I am a huge fan of collecting sports memorabilia and merchandise. I have tons of silly merchandise, some autographed, some not. I enjoy collecting because I can get really involved in something that I love. Now, there are some thing I own that are worth a lot, and then there are those items that I just had to get because I liked them.

There are few things that are as ubiquitous as sports fans. Every country in the world has sports fans cheering on their favorite team. What do all these sports fans have in common? Almost all of them have collected, currently collect, and plan on collecting sports team merchandise.

The merchandise that is available is amazing and widely varied: from football helmets to dinner plates and wind chimes to hard hats. The many ways fans can support their team through memorabilia and collectibles are innumerable. Some fans are content to just have their favorite team's logo merchandise, while others take their collecting a step further.

The fans that step it up are the fans who try to get their logo merchandise signed by players and teams. Fans this excited about their team are what pushes those very teams to excel. Or at least to try. Autographed sports memorabilia is not as popular as it used to be but fans still get autographs all the time. They will purchase a plain logo football like this: http://www.sports-collectibles-store.com/Football_Helmet_Plaques-p-1-c-23.html and then take it to a game or a signing.

Then you have the fans who just like to celebrate their team on game day with their friends. Fans love to have their favorite team's logo on all of their party supplies and as decorations. Some go so far as to display a huge inflatable NFL player on their front lawn. Now that's team spirit!