Blake Patterson, co-founder of Wunderfan, wasn’t expecting a celebrity product moment at Super Bowl week.

But in the middle of the chaos—events all over the city, athletes and entertainers everywhere—Blake felt someone lock eyes with him in the crowd.

It was Frank Caliendo, a longtime sports-comedy favorite and impressionist.

A second later, Caliendo stopped him.

“Are you Wunderfan?”

Then he pulled out his phone and showed Blake the app.

“Man, I got your app. I used this last night.”

For a company built around sports fandom, it’s hard to imagine better validation than that: someone with a massive platform not just recognizing the brand, but actively using the product.

And like most “overnight” moments, it took years of building to get there.

The Quick Version: What Is Wunderfan?

Wunderfan is a fan-first loyalty platform that turns sports engagement into rewards.

Fans earn Wunder Coin by watching games, attending events, interacting with content, making picks, and purchasing tickets—then use those rewards inside the app, including toward future tickets.

The goal is to make fandom more rewarding while helping teams and brands drive deeper, longer-lasting engagement.

The “This Could Be Real” Moment

Before Wunderfan, the team built a sister app called Wunderpar, originally as a “hobby.” Early on, Blake had a formative trip to Las Vegas where he met the founder of CBS SportsLine (later CBSSports.com). He created a video concept—Michael Jordan vs. Tom Brady: who’s the GOAT?—and it performed exceptionally well.

That’s when the feedback landed:

Sports wasn’t just an audience. It was their audience.

Instead of building a tech product and hoping it finds a home, the direction became clearer: build for the category that already has obsession baked in.

Wunderfan grew out of an earlier concept called Wunderpar, a golf-based rewards app where users earned points simply for playing.

The team layered in drops, competition, and real-time leaderboards, and when brands like Callaway showed interest, it confirmed they were onto something.

But golf is still niche—so they took the same “reward fans for what they already do” model and expanded it into a much larger arena: mainstream sports.

Inspired by the challenge teams face not just filling stadiums but keeping fans engaged, the idea evolved into Wunderfan—built for football and beyond.

Super Bowl Week: “Beyond Surreal”

Wunderfan was invited to Super Bowl week through connections tied to the NFL and a major podcast, and the experience put the company directly in front of the sports world’s biggest names.

Blake describes it as surreal: meeting and talking with A-listers, having real conversations instead of quick drive-by interactions.

But the Caliendo moment still stands out because it wasn’t networking—it was proof of usage.

People weren’t just saying, “cool idea.” They were saying, “I’m already in it.”

The Next Six Months: Growth Mode

Blake says the company is pushing toward being an “enterprise” app, improving the experience with more gamification and a homepage built for stronger retention.

Up until now, much of the growth has been organic. The next phase looks different:

• Paid advertising

• Partnerships

• Scaling with dedicated teams

• Preparing for a Series A

The New “Aha”: Tickets Without Fees

Right now, the biggest momentum driver is Wunderfan’s ticket marketplace—an international inventory built into the app.

Blake says they have $200M worth of tickets available at any given time, covering sports, concerts, and other live events. The marketplace is location-aware, so it shows relevant events whether you’re in Birmingham or abroad.

The fan benefit is obvious:

• Apply Wunder Coin to lower the ticket cost

• Earn rewards even if you don’t have Coin yet

• Avoid the fee shock that hits on the secondary market

Blake says the ticket side is already nearing $10,000 per day in revenue and has captured attention from colleges and pro teams—because their job is simple: get people in seats, then deliver a great experience.

Wunderfan helps with the first part and improves the second by making fans feel rewarded for showing up.

Building in Birmingham, Growing Everywhere

Wunderfan may be building for a global sports audience, but it’s rooted in Birmingham—and Blake says Innovation Depot has been a big part of that. “My thesis is team, team, team,” he told us. “And here at Innovation Depot, it really feels like we’re a part of a team.” For a founder, that daily support matters: people around you knowing what you’re building, encouraging it, and helping keep momentum moving.

Blake also points to the advantage of the Innovation Depot name itself—especially with leaders like Brooke and Ritchie, and the track record of wins that have come out of the building. In a city he describes as having strong private capital and a growing “yes” mentality, he believes Birmingham can be “Austin 2.0”—a place where founders prove you can build something worldwide from anywhere. For Wunderfan, that global organization is being built right here.