Stepping Into the Story: Fanatics Fest is Disneyland for Sports Fans — With Disney Included
As I approached the Javits Center on the second day of Fanatics Fest, two sports card collectors walking just ahead of me chatted about the backpacks they carried, presumably holding the cards they were seeking to sell and space for the new treasures they hoped to find. One laughed and remarked that they were "basically Russell from Up." His friend immediately understood the reference, and the two continued toward the convention center.
It was a brief exchange, but it stayed with me throughout the weekend. Before I had even entered the building, Disney had already become part of the conversation because two sports fans instinctively reached for a Disney reference, in this case more specifically a Pixar character, to describe their own experience.
Fanatics Fest is a challenging event to boil down into a simple label. It isn’t simply a card collecting or sports memorabilia show. It is a four-day event held at New York City’s Javits Center celebrating sports culture. While card collecting is its foundation, Fanatics Fest brings together athletes, leagues, celebrities, brands, collectors, and fans in an event that blends athlete autograph and photo opportunities with interactive sports experiences, live entertainment, and sales and giveaways of sports memorabilia like caps, sneakers, jerseys, etc.
One of the most interesting observations from Fanatics Fest was that the desire to participate was not limited to the fans walking through the convention floor. The athletes and celebrities who appeared throughout the weekend did not simply entertain, appear for photographs or signings. They were there to experience something themselves. That distinction became one of the defining characteristics of the event. Fanatics Fest created moments where the traditional distance between athlete and fan, celebrity and spectator, seemed to disappear. For a few minutes, we were building a moment together.
And while you might see them browsing to increase their own card collections, it was the Fanatics Games where this shared experience really brought the event to life. The competition brought together some of the world's greatest athletes, entertainment personalities, and everyday fans in a series of challenges. Tom Brady, Novak Djokovic, David Ortiz, Jozy Altidore, WWE Superstars including Cody Rhodes and Jade Cargill, and celebrities such as Justin Bieber, DJ Khaled, and Kevin Hart all stepped into the same sports games available to everyone walking the show floor.
The WWE Superstars stage was my favorite place on the show floor. It was rather understated at first glance. A very simple backdrop. Most of the time you’d simply find people lingering around chatting with each other, posing for photos with the nearby oversized WWE belt, perhaps purchasing an event-specific themed shirt. The crowd would start to buzz in hopeful anticipation, but we often didn’t know who truly would appear. The crowd naturally swelled when someone like Justin Bieber or John Cena appeared. More people gathered, phones came out, and the energy ratcheted up.
But ultimately, once the entrance music and graphics hit, the audience seemed willing to celebrate whoever was walking down that ramp. Whether it was a fan who travelled all the way from Hawaii living out a dream, a child who was maybe hoping that one day they would be making their own way in the WWE, or it could be Cam Skattebo, an NFL player channeling Triple H, or even WWE Superstar Jade Cargill making a surprise appearance, the crowd understood the assignment: they were there to help create that moment.
It was on this stage that legendary quarterback Tom Brady, a seven-time Super Bowl Champion, fully embraced the opportunity to emerge from a coffin like WWE legend The Undertaker as a bell loudly tolled and the audience shrieked. And Justin Bieber appeared in an NWO tee, delighting the crowd with a surprise performance. Like us, they were there to experience something outside their own world. WWE has its own heroes and spectacle, and they got to step into that universe.
As a longtime Disney Parks fan, these moments brought to mind the feeling of sitting in the pilot's seat aboard Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run or narrowly escaping the boulder in the Forbidden Temple. The magic of those experiences isn't simply that you're visiting a world you recognize. It's that, for a few minutes, you have a role within it. Fanatics Fest captured that same feeling. Whether stepping up to the UFC Striking Challenge to compare your score with Logan Paul, Jade Cargill, or Justin Bieber, testing your skills across football, basketball, golf, and soccer, or creating your own WWE card capturing a top rope leap at the ESPN activation, fans shifted from their usual role of spectator to participant.
That understanding of participation also helped explain why the Disney Fan Draft fit comfortably within Fanatics Fest. Held early in the weekend to celebrate the Disney x Champion NFL collection, the Center Stage presentation took one of football's most recognizable traditions and applied it to the worlds of Disney, Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars. With NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell presiding over the selections, fans were invited to do what they already love doing during a draft: debate the picks, imagine the possibilities, as the characters were revealed with typical Disney showmanship.
As fans, we got to see them in that world too. We watched Roger Goodell embrace Wreck-It Ralph and Rob Gronkowski briefly sword-fight Captain Hook. What could have been simply a product showcase became an opportunity to weave together passion for sports and love of Disney.
As a longtime sports fan and Disney Parks fanatic, Fanatics Fest offered something familiar. Its magic was not found in the displays of sports memorabilia or by simply seeing the athletes and celebrities we admire. It was found by embracing the invitation to step into the action, play together, and create shared memories.