No matter how much you're willing to spend, sports fans have to be the easiest to shop for. Just in case your significant other already has a beer mug, license plate, shower curtain….toenail clipper… with their favorite team's logo, here are the top 15 gifts for sports fans in 2013.
Josh Helmuth is the editor of CraveOnline Sports. You can follow him @JHelmuth or "like" CraveOnline Sports on Facebook.
Photo Credit: (mancave) Getty
Sports Holiday Gift Guide
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Rare Beer Club
PRICE: $23.95-$69.95/mo.
BUY IT NOW!: Gifts.comDoes your guy like to drink? Dumb question... Another popular trend over the last few years has obviously been micro brews. However, it's hard to find a Lost Abbey in New Jersey. For men that have a passion for trying new beers this is a gift that keeps giving all year long.
This site has the option for signing up for just one month or up to a whole year at a time, in which rare beers are delivered straight to your home.
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Basketpong
PRICE: $199.99
BUY IT NOW!: Amazon.comBeer pong is so 2001. Take your drink-gaming to the next level with this handy-dandy little thrill of fun. Simply do a Google search and you'll uncover a ton of results. Just make sure you initiate a no-dunking rule.
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Society 43 Team Sunglasses
PRICE: $19.99-$30.00
BUY IT NOW!: Society 43.comWant to rep your team on gameday in style? These officially licensed sunglasses from Society 43 are the way to go. According to their site, the sunglasses are "meticulously designed to match the style and culture of each team, incorporating officially licensed team logos and elements unique to each team’s history or latest expression." Whether that simply means slapping some color and logos on Ray-Ban-esque eyewear or you need some dazzling new collegiate reading glasses, they look totally rad and start around $20.
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High-tech Ski Goggles
PRICE: $169.90-$199.90
BUY IT NOW!: Amazon.comUnderestimating the importance of good ski gear -- I know I'm guilty of it. Novices might have an issue with skewed vision and fogging, or even worse, warping or bubbling -- it's because most ski goggles are made with a double lens at sea level, which causes major problems during your descent from a mountain. At least that's what their website says -- hey, I'm no expert..The Shred Stupefy comes with "nodistortion" technology that equalizes pressure between lenses to prevent the aforementioned problems. They come in multiple colors and styles -- there are possibly 99 problems one can have on a mountain full of fresh powder (don't tear your ACL on the bunny hill), don't make ski goggles one.
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Personalized Bobblehead
PRICE: $59.90-$134.90
BUY IT NOW!: 1MiniMe.comAsk any fan which game they want to get tickets for this season and they'll likely tell you "bobblehead night." I already know I'm going to inherit a collection of hundreds from the games my own father has attended in St. Louis. He has every player from Ozzie Smith to Albert Pujols, but I guarantee you he doesn't have himself. That's right, you can get a bobblehead of yourself in 2013, and it's actually not too expensive.
There are many sites out there that offer a bobblehead making service but 1MiniMe seems to be the most cost-efficient and user friendly. There has been a bobblehead fad in the sports world for well over a decade and it doesn't look like it's going away anytime soon. Go ahead and order that mini-statue of your dad tossing back a sixer while cruising the links.
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Fantasy Life by Matthew Berry
PRICE: $27.95
BUY IT NOW!: Amazon.comMore people now play fantasy sports than those who actually watch sports. Sounds like an oxymoron, I know. Whether he's an avid fantasy football or baseball manager, this book should be at the forefront of his repetoire. Matthew Berry is ESPN's go-to guy for fantasy analysis and I've followed him for years. He does a great job of keeping a level head in an insane business and his book also offers incredibly hilarious stories on how far people will go to win a fantasy league. For guys who don't mind picking up a book and love fantasy, this is a must-have.
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Hydroflask
PRICE: $18.99-$59.99
BUY IT NOW!: Amazon.comThis reusable bottle supposedly works wonders, ensuring your water stays cold for up to 24 hours -- which can be incredibly beneficial for hikers or cyclists.
The technology also keeps liquids hot for up to 12 hours which will keep that coffee perfect over the winter days. Needless to say they don't just do water bottles, but beer growlers and coffee and tea flasks as well. The technology is a double-wall vacuum insulation with BPA-free materials and food grade stainless steel.
I really don't know what BPA means but it sounds impressive and well worth the investment.
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Topps Archived Wall Prints
PRICE: $49.99-$64.99
BUY IT NOW!: Topps.comOne of the coolest and most original gift ideas I've seen this season, Topps is releasing over-sized prints of retro baseball cards for wall art. You can peruse the jumbo cards or photographs turned posters from the 60s through the 80s of some of your favorite childhood baseball stars: Ryne Sandberg, Nolan Ryan, Ozzie Smith...they're all there.
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Polar RC3 GPS Watch
PRICE: $349.99
BUY IT NOW!: Amazon.comThis watch does everything short of microwave food and change diapers. Sure it tracks your route, speed and distance, but it also has a heart rate monitor and includes a personal training program that motivates and gives feedback after workouts while also telling you how your fitness is developing.
It will be awhile until watches can drive us to work and pick up our dry cleaning. Until then, this is the must-have watch for the athlete.
These magnificent time-telling machines start around $200.
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Championship Memorabilia
PRICE: $32.95-149.95
BUY IT NOW!: College Flags and BannersIf you want to go the traditional route, you can't go wrong with something your guy can hang on his wall. After all, all us dudes want is to make our mancaves into a full blown-out sports museum. You don't need to spend hundreds on autographed paraphernalia. You can spend $50-$75 on a legit banner that displays your team's championships.
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Patent Sports Art
PRICE: $29.00-$199.00
BUY IT NOW!: Amazon.comAnother original idea brought until fruition are patents framed into art. The site has a plethora of categories and the sports options are nothing short of amazing. You can buy a copy of the patent originally made for basketball, baseball and football gear...even the bowling ball, among many others. Me, I'm eyeing the baseball bat and glove. So awesome.
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GoPro Camera
PRICE: $199.99-$399.99
BUY IT NOW!: Amazon.comAuto, military, film and music, bike, surf, boating....just a few of the activities you can shop by on the GoPro website. These small waterproof mountable cameras give us new, first-person perspectives many of us have never seen.
With a new viral video going up via a GoPro almost daily, it's been obvious for a long time the possibilities are endless. If you know a guy who's active and would love to capture what he does on camera, you won't find a better gift with these nearly indestructable cameras.
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Draft Mark Home Tap System
PRICE: $49.99
BUY IT NOW!: DraftMark.comAnother genius invention that allows all the guys to enjoy draft beer straight from home. You can read more about it on their website below, but as of right now they allow you to buy the following beers for you to install in this home tap: Budweiser, Shock Top Belgian White, Goose Island India Pale Ale, Goose Island Honker’s Ale, Michelob AmberBock and Bass Pale Ale; adding "refill varieties vary by market."
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Mancave
PRICE: Variable
BUY IT NOW!: EverywhereEvery man needs one. It's in our DNA. Whether you simply give him an actual room, garage, basement...etc., nothing can make a man happier than giving him a place to escape and go absolutely insane when David Ortiz hits another home run or Tony Romo throws another interception. It's a also a great place to put all his wall art and bobblehead collection, because we all know it's not going in the living room -- that's just bad feng shui.
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Football Tickets
PRICE: Variable
BUY IT NOW!: StubHubIt all boils down to having the best fan experience possible, and that simply can't happen without being there in person. The tailgating, drinking in public, listening to obscene shouts from those surrounding you in the stands -- one can't get any of that kind of action sitting at home on the couch. You'd be surprised how cheap some tickets are to bowl games. I was offered $100 from a Texas fan minutes before kickoff at the 2009 National Championship Game at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
Don't forget basketball and hockey are also in season. If you want to see a grown man cry, just surprise him with tickets Christmas morning following the conclusion of all the other gift giving.
