Second Place is the First Loser

Be that as it may, I’d like to acknowledge the runner-up in this year’s scavenger hunt. Kayla from Durham, NH was leading until the last moments when Jere edged her out. I wanted to share one of her entries for a couple reasons. First, it’s fun to look at the pictures people sent in. Second, I like how she found her items. She didn’t have them handy, so she went out looking for them. I felt I should reward the effort with an atta-girl.

Caps for sale! Caps for sale! Fifty cents a cap!

Thanks to Kayla, and everyone else who submitted entries. And, congratulations again to Jere for coming out on top. I hope the fame this win has brought you hasn’t gone to your head.

And the Winner is…

Congratulations to Jere from RI (author of the fine Sox blog: A Red Sox Fan from Pinstripe Territory) for being the 2009 Section 36 Scavenger Hunt Champion!

It was a tight race for a while there, but Jere’s entry swooped in and had the most items found. He even created a blog specifically to hold the entry pictures. Now, that’s dedication! Here are a few of my favorite examples from Jere’s submission...

A tiebreaker wasn't needed, but this picture would have sealed it. 21 items in one piture!

There's a rule somewhere that says everyone needs a picture with this statue.

Good thing I picked gate C!

Just like I suggested. Hard to tell, but the 2009 wall must have Rice on it.

That's a pretty cool tattoo! I wonder where it is.

Great job! Thanks to everyone who played along.

Congratulations again Jere!

Time’s Up!

This year's Section 36 Scavenger Hunt has ended. Once I sort through all the entries, I’ll be able to announce our new champion!

Sadly, today also marks the end of Adam, from Candia NH’s reign as champion. How about a nice round of applause!

Thanks to everyone who played. I hope it was fun!

2009 Scavenger Hunt Reminder

It’s just around the corner! Red Sox pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training on February 18^th. That’s TOMORROW! The Scavenger Hunt will end, therefore, at NOON Eastern Time TOMORROW! That means you have exactly 24 hours left to get your pictures in! I’ve had several people e-mail me to let me know they were scoping out items. You’re running out of time. I can’t wait to see all the pictures. If you can’t remember the items you needed to find, or any of the rules click here or on the link to the right to find them.

So, keep taking those pictures. Remember, even if you’re a fan of another team, you can enter!

Happy Picture Taking!

2009 Scavenger Hunt Reminder

OK. We’re getting pretty close now. Red Sox pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training on February 18^th. The Scavenger Hunt will end, therefore, at NOON Eastern Time on Feb 18^th. That means you have exactly two weeks left to get your pictures in! I’ve had several people e-mail me to let me know they were scoping out items. I can’t wait to see all the pictures. If you can’t remember the items you needed to find, or any of the rules click here or on the link to the right to find them.

So, keep taking those pictures. Remember, even if you’re a fan of another team, you can enter!

Happy Picture Taking!

2009 Scavenger Hunt Reminder

Let this serve as your FINAL monthly reminder to find the items for this year’s Scavenger Hunt! Red Sox pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training on February 18^th. The Scavenger Hunt will end, therefore, at NOON Eastern Time on Feb 18^th. That means you have exactly one month left to get your pictures in! I’ve had several people e-mail me to let me know they were scoping out items. I can’t wait to see all the pictures. If you can’t remember the items you needed to find, or any of the rules click here or on the link to the right to find them.

So, keep taking those pictures, and feel free to send them in as early as you’d like. Don’t miss out! Even if you don’t think you’ll find enough items to win, it doesn’t mean you can’t play. I’m sure we’d all love to see any items that you do find!

Happy Picture Taking!

2009 Scavenger Hunt Reminder

Let this serve as your monthly reminder to find the items for this year’s Scavenger Hunt! I’ve had several people e-mail me to let me know they were scoping out items. I can’t wait to see all the pictures. If you can’t remember the items you needed to find, or any of the rules click here or on the link to the right to find them.

So, start taking those pictures. Even if you don’t think you’ll find enough items to win, it doesn’t mean you can’t play. I’m sure we’d all love to see any items that you do find!

Happy Picture Taking!

2009 Scavenger Hunt

Once again, we’ve reached the end of another baseball season. It’s more than three months before we can even talk about Spring Training. The Sox may have an interesting hot stove season, but that will be many more rumors than facts. How else can we all spend our time? Once again, I have the answer. I present the Second Annual Section 36 Scavenger Hunt! Last year, I tried using numbers as the items to find. This year, as promised, I’m trying pictures. So, here’s how it will work. Below, you’ll find a list of 36 items. When you find an item, take a picture of it and send it along to me in an e-mail. Whoever sends me pictures of the most items wins. We’ll make the end of the hunt be noon Eastern Time on the day Red Sox pitchers and catchers report to 2010 Spring Training. This both gives enough time to find the stuff, and fills all the time leading up to more baseball. Sound like fun? What do you win if you’re the best? Worldwide fame and adoration! I will post the winner’s name (and picture if one is provided) on this very site and hail them as the 2009 Scavenger Hunt Champion! I’m sure that Adam from Candia, NH has found his worldwide fame to be quite an honor this past year. This year, I’m also offering an official Section 36 scorebook to the winner. This book will use my custom scoresheet, and will be bound with enough sheets to score 20 games. Not too bad, eh? Here is this year’s list of items to get pictures of:

1. Hall of Fame Plaque of a player wearing a Red Sox cap

2. Ticket to World Series game played by the Red Sox

3. Statue honoring Red Sox player

4. Red Sox themed bumper sticker

5. Cereal box featuring Red Sox player

6. Red Sox bathing suit

7. Ticket from Red Sox game against the Yankees

8. Jon Lester baseball card

9. Kevin Youkilis t-shirt

10. Book authored by member of Red Sox (even if it’s “as told to”)

11. Autograph of member of 2004 World Series roster

12. DVD of movie with appearance by Red Sox player

13. Red Sox program

14. Red Sox media guide

15. Red Sox yearbook

16. Red Sox pocket schedule

17. Pink Red Sox hat

18. White Red Sox hat

19. Red Red Sox hat

20. Blue Red Sox hat

21. Red Sox socks

22. Completed scorecard from a Red Sox game

23. Newspaper with Red Sox related front-page headline

24. Magazine with a Red Sox player on the cover

25. Josh Beckett replica jersey

26. Red Sox player

27. Entrance to Gate C at Fenway Park

28. Official Program from 1999 MLB All-Star game

29. Official Program from 2003 ALCS

30. Red Sox calendar

31. McFarlane brand figurine of Red Sox player

32. Red Sox themed tattoo

33. Female Red Sox fan

34. Male Red Sox fan

35. Red Sox cup

36. Red Sox magnet

(As a quick clarification. Unless it says otherwise, “Red Sox Player” refers to anyone who ever played for the Boston Red Sox in a regular season game. That counts even if the player isn’t depicted as a Red Sox player in the picture. So, Johnny Damon wearing pinstripes would qualify.)

Now, since I once again want this to be a scavenger hunt, and not a google search, I’ll need a way to make sure you actually find these items yourself. So, in order to qualify any picture will need to have any one of the following three things in it.

1. You. This might be the easiest way. If you’re in the picture, I can be pretty sure you actually found the item. If you’re shy, I can block you out before using the picture if you ask. This has one advantage in that it doesn’t have to be a new picture. If you went to the Hall of Fame last summer and took a picture with Yaz’s plaque, that would work.

2. A copy of the official Section 36 scoresheet. Just print out a copy, and have it visible in the picture somewhere.

3. The address of this blog, “www.section-36.blogspot.com”, written somewhere in the picture. Either write it out on a piece of paper, on a sidewalk with chalk, on someone’s leg, whatever. (Just don’t vandalize anything). It has to be something in the picture, obviously, and not digitally added.

That make sense? So, send in your pictures to me, section36 at gmail dot com (I bet you know which parts to replace with symbols) It would be nice if you told me which items you thought were in each picture. To make it a little more interesting, if there’s a tie between people who have the same number of found items, the first tiebreaker will be the person who did it with the fewest number of pictures. So, if you get a picture of a Female Red Sox fan, wearing a pink hat and a Youkilis t-shirt while holding a 1999 All-Star game program, it would be 4 items in one picture. That’s a great start, although I’m sure you can do better. (In case you were wondering, the other tiebreaker will just be my judgment as to which pictures I like the best.)

As I’m sure you can imagine, if you send me a picture, you’re stating that you have the rights to send me the picture. You’re also telling me that I can use the picture on my blog in just about any way I see fit (other than the previously mentioned blacking out of faces, if requested).

I think that covers everything! It’s now up to you to start sending me your pictures. I’ll keep reminding you as the moths go by.

Good Luck!