About
Pro Footballs Ultimate Fans Associations
In 1999, Visa in conjunction with the Pro Football Hall Of Fame sponsored a new promotion called the “Visa Hall of Fans” award. The charge card company with a select committee would pick one lucky fan from every NFL team to represent their team in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. A special wing in the hall was set up to honor these fans and was named the “Visa Hall of Fans.” In order to be selected, fans would have to write a short essay explaining why they should represent their respective teams in the hall. In January 1999 the first class was selected and the 31 winners were invited to be honored at the Hall of Fame. The media was on hand for the presentations, and those recipients enjoyed themselves so much, that the Kansas City Chiefs winner, Monte “Arrowman” Short and his wife Stacie, came up with the idea of having a yearly reunion of the Visa winners along with the newest winners selected each year. Monte and his wife also began a quest to get the Ultimate Fans into the annual parade held during enshrinement weekend in Canton. The parade marches through Canton to the entertainment of some 150,000 people. The Hall of Fame got involved in helping Short with his idea. He was in need of a sponsor to get into the parade and avoid having to pay the parade entry fee. Hometown Health Network of Canton decided to promote the Ultimate Fans, and the 12th Man float was born.
22 winners of the Visa award were present in that first reunion in August of 1999, and the group decided that they were onto something and suggested an annual gathering every summer during the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies. At the second reunion in 2000, very few fans showed up and the outlook for the reunion was bleak. However, in 2001, the gathering was a much bigger success and Monte Short, his wife and the others decided to come up with a mission statement (TO PROMOTE THE FELLOWSHIP OF ALL FANS, ENCOURAGE SPORTSMANSHIP AND SUPPORT CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES.) and created the Pro Footballs Ultimate Fans Association (P.F.U.F.A.). Monte “Arrowman” Short served as the first President of the P.F.U.F.A., and last summer the reunion was bigger and better than ever. There was an autograph signing and a BBQ for hundreds of children put on by the P.F.U.F.A. at the local United Way. Jerry Vecchia, a.k.a. “True Blue” was elected new President of the P.F.U.F.A., and the group set out to become bigger, better, and more well-known than ever before.