National Football League

Giants fans try for 'Timsanity' trademark

Published Apr. 1, 2012 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

Three die-hard New York Giants fans have contracted a sudden case of Timsanity.

The Big Blue crew -- a Manhattan man and a pair of Brooklyn-bred brothers -- are competing for the trademark to "Timsanity," a phrase they hope to splash on athletic gear to capitalize on the mania surrounding new Jets quarterback Tim Tebow.

"For me, it's just business," said Frank DeGrim, 29, an East Village resident who is a manager at a hedge fund.

"When I heard he was coming to New York, I realized there's an opportunity here," he told the New York Post.

DeGrim filed his application with the US Patent and Trademark Office on March 21 -- a day before Daniel and Christian Perez, a Brooklyn-born duo.

"It's an excellent business opportunity and it makes sense to register the mark -- so it doesn't surprise me at all that someone else had the same good idea," DeGrim said. "Luckily for me, I just happened to have it first."

Daniel Perez, 37, said he still likes his chances, and even offered to team up with DeGrim. "I'll probably reach out and see what we can work out together," he said.

Perez, who works in marketing for MTV and lives in Queens, said he and his brother root for Giants quarterback Eli Manning -- but makes an exception for Tebow.

"I would like him to prove everybody wrong. All you hear is that he can't play, and all you do is see him win," he said.

Perez has also snapped up three Tebow-centric domain names, including TimsanityShop.com, TebowTimeJets.com and TimsanityOnline.com.

DeGrim -- a New Jersey native who also bleeds Giants blue -- has not claimed any sites, but said he's already receiving offers from people interested in working with him.

Timsanity derives from "Linsanity," spawned in February after the emergence of Knicks guard Jeremy Lin. There are nine Linsanity trademark applications pending -- including one on behalf of Lin himself.