How many times growing up did you play "final countdown"? You know, five seconds left, Roy is at the top of the key, he shoots, he scores! Time runs out... Ladies and gentlemen, the new world champions.

Come on, we've all been there, whether it’s the final heat of the Billabong Pro, Wimbledon, or the NBA finals, everyone has their own sports-fantasy moment.

Now, what if you could make that daydream a reality? I'm sure you could sell some of that. Well, that's exactly what one retailer I visited last week was doing.

Tony Butler and the crew at Sweetwater Surf Shop teamed up with Reef to bring the pros to town for the 4th annual Reef Sweetwater Pro Am. Take note: Tony's home beach is only three miles long and the total population of the county does not place it in any data on large metropolitan areas.

So you can imagine the excitement of any sports enthusiast, being able to see, meet, greet (and even compete) alongside their heroes. Throw in Hurricane Bertha and you have a home-grown excitement that money cannot buy.

The best thing about events like these are the long-term benefits the local surf community will see for months and years to come.

While retail surf moves through the months of summer, it's the excitement created by events like these that will help specialty retailers see a more successful fall and winter.

To everyone running events like these in your area, my hat is off to you! To those of you who are not, you should consider it. The long-lasting effects are incredible.

P.S. Jeremy Johnston from Florida was crowned the 2008 Reef Sweetwater Pro-Am Surf Fest Champion, Nick Rosza (CA) in second, Aaron Cormican (FL) in third, and Lucas Rogers (VA) in fourth.