Nomination: "Head of Marketing" Costume design + TV coverage for NFL games in London
Already reading the nomination, you as a hall of fame voter will probably already be asking "wow - those costumes were great, and its amazing how much coverage you got" but your mind will naturally be wondering "but what's that got to do with the LOC?" Well - strictly, you would be right in thinking that. But in Coach Stubbs Sr's own words, he (rightfully) points out that these are essentially league events as nearly all of us have been to the NFL games together, and we at LOC Network of course love a Wembley Bowl. So - now that the link has been made, it is up to you whether you think this warrants consideration of your hall of fame votes.
But - for the nomination itself. It all started at the 3rd NFL game in London, the Patriots Vs the Buccaneers, where a "flying elvis" head piece was made to support the Patriots. This was curious, and did get some photos (and of course the infamous BRAAAAADY video, as well as a snip in the Patriots season recap highlights), but otherwise quaint. The Broncos headpiece the year after was also good, but did not receive any pop. But that's where the lack of pop begins and ends.
Brady video: https://www.facebook.com/naithan.stubbs/videos/499616454256/
2011 saw the beginning of the golden age: the Chicago Bears costumes. These costumers garnered TV coverage, a shout out during the game from some confused commentators, as well as many a photo from fan and media professional alike.
This was followed up in 2012 with the Patriots vs Rams, where the "minute men" costumes appeared and garnered yet another TV interview.
But the peak of the outfits would come in 2013, when the Vikings came to town. A viking costume was a given, but the idea of a longboat from Coach Stubbs Jr would be a game changer. Not only did the boat that Coach Stubbs Sr devise look awesome, but it was made better by doubling as a shield - so we could walk around as independent vikings and assemble to create a longboat. We could barely walk 2 feet without being stopped for a photo, of course received much coverage, and are frequently used in every NFL london games pre-game warm up videos on the big screens.
Whilst at the peak, the very next year yielded another insane return, receiving much photos, TV coverage with yet more confused commentators - but one of the personal highlights of this authors life, when hall of fame wide receiver Michael Irvin, whilst on the stage at the pregame rally with Neil Renyolds, saw us in the crowd, proceeded to call us out as he was talking about how great NFL fans are, and got the entire crowd (including himself) to applaud us. Truly amazing. Years later, at an NFL UK roadshow, whilst sat in the crowd Neil also mentioned one of the highlights of his time covering the NFL was seeing full grown men dressed as cows at a game. Luckily, I was able to get up on stage to let him know we were there.
2015 would not see a costume as the games at hand did not lend themselves to do so, but in 2016 they came roaring back with Bengals costumes.
2017 saw the Vikings costumes return to a lesser extent than before, whilst 2019 saw the Bengals costumes reappear.
Through the years, these costumes were a smash hit, and the design is all down to Coach Stubbs Sr (though the production was mostly courtesy of Coach Stubbs Sr's mother, who deserves much credit for bringing the designs to realisation). Whilst not anything to do with fantasy in and of themselves, as you can see in the photos many a league member appeared wearing them. It is for you dear hall of fame voter, to decide if it qualifies and is worthy for the LOC Hall of Fame.
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