Fanatics Fest
Calling all sports fans, card collectors and highly competitive civilians—Fanatics Fest NYC is back, and this year it’s trading elbow bumps for leaderboard bragging rights. The three-day convention of all things pro sports, collectibles and celebrity name-dropping is returning to the Javits Center from June 20–22, with a major new twist: Fanatics Games, a high-stakes skills challenge with nearly $2 million in prizes on the line.
Think American Ninja Warrior, if the obstacles involved throwing perfect spirals and making WWE entrances in front of a crowd. One hundred participants—50 athletes, celebrities and creators, plus 50 handpicked fans—will compete in eight sports-themed challenges ranging from pitching accuracy and golf swings to goal scoring and “Washer-Dryer Puck Shooting” (we’re intrigued too). The top three finishers take home serious hardware, including $1 million and a Ferrari, with a bonus prize for the top-scoring fan if no civilians crack the podium.
The celebrity list is stacked: Tom Brady, Kevin Durant, Kevin Hart, Logan Paul, KSI, Micah Parsons, Rhea Ripley and Odell Beckham Jr. are just a few of the names currently on deck. It’s part game show, part convention, part surreal fever dream where you might see a YouTuber and an NFL legend competing for a rare trading card.
Not competing? No problem. The rest of the festival is a collector’s paradise, with expanded floor space, exclusive drops, autograph sessions, panel discussions (yes, Jeter and Spike Lee are...