PLENTY OF NEW OPTIONS AVAILABLE FOR A MONSTER JAM CHRISTMAS

It’s getting close to making sure all of those Christmas presents are bought and wrapped, and if you have Monster Jam fans on your list then you this year have more cool new options than ever before on great Monster Jam gifts and even some neat stocking stuffers to make it a great holiday for any Monster Jam fan.

First and foremost on the wish list for many Monster Jam fans is the new Monster Jam Video Game by Activision. The game is awesome and brings so many aspects to the video screen that have never been in a game before, including the chance to drive 20 of the most famous trucks in Monster Jam and to compete on many of the courses for racing and freestyle that you see the superstars of the sport compete on each year as part of the Speed Monster Jam series. In some locales the game has been hard to find, but it is getting on more and more shelves every day in stores like Toys-R-Us, Wal-mart, Kmart, and Gamestop. I know that in the Best Buy closest to my home the game has just showed up in a couple of different formats within the last week, so if you haven’t found it close to your home keep checking, or of course you can order it online. You can find the game available for most of the major video formats – it’s available for the Nintendo Wii, Play Station 2, X-box 360, and there are also versions you can get for your PC and for the Nintendo DS handheld system. It’s a definite top of the list item for Monster Jam fans that play video games, and this new game from Activision is far and away the best Monster Jam video game that has ever been created.

Speaking of the video game, did you know that in 2008 you will have a chance to “Game Your Way To Vegas”? At selected major stadium events in 2008 there will be regional competitions where 4 contestants will compete against each other, playing the new Monster Jam Video game on the Jumbotron screens. The winners from those live competitions will be flown to Las Vegas for the Monster Jam NGK Spark Plugs World Finals where they’ll compete against each other, plus another “wild card” winner chosen from on-line entries to see who will be crowned the 2008 Monster Jam Video Game National Champion! Watch for details about the chance to “Game Your Way to Vegas” here at this website and at major stadium Monster Jam events early in 2008.

Back to the Christmas ideas for Monster Jam fans, the store section of the Monster Jam Online website is the best place to go – real one stop shopping there. If you haven’t checked the store section out lately do it right now, and you’ll be amazed at all of the awesome items you can get that will make unique Christmas gifts. Sure, the t-shirts and caps for all of your favorite trucks are there, but there are so many other items now available that you should check it out often and keep up on what is the latest. Especially for Grave Digger fans, where the line of unique Digger souvenirs available is just huge.

Of course the Mattel Hot Wheels toys have been popular gift items and stocking stuffers for years, and this Christmas there are more Hot Wheels options than ever before. Lots of new trucks are available in the different die-cast sizes, and now Hot Wheels also has several other Monster Jam toys available, some that fly and crash and you put them back together and go freestyling some more, and there is even a Crash and Smash Stadium now on the market from Hot Wheels.

You are also going to be seeing lots more Monster Jam merchandise of several varieties at major retailers coming in 2008, things like swimwear and sleep wear and new t-shirt and novelty lines. You’re even going to be able to get Monster Jam birthday and holiday cards from American Greetings.

Speaking of birthdays, make sure you sign up your Monster Jam fans for the brand new, ABSOLUTELY FREE, Monster Jam birthday club. You can see the link to click onto for it back on the main page here at monsterjamonline.com, or just type into your browser: www.monsterjamonline.com/birthday. There are lots of neat things about the birthday club, but the coolest has to be that when it gets close to the birthday of your little Monster Jam fan they will actually receive a birthday card signed by some of the biggest superstars in Monster Jam – I saw Dennis Anderson and Tom Meents already signing some birthday cards for new club members when we were in Minneapolis. Again it is free to join the birthday club, so be sure to sign up all of the young Monster Jam fans that you know for the birthday club.

In case you are not sure where to find supplies when it’s time for that birthday party, be sure to go to birthdayexpress.com. That site has a complete line of Monster Jam birthday party supplies, including hats, cups, signs, toppers, piñatas, placemats, stickers, and lots more. Just another new way for Monster Jam fans to celebrate in style, and as we head into 2008 get ready for even more cool Monster Jam gear and other merchandise and supplies to become available, and of course this site will also have the latest info on what’s the newest, latest and greatest items coming out for Monster Jam fans.

So here’s hoping that you have a great holiday and that all of the Monster Jam fans on your shopping list are enjoying some of the awesome new items that are now available, whether you are shopping at the event, on-line, or in major retailers.

Finally in this week’s column just a couple of quick notes from the time I spent at a summit with several of the top Monster Jam teams last weekend in Virginia Beach, with many top drivers and their crews getting prepared for a very busy 2008. I was on hand to help them with interviews as we get ready for not only an incredible live event schedule, but for the greatest year ever on Speed TV as well. Fellow announcer Greg Whitacre was also on hand, and we had the privilege of hosting a holiday dinner and awards ceremony at that summit, and you might find it as interesting as I did that the award for Driver of the Year, which was voted on by all of the drivers and crewmembers in attendance, was won by Adam Anderson. So even with his famous father Dennis and Tom Meents on hand it was young Adam who took the top honors in the vote of his peers. Certainly we’ve never seen a driver so young become a major player, a top contender to win every time out, so early in his career, and that vote last weekend proved to me that he also has already earned the respect of his competitors in the business as well. The younger Anderson was throwing down the challenge to all of the other competitors this past weekend, making sure every one of them knew that he plans on taking no prisoners while driving his Taz truck in 2008. Adam admitted that his father’s performance, winning freestyle this month in Minneapolis with one of the most amazing runs in his 26-year career, has fired him up even more for the new season. Coming off last year where he drove Dennis’ Grave Digger while the icon recovered form a shoulder injury, Adam said he was all about upholding his Dad’s legacy in 2007, and that meant always going after Meents. Now with his father opening the new season so impressively, Adam is even more enthused about the new season – “and now I’ve got both of them to go after” Anderson said, “now I’m going after both Tom and my Dad, so everybody better be ready”. He may be thought of as the Driver of the Year by many of his peers already, but Adam Anderson is clearly not satisfied in the least, instead he is more motivated than ever to race and freestyle his Taz machine all the way to the top of Monster Jam.