San Jose Sharks Fans: Become FanSided Sports Fan of Year

May 25, 2016; San Jose, CA, USA; San Jose Sharks fans wave rally towels before game six of the Western Conference Final of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the St. Louis Blues at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
May 25, 2016; San Jose, CA, USA; San Jose Sharks fans wave rally towels before game six of the Western Conference Final of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the St. Louis Blues at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /
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FanSided is looking for San Jose Sharks fans for our 2016 Sports Fan of the Year. Submit your entry to win a trip to New York City!

San Jose Sharks fans are well-known for being both loud and proud. FanSided and Sports Illustrated are now teaming up to offer a chance to show who is best.

After all, what fan does not long to compete as the team they root for does? Better yet, who does not want to be crowned a champion?

The contest is free to enter. Furthermore, it could take less than five minutes of your time. There are two ways to enter:

  1. Simply submit a 200-word essay outlining why you are the sports fan of the year. Most fans have no trouble coming up with three or four paragraphs to say about their teams.
  2. Alternatively, many will find it easier to record a two-minute video instead.

This is an important opportunity for fans to represent their teams. The casual fan saw the fervor of the San Jose crowd for the first time in the 2016 Stanley Cup finals. This is a chance to seize that spotlight.

Related Story: San Jose Sharks August Prediction #7: SAP Center

Use the contest to declare, “This is Sharks Territory!” Bring the SAP Center experience to the contest!

Five finalists get profiled on FanSided and receive a free one-year subscription to Sports Illustrated. The grand prize is a trip to New York City, including airfare and hotel. Enter soon because the trip covers three days surrounding the SI Sportsperson of the Year event December 12.

What if I already live in New York City?

Mar 14, 2015; San Jose, CA, USA; Outside view of south ticket entrance of the SAP Center before the game between the San Jose Sharks and the Chicago Blackhawks at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports
San Jose Sharks fans were rewarded for decades of loyalty with a 2016 Stanley Cup finals appearance. Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports /

Hopefully, the winner does not already live in the nation’s largest market. Check with the airline if you do—they may offer an option better than donating it. If not, Blades of Teal suggests using half the plane ticket in combination with other forms of transportation.

Travel to a nearby city by car or train and then fly back. Use the “return” flight to fly out and return by another means. See New England or Washington, D.C. either before or after the event. Surprise a client in a nearby city with a working lunch catered at their office.

Meanwhile, the hotel is no problem. Getting a retreat in your current hometown is probably enough of an incentive. If not, few hotel employees enforce prohibitions of another using your room even when they do exist.

Even if they care, one can count on the lax supervision of the hospitality industry. Make a few appearances at the hotel and a visitor can easily use the bed.

After all, what matters most is being crowned champion. That title outweighs wasting the reward for those in the New York area anyway.