Abstract:
A personalized fan certificate having a displayable sports/entertainment/event logo, a team/entertainer/event name, as well as a personalized fan name or affiliation printed on the certificate. The personalized fan certificate allows a fan to have an entertainer/team/event/season/ticket holder status/charity sponsored certification of loyalty, and includes on the certificate the selected logo, decal, or indica of the object of the loyalty, along with text that represents a particular sport, athlete, or entertainer. Each certificate may contain a gold seal with embossed text, and may be printed on certificate paper which in any size. The certificate may in addition contain logos or insignia of larger organizations to which the object of fan loyalty in turn belongs, such as logos of sports leagues, studios, event sponsors or the like.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    The application claims the priority and benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/801,180 filed May 17, 2006 in the name of the same inventor, John Aragon, and entitled PERSONALIZED FAN CERTIFICATE, the entire disclosure of which in incorporated herein by this reference. 
     
     COPYRIGHT AND TRADEMARK NOTICE 
       [0002]    A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. 37 CFR 1.71(d). 
         [0003]    Certain trademarks are reproduced herein, these trademarks are the property of the National Football League, the National Hockey League, Major League Baseball, the National Basketball League, the Arena Football League, the NCAA, the Pepsi Center and other Venues, the National Lacrosse League, individual teams therein and various recording studios. 
         [0004]    The present applicant does not claim rights to nor affiliations with the trademarks represented herein, which are presented merely as examples of trademarks. The present applicant does not offer any products or services bearing these marks and makes no claim whatsoever to any interest in these marks. 
         [0005]    The present applicant uses these marks strictly in this government document and strictly to identify the products offered by the various mark owners, who are not affiliated with the applicant. 
         [0006]    The applicant makes every effort to do the following: the proprietary nature of the marks is respected, and every effort is made to prevent their use in any manner which might adversely affect their validity as trademarks. United States Manual of Patent Examining Procedure, 
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    This invention relates generally to items of memorabilia and specifically to personalized memorabilia. 
       STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY FUNDED RESEARCH 
       [0008]    This invention was not made under contract with an agency of the US Government, nor by any agency of the US Government. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    Enthusiasts of various events, such as concerts, sporting events, entertainment events, and the like, often desire to retain a memento of the event. In addition, enthusiasts of such events often desire a displayable memento bearing various indicia relating to the specific event attended by the enthusiast or fan, such as a sports team logo, a band logo, an illustration or picture of an athlete, a league logo or assortment of league related marks or the like. 
         [0010]    A fan does not have to do anything special besides have a liking for a particular sports team, athlete, entertainer, group or personality. Age, religion, sex, race, IQ, or anything that distinguishes between groups of people doesn&#39;t matter, because anyone can obtain a personalized sports fan certificate to represent their loyalty to their team, athlete, entertainer, group or personality. 
         [0011]    Use of and licensing of team logos for fan identification is an enormous business in the United States and worldwide. The name and logo of a particular team, group, athlete, entertainer, etc may appear on such items as jackets, jerseys, tee shirts, and almost every item of clothing, pamphlets and booklets, and on other items of interest to the enthusiastic fan. Such items are very suitable for personal purchase or for birthday, anniversary and holiday-gift giving as a result of excellent multi-media marketing by leagues and individual teams. License plates and license plate holders, in addition to decals, often display a team of popularity and interest. The merchandising of collectable memorabilia and related products at entertainment events has developed into a sizable and profitable business. Various sporting events can sometimes generate attendance numbers over one hundred thousand. The large number of patrons that attend these various events provides a sizable target audience for advertising and merchandising efforts. 
         [0012]    However, there is not known any “official” designation of true fan status. When a person graduates from high school or college he or she receives a certificate representing their accomplishments and symbolizing their pride, which certificate may often be found hanging up in their home or office. The applicant is unaware of any corresponding certification offered to die-hard fans of sporting events, teams, leagues or personalities, nor of entertainment events or personalities, allowing the individual enthusiast to certify their loyalty and/or support. 
         [0013]    Certain references show other type of memorabilia articles of interest, which all differ from the invention described herein. 
         [0014]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,920,709 issued Jul. 26, 2005, in the name La Malfa, teaches an article having a distance measurement from a first address, that of a fan, to a selected home plate of a baseball diamond. It lacks a “fan certification” feature. 
         [0015]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,413,617 issued Jul. 2, 2002, in the name of Schlier teaches a card for retaining articles largely unrelated to fan loyalty. 
         [0016]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,550,066 issued Apr. 22, 2003 to Brassey teaches a sports jacket which is reversible for displaying alternative or momentarily changing fan loyalties, and thus teaches away from a true fan certification. 
         [0017]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,546,651 issued Apr. 15, 2003 to Tremonti teaches a ticket display device which may have indicia of a specific event thereon, however, it lacks any form of fan certification. 
         [0018]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,082,774 issued Jul. 4, 2000 to Schlauch teaches an article with a facsimile of a fingerprint of a personality, a witness-signed authentication or other certification that the personality in fact signed, fingerprinted, etc the article, however, it lacks any certification of fan status of the fan owner, rather than the personality. 
         [0019]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,532,345 issued Mar. 1, 2003 to Gluck teaches equipment for photographing fans at an event and selling the images. 
         [0020]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,471,059 issued Oct. 29, 2002 to Purvis teaches a cooler with alternative logos on the removable top. 
         [0021]    None of these devices teach a method for a fan to be “certified” as a fan of an athlete, event, entertainer, team or the like. 
         [0022]    Thus it would be desirable to provide a certification identifying a particular individual as a fan or attendee of a given sport, league, team, athlete, entertainer, product, season, event, championship game, concert, slogan or the like. 
         [0023]    It is also an object of the present invention to provide a ticket or ticket stub display device that is a displayable souvenir or keepsake. 
         [0024]    It is a further object of the present invention to provide a ticket or ticket stub display device having various indicia related to the event printed or displayed thereon. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0025]    General Summary 
         [0026]    The present invention teaches an item of memorabilia which allows official certification of an individual as a fan of an object of fan loyalty, which personalized fan certificate may have a displayable sports/entertainment/event logo, a team/entertainer/event name, as well as a personalized fan name or affiliation printed on the certificate. Such objects and indicators of fan loyalty as fan or attendee of a given sport, league, team, athlete, entertainer, product, season, event, championship game, concert, slogan or the like all may be subject of the method. The official certification may take the form of a signature of an official authorized by the object of loyalty to make such certifications, or a seal or the like, and in addition the words “Certified (object of loyalty) Fan” or a similar indication, such as a slogan of fan support. 
         [0027]    The personalized fan certificate allows a fan to have an entertainer/team/event sponsored certification of loyalty, and includes on the certificate the selected logo, decal, or indica of the object of the loyalty, along with text that represents a particular sport, athlete, or entertainer. The appearance of the certificate is that of any other certificate such as a diploma or the like, including borders, text, watermarks and the like as appropriate. The certificate may be numbered and dated and may provide the contact information of the certifying body. 
         [0028]    Each certificate may contain a gold, silver or impressed seal with embossed text, and may be printed on certificate paper which in any size. The certificate may in addition contain logos or insignia of larger organizations to which the object of fan loyalty in turn belongs, such as logos of sports leagues, studios, event sponsors or the like. 
         [0029]    In embodiments, the device of the invention may include means of display of a ticket stub from an event at which the object of loyalty may be seen and which the certified fan attended. 
         [0030]    Summary in Reference to the Claims 
         [0031]    It is therefore a first aspect, advantage, objective and embodiment of the present invention to provide an item of memorabilia comprising:
       a first identification of at least one fan;   a second identification of a first object of fan loyalty;   an officially sanctioned certification of the status of the at least one fan as being a fan of the first object of fan loyalty; and   indicia of the importance of the certification to the fan and object of the fan loyalty.       
 
         [0036]    It is therefore another aspect, advantage, objective and embodiment of the present invention to provide an item of memorabilia, wherein the first identification of the individual fan further comprises: the name of the individual fan 
         [0037]    It is therefore another aspect, advantage, objective and embodiment of the present invention to provide an item of memorabilia, wherein the first object of fan loyalty further comprises: one member selected from the group consisting of: a sporting team, an individual athlete, an individual entertainer, a sporting event, an entertainment event, an athletic league, a athletic season, and combinations thereof. 
         [0038]    It is therefore another aspect, advantage, objective and embodiment of the present invention to provide an item of memorabilia, wherein the first identification of the first object of fan loyalty further comprises: one member selected from the group consisting of: a logo of the first object of fan loyalty, a name of the first object of fan loyalty, an admission ticket to an event including the object of fan loyalty and combinations thereof. 
         [0039]    It is therefore another aspect, advantage, objective and embodiment of the present invention to provide an item of memorabilia, wherein the officially sanctioned certification of status further comprises: a seal, a signature of an official connected with the object of the fan loyalty, and combinations thereof. 
         [0040]    It is therefore another aspect, advantage, objective and embodiment of the present invention to provide an item of memorabilia, further comprising: 
         [0041]    indicia of association with a charity organization. 
         [0042]    It is therefore another aspect, advantage, objective and embodiment of the present invention to provide an item of memorabilia, further comprising: 
         [0043]    indicia of association with a sponsor. 
         [0044]    It is therefore another aspect, advantage, objective and embodiment of the present invention to provide an item of memorabilia, further comprising one member selected from the group consisting of: slogan indicia of the importance of fan support, indicia of season ticket holder status, and combinations thereof. 
         [0045]    It is therefore another aspect, advantage, objective and embodiment of the present invention to provide an item of memorabilia, further comprising:
       a holder dimensioned and configured to hold a ticket associated with the first object of fan loyalty.       
 
         [0047]    It is therefore another aspect, advantage, objective and embodiment of the present invention to provide an item of memorabilia comprising:
       a first identification of at least one event;   a second identification of a first object of fan loyalty involved in the at least one event;   an officially sanctioned certification of attendance at the at least one event of the first object of fan loyalty; and   indicia of the importance of the certification to the first object of the fan loyalty.       
 
         [0052]    It is therefore another aspect, advantage, objective and embodiment of the present invention to provide an item of memorabilia, wherein the first object of fan loyalty further comprises: one member selected from the group consisting of: a sporting team, an individual athlete, an individual entertainer, a sporting event, an entertainment event, an athletic league, a athletic season, and combinations thereof. 
         [0053]    It is therefore another aspect, advantage, objective and embodiment of the present invention to provide an item of memorabilia, wherein the first identification of the first object of fan loyalty further comprises: one member selected from the group consisting of: a logo of the first object of fan loyalty, a name of the first object of fan loyalty, an admission ticket to an event including the object of fan loyalty and combinations thereof. 
         [0054]    It is therefore another aspect, advantage, objective and embodiment of the present invention to provide an item of memorabilia, wherein the officially sanctioned certification of status further comprises: a seal, a signature of an official connected with the object of the fan loyalty, and combinations thereof. 
         [0055]    It is therefore another aspect, advantage, objective and embodiment of the present invention to provide an item of memorabilia, further comprising: 
         [0056]    indicia of association with a charity organization. 
         [0057]    It is therefore another aspect, advantage, objective and embodiment of the present invention to provide an item of memorabilia, further comprising: 
         [0058]    indicia of association with a broadcast organization. 
         [0059]    It is therefore another aspect, advantage, objective and embodiment of the present invention to provide an item of memorabilia, further comprising one member selected from the group consisting of: slogan indicia of the importance of fan support, indicia of season ticket holder status, and combinations thereof. 
         [0060]    It is therefore another aspect, advantage, objective and embodiment of the present invention to provide an item of memorabilia further comprising:
       a holder dimensioned and configured to hold a ticket associated with the first object of fan loyalty.       
 
         [0062]    It is therefore another aspect, advantage, objective and embodiment of the present invention to provide a method of certifying fan loyalty comprising: 
         [0063]    providing a certificate; 
         [0064]    having the certificate officially certified by a first object of fan loyalty; 
         [0065]    providing indicia identifying the first object of fan loyalty; 
         [0066]    providing identification of at least one fan; and 
         [0067]    providing the certificate to the fan. 
         [0068]    It is therefore another aspect, advantage, objective and embodiment of the present invention to provide a method of certifying fan loyalty, further comprising: 
         [0069]    charging the fan a fee for the certification of fan loyalty. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0070]      FIG. 1  is a front view of a first embodiment of the invention, showing small logos representing  34  NFL brand football teams and the NFL brand football league. These trademarks are property of NFL Properties Incorporated and the teams represented and are used for exemplary purposes only. The applicant is not affiliated with the NFL. 
           [0071]      FIG. 2  is a front view of a second embodiment of the invention, showing a trademark of The Beetles brand musical group, trademark owner also not affiliated with the present applicant and the trademark is used for exemplary purposes only. 
           [0072]      FIG. 3  is a front view of a third embodiment of the invention, showing a logo representing the New York Yankees brand baseball team and the Major League Baseball brand baseball league, which are trademarks that are the property of Major League Baseball and the teams presented. 
           [0073]      FIG. 4  is a front view of a fourth embodiment of the invention, showing the team insignia of the Jeff Gordon automobile racing team and the NASCAR automobile racing organization, which are the property of the owners of the trademarks presented. 
           [0074]      FIG. 5  is a front view of a fifth embodiment of the invention, showing trademarks of the National Basketball Association brand basketball league and the Detroit Pistons brand basketball team, which trademarks are the property of the National Basketball Association brand basketball league and the Detroit Pistons brand basketball team. 
           [0075]      FIG. 6  is a front view of a sixth embodiment of the invention, showing trademarks of the Colorado Avalanche brand hockey team and the National Hockey League brand hockey league, which trademarks are owned by the Colorado Avalanche brand hockey team and the National Hockey League brand hockey league. 
           [0076]      FIG. 7  is a front view of a seventh embodiment of the invention, showing trademarks of the Colorado Rockies brand hockey team and the National Hockey League brand hockey league and trade dress and layout of a ticket, which trademarks, trade dress and layout are trademarks owned by the Colorado Rockies brand hockey team and the National Hockey League brand hockey league. 
           [0077]      FIG. 8  is a front view of an eighth embodiment of the invention, showing trademarks of the Arena Football League brand football league, the trademark of the Arena Bowl brand football event, the trademark owned by the Philadelphia Soul brand football team, and the trademark of the NBC/Arena Football League co-branded telecast events. This certificate depicts certification of attendance of a single championship event. 
           [0078]      FIG. 9  is a front view of a ninth embodiment of the invention, showing trademarks of the Arena Football League brand football league, the trademark of the Arena Bowl brand football event, various trademarks owned by the Colorado Crush brand football team, and the notation “Season Ticket Holder”. 
           [0079]      FIG. 10  is a front view of a tenth embodiment of the invention, showing trademarks of the Arena Football League brand football league, the trademark of the Arena Bowl brand football event, various trademarks owned by the Colorado Crush brand football team and the Rampage brand football team, and certification of attendance at a single non-championship sporting event. 
           [0080]      FIG. 11  is a front view of a eleventh embodiment of the invention, showing trademarks of the National Lacrosse League brand lacrosse league, various trademarks owned by the Colorado Mammoth brand lacrosse team and the Reebok brand shoe company, and certification of fan status for a given season, as well as a sporting slogan “The 7 th  Man”. 
           [0081]      FIG. 12  is a front view of a twelfth embodiment of the invention, showing trademarks of the National Lacrosse League brand lacrosse league, various trademarks owned by the Colorado Mammoth brand lacrosse team and the Reebok brand shoe company, and certification of fan status for a given season, as well as a sporting slogan “The 7 th  Man”. 
           [0082]      FIG. 13  is a front view of a thirteenth embodiment of the invention, showing trademarks of the National Lacrosse League brand lacrosse league, various trademarks owned by the Colorado Mammoth brand lacrosse team and the Reebok brand shoe company, and certification of fan status for a given season, as well as the name of the fan. 
           [0083]      FIG. 14  is a front view of a fourteenth embodiment of the invention, showing trademarks of the Arena Football League brand football league, the trademark of the Arena Bowl brand football event, various trademarks owned by the Colorado Crush brand football team and trademarks of various charity organizations affiliated with the league or team (such as the John Elway Heroes Foundation brand charity organization, which is not affiliated with the present applicant) as well as an indication of fan support for the team, “The 9 th  Man”. 
           [0084]      FIG. 15  is a front view of a fifteenth embodiment of the invention, showing trademarks of the Colorado Buffaloes brand college football team, the NCAA brand collegiate athletic league, a trademark of the FOX brand television network, an exemplary trademark of a potential sponsor of athletic events, indicia of a collegiate football league, and an indication of fan support, the “The 12′ Man.” 
           [0000]    
         
           
                 
               
                 
                 
                 
               
             
                 
                     
                 
                 
                   INDEX OF THE REFERENCE NUMERALS 
                 
                 
                     
                 
               
               
                 
                     
                 
               
            
             
                 
                     
                   Certificate 
                   100 
                 
                 
                     
                   Border 
                   102 
                 
                 
                     
                   Seal 
                   104 
                 
                 
                     
                   Logo 
                   106 
                 
                 
                     
                   Alternate team insignia 
                   108 
                 
                 
                     
                   League insignia 
                   110 
                 
                 
                     
                   Fan identification indicia 
                   111 
                 
                 
                     
                   Certification of fan status 
                   112 
                 
                 
                     
                   Certificate 
                   200 
                 
                 
                     
                   Alternate seal 
                   204 
                 
                 
                     
                   Logo 
                   206 
                 
                 
                     
                   Certification number 
                   214 
                 
                 
                     
                   Date of certification 
                   216 
                 
                 
                     
                   Signature of official 
                   218 
                 
                 
                     
                   Certificate 
                   300 
                 
                 
                     
                   Officiation organization 
                   320 
                 
                 
                     
                   Certification text 
                   622 
                 
                 
                     
                   Item of memorabilia 
                   624 
                 
                 
                     
                   (simulated hockey puck) 
                 
                 
                     
                   Certificate of fan attendance 
                   826 
                 
                 
                     
                   Indicia of championship event 
                   828 
                 
                 
                     
                   Certificate background pattern 
                   830 
                 
                 
                     
                   Certificate border pattern 
                   832 
                 
                 
                     
                   Certificate 
                   934 
                 
                 
                     
                   Certification of Season Ticket Owning 
                   936 
                 
                 
                     
                   Certificate 
                   1038 
                 
                 
                     
                   Indicia of event 
                   1040 
                 
                 
                     
                   Certificate 
                   1142 
                 
                 
                     
                   7 th  Man Slogan 
                   1144 
                 
                 
                     
                   Logo of sponsor 
                   1146 
                 
                 
                     
                   Certificate 
                   1248 
                 
                 
                     
                   Indicia of Venue 
                   1250 
                 
                 
                     
                   Certificate 
                   1352 
                 
                 
                     
                   Indicia of Fan Identification 
                   1354 
                 
                 
                     
                   Certificate 
                   1456 
                 
                 
                     
                   Indicia of Charity 
                   1458 
                 
                 
                     
                   Indicia of Officially Sponsored Fan Group 
                   1460 
                 
                 
                     
                   Slogan 
                   1462 
                 
                 
                     
                   Certificate 
                   1564 
                 
                 
                     
                   Logo of Educational Sponsor 
                   1566 
                 
                 
                     
                   Logo of Network 
                   1568 
                 
                 
                     
                   Logo of Corporate Sponsor 
                   1570 
                 
                 
                     
                     
                 
               
            
           
         
       
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0085]    Various trademarks used in the diagrams and detailed descriptions are owned by entities not having any affiliation with the applicant at the time of filing of this application. 
         [0086]      FIG. 1  is a front view of a first embodiment of the invention. Certificate  100  may be laid out in an eye-pleasing way which would allow it “blend in” with other certificates such as diplomas and licenses. For example certificate  100  may be on heavy material such as vellum or the like in addition to paper, parchment and so on. Border  102  is exemplary only, obviously other types of borders may be used. Seal  104  may be an embossed seal, a gold seal, a silver seal, ribbon and so on: in any case, the purpose of seal  104  is to show the authentic nature of the certificate, supporting the indicia identifying the certifying body. 
         [0087]    One important possible type of seal is a notary seal of the type registered and issued by most states. In various jurisdictions, the notarial seal is only applied in the presence of the notary-public. If the notary public attends the event or location at which the certificates are to be given, then the notarial seal serves a double purpose of proving the individual fan&#39;s status but also the fan&#39;s attendance at the event. It will be appreciated that many types of events become icons of popular culture: attendance at the original rock music festivals such as that one held near Woodstock, N.Y. or early counterculture events, certain sporting events such as the NEW YORK JETS Super Bowl victory and the like are considered points of extreme pride to the true fan. (Trademarks WOODSTOCK and New York Jets are exemplary trademarks not associated with the present applicant.) 
         [0088]    Logo  106  may, as shown, be a registered trademark (not affiliated with applicant at this time) of an object of fan loyalty such as the DENVER BRONCOS brand football team, or the logo may be another commonly applied and understood symbol. Alternate team insignia  108  may be used to indicate not loyalty but rather breadth and strength of the object of loyalty. 
         [0089]    League insignia  110  may belong to a governing organization such as an athletic league, a recording label, a movie studio or the like to which the object of loyalty actually has ties. 
         [0090]    In the presently preferred embodiment and best mode presently contemplated for carrying out the invention, fan identification indicia  111  may be a personalization of the item by identification of the fan such as name, seat location, a particular action taken, contact information or the like. 
         [0091]    Certification of fan status  112  is central to the invention. The text which certifies the loyalty of the individual is exemplary only: any suitable text may be used, within the important limitation that a certification of necessity identifies itself as a certification and states the status of the certification or nature of the certification. Thus the certification of the present invention states that the fan identified is a fan certified by the body having the legal rights to use of the trademarks, logos, and other symbols, names and identifiers of the object of loyalty. 
         [0092]      FIG. 2  is a front view of a second embodiment of the invention. It may be seen that the certificate  200  bears further indicia of the official sanction of the certification by the object of loyalty and/or its legal representatives. Alternate seal  204  and logo  206  may provide this feature, however, additional indicia of official sanction may take the form of certification number  214 , the date of certification  216  and especially the signature of authorized official  218 . Combined with a notarial certification ( FIG. 1 ) this may provide a definitive item of memorabilia for the loyal fan. 
         [0093]      FIG. 3  is a front view of a third embodiment of the invention. Certificate  300  may bear indicia of the officiation organization  320 , examples of such organizations include sports leagues, recording studios and other having rights in names and logos of the objects of fan loyalty. 
         [0094]      FIG. 4  is a front view of a fourth embodiment of the invention. This embodiment demonstrates that the certification may take an extremely wide variety of physical forms and appearances. This embodiment lacks a border, while in  FIG. 5  (a front view of a fifth embodiment of the invention) the border is different, and in  FIG. 6 , which is a front view of a sixth embodiment of the invention, the entire certification text  622  is combined with a more distinctive item of memorabilia such as a gigantic simulated hockey puck  624 , but which could just as easily be a baseball plate, a basketball itself and so on. 
         [0095]    Certification text  622  may be located directly on the item of memorabilia or may be attached thereto or appended therewith. 
         [0096]    The certification text of any embodiment may identify requirements the fan met in order to receive the certification: attendance at a particular event or series of events, other requirements or the like. 
         [0097]      FIG. 7  is a diagram of a certificate which holds a ticket  750  or ticket stub associated with attendance at such an event. 
         [0098]      FIG. 8  is a front view of an eighth embodiment of the invention, showing trademarks of the Arena Football League brand football league, the trademark of the Arena Bowl brand football event, the trademark owned by the Philadelphia Soul brand football team, and the trademark of the NBC/Arena Football League co-branded telecast events. This certificate depicts certification of attendance of a single championship event. 
         [0099]    Certificate of fan attendance  826  bears indicia of a championship event  828  as well as standard features of a certificate, in particular, certificate background pattern  830  (the diagram is not shaded, rather certificates frequently have background patterns such as background pattern  830 ), certificate border pattern  832 , printing on heavy stock paper, vellum or the like, use of extravagant fonts and the like. 
         [0100]      FIG. 9  is a front view of a ninth embodiment of the invention, showing trademarks of the Arena Football League brand football league, the trademark of the Arena Bowl brand football event, various trademarks owned by the Colorado Crush brand football team, and the notation “Season Ticket Holder”. Certificate  934  may be much as previously described, and the indicia of fan loyalty to the object of fan loyalty (in this example, the Colorado Crush) is certification of Season Ticket Holding  936 . 
         [0101]      FIG. 10  is a front view of a tenth embodiment of the invention, showing trademarks of the Arena Football League brand football league, the trademark of the Arena Bowl brand football event, various trademarks owned by the Colorado Crush brand football team and the Rampage brand football team, and certification of attendance at a single non-championship sporting event. 
         [0102]    Certificate  1038  may have indicia such as the indication of the contenders (Crush vs. Rampage) and date and venue of the event  1040 . 
         [0103]      FIG. 11  is a front view of a eleventh embodiment of the invention, showing trademarks of the National Lacrosse League brand lacrosse league, various trademarks owned by the Colorado Mammoth brand lacrosse team and the Reebok brand shoe company, and certification of fan status for a given season, as well as a sporting slogan “The 7 th  Man”. 
         [0104]    Certificate  1142  thus includes the 7 th  Man Slogan  1144 , used to indicate that strong fan support, particularly noise, during a game, can be as beneficial as having a 7 th  man on the field. 
         [0105]    Logo of sponsor  1146  (the trademark of Rebook brand shoes, not affiliated with the present applicant) may indicate the commercial endorsement of the sponsor by the athletic league or team. 
         [0106]      FIG. 12  is a front view of a twelfth embodiment of the invention, showing trademarks of the National Lacrosse League brand lacrosse league, various trademarks owned by the Colorado Mammoth and Roughnecks brand lacrosse teams and the Reebok brand shoe company, and certification of fan status for a given season, as well indication of the event (a game) and an indication of venue  1250  on certificate  1248 . 
         [0107]      FIG. 13  is a front view of a thirteenth embodiment of the invention, showing trademarks of the National Lacrosse League brand lacrosse league, various trademarks owned by the Colorado Mammoth brand lacrosse team and the Reebok brand shoe company, and certification of fan status for a given season, as well as the name of the fan. Certificate  1352  may be seen to have a fan name serving as indicia of fan identification  1354 . Note that in alternative embodiments, the identity and other certifications may be in Braille, in bar code, and so on. Note that the certification may include a seal, as discussed previously, which seal need not be printed matter but rather a gold or silver metallic device. 
         [0108]      FIG. 14  is a front view of a fourteenth embodiment of the invention, showing trademarks of the Arena Football League brand football league, the trademark of the Arena Bowl brand football event, various trademarks owned by the Colorado Crush brand football team and trademarks of various charity organizations affiliated with the league or team (such as the John Elway Heroes Foundation brand charity organization, which is not affiliated with the present applicant) as well as an indication of fan support for the team, “The 9 th  Man”. 
         [0109]    Certificate  1456  may have indicia of charity  1458  (note that the present applicant is not affiliated with the named charity, and the trademark of the John Elway Heroes Foundation brand charity is not used with deceptive intent). Indicia of officially sponsored fan group  1460  may also be used: many athletic leagues and teams and entertainers have “official” fan groups. 
         [0110]    Slogan  1462  may be employed as well as an indication of fan support. 
         [0111]      FIG. 15  is a front view of a fifteenth embodiment of the invention, showing trademarks of the Colorado Buffaloes brand college football team, the NCAA brand collegiate athletic league, a trademark of the FOX brand television network, an exemplary trademark of a potential sponsor of athletic events, indicia of a collegiate football league, and an indication of fan support, the “The 12 th  Man.” Certificate  1564  may thus bear indicia (a logo) of educational sponsor  1566 , (the NCAA brand athletic league) and/or a logo of a broadcast or other sporting or news network  1568  (Fox Sports News brand cable TV channel). Logo of corporate sponsor  1570  (Wells Fargo brand banking and financial services) may also be used, showing that numerous different trademarks of different types may be used on the same certificate. Obviously, all such marks should be used legally. In the present application, such marks are merely exemplary and no claim to the good will or any association with the owners of the marks is made. 
         [0112]    The disclosure is provided to allow practice of the invention by those skilled in the art without undue experimentation, including the best mode presently contemplated and the presently preferred embodiment. Nothing in this disclosure is to be taken to limit the scope of the invention, which is susceptible to numerous alterations, equivalents and substitutions without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The scope of the invention is to be understood from the claims accompanying this patent.