The kicker is warming up.

The iconic neon sign located in front of Goal Post Bar-B-Q on Quintard Avenue in Anniston is back on and in the process of being restored to full working condition, owner Lamar Phillips said Tuesday.

"I found some people who agreed to do the work for a reasonable price, and they finished up most of the work Monday," he said.

Phillips said he had been inundated with calls about the sign over the past week. Some customers offered to donate money to fix it; others tried to interest Phillips in relocating the store and sign to Oxford.

"I got calls from as far away as Tennessee and Kentucky. I didn't realize how many people were connected to the sign," he said.

Phillips said two of the animated sign's footballs are currently being rebuilt, and should be affixed to the sign within the next few weeks. The sign was taken out of commission, and some of its footballs were destroyed, as a result of wind damage from a storm in the spring. Two sign-museum curators in Ohio and Washington said signs like the Goal Post kicker are becoming extremely rare and more valuable across the American landscape.

Phillips said the kicker is kicking again, but an electrical short in the sign is preventing some of the remaining footballs from lighting up.

"Hopefully when they hang the footballs within another week or two, they'll be able to fix the other ones.

"(The sign) is really a landmark. It's part of the landscape here, and people are very sentimental about it."