DEL.ICIO.USATLANTANS AT PLAY
Football party gear for armchair quarterbacks
For the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sunday, August 24, 2008
You’ve had eight months to equip your den, basement, media room or man-cave for the start of football season.
If you haven’t, you still have a few days before the first college kickoffs to buy football-related items to set you up for the fall, no matter your budget.
Best Buy
The Samsung a650 series is Best Buy’s most popular LCD television because it creates a more lifelike action picture with no lag time. The 46-inch version runs $2,199-$2,299.
Fanatic Fanz
The Georgia Tech logo lamp, $159.99 at Fanatic Fanz, brightens a media room.
Macy's
The $299.99 Krups Beer Tender has three temperature settings and keeps beer fresh up to 30 days if there’s any left after the game.
“If you can’t be there, you might as well feel like you’re there are much as possible,” said Adam Drake, manager of Fanatic Fanz in Buford’s Mall of Georgia.
Here’s a short shopping playbook:
Bulbs and beer
When decorating a theater or media room, popular items are themed lighting such as a Georgia Tech logo lamp that sells for $159.99 at Fanatic Fanz. The lamps come with other team logos and Drake said a more expensive option, selling for about $500, is the same type of light fixture over a pool table.
For libations, there’s the Krups Beer Tender, a system using Heineken and Heineken Premium Light that has three temperature settings and keeps beer fresh up to 30 days. Suggested retail price $299.99. Sold at chains such as Macy’s, Linens & Things, Williams-Sonoma, JC Penney, Bed Bath & Beyond, Kohl’s, Lowe’s, Bloomingdale’s, Frontgate and Sur la Table, local stores such as The Cook’s Warehouse and at Web sites such as www.amazon.com and www.krupsonlinestore.com.
More comfortable than a bleacher
Chair options are growing for indoors and outdoors, retailers say.
“We’re seeking a shift toward more comfortable seating arrangements,” Drake said. Prices for the chairs his store sells range from $30-$100.
New La-Z-Boy recliners on the market include the sleek Skyler, priced at $1,249, with pillow-top seat cushions. A more affordable option is the $699 Brady chair (no, not as in Tom Brady), which has plush arm rests and the company’s linen eco-friendly fabric, called EcoComfort.
Just like you’re there
“People are buying just for that occasion,” said Brittany Linde, a home theater specialist at Best Buy in Buckhead.
She identified four of the newest high-definition flat screen TVs that bring football action into your home, for those watching their wallet and others able to splurge.
The Samsung a650 televisions are the store’s most popular LCD TVs, she said. The series competes with plasma TVs because of its 120 Hz technology that Linde said creates a more lifelike action picture with no lag time. The black frame also has a tinge of amber, called Samsung’s Touch of Color design.
The 46-inch version is $2,199-$2,299; available at stores including Best Buy, Circuit City, HiFi Buys, HH Gregg, Fry’s Electronics, Sears and online at www.amazon.com.
The Pioneer Elite is a bigger splurge, with 50- and 60-inch Kuro flat-panel plasmas ranging $2,500-$6,500, but offering the best quality and color of any available TV, Linde said.
Budget buys include the Insignia LCD, with a 42-inch priced at $899.99 and a 40-inch Sony Bravia 40S4100 for $1,199 (according to Best Buy prices).