this party got lots of press in the area, not for the quality of the book or the overall outcome of the football game, but for the near-riot that ensued at the end of the football game. Apparently someone thought the dollar-store door prizes weren’t being distributed fairly and got a little confrontational. Words and pushed were exchanged and the whole thing quickly degenerated into an old-time brawl. By the time it was over -the police were there as was an ambulance and it really was quite the closing!

Read the poem about "The Fight"

Mike said at savpress.com

The Packers "verses" Vikings launch party at the Keyport Lounge in Superior last night was a huge success. In addition to selling over 100 books there were only two fist fights. (See what happens when the Packers win?) The Superior police were called and only one guy was arrested. One lady got a ride to the ER in an ambulance for stitches. What fun. Merry Christmas everyone, and, if you care to...send bail money!

The third and final (for 2006) Kickoff event was held December 31 at the Belknap Lounge in Superior. Again, attendance was very good, with empty chairs being a scarce commodity during the course of the Packers/Bears game on the outstanding 10-foot big screen TV. The books, as well as the free pizza, were again warmly received and for some reason, the door prizes didn’t spark a riot on this night. Thanks to the Belknap !

Thanks to everyone who attended any of these signing events, as well as to Blackwoods in Proctor, and the Keyport and Belknap Lounges in Superior. As YOU know, they are great fun! For the rest of you out there-keep your eyes on the website for announcements of upcoming signings, and as always, if you know of a place that would be PERFECT to host an event-drop me a note at: CoachCarl@packersversesvikings.com.

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