Athletes, Football, The AFC and Faith

On this day of football,
we look upon ourselves,
Think of those whom we love,
and know by which we play for.

God grant us victory,
As we come to battle...
We fight to win.



I watched the Oprah Interview with Lance Armstrong late into the night last night and I came away with an uneasy feeling. The man appeared uncomfortable, smug at times, remorseful at times, incredulous and groveling. I'm not sure what to think. I do know firsthand, that liars believe their own lies. The lies become truths to them and that's how they get away with it. Not for long because Karma is a fierce mistress and she will make you pay.

I did find him to be quite physically appealing, and I'm not talking about attraction or sexual desire (I will save all of that for the man pictured above) I'm talking about his physicality. Lance is the epitome of an athletic specimen, chemically enhanced or not and I couldn't help but be distracted by his chiseled facial structure, and his defined cheekbones. (I just want to highlight and contour that face)

The point is, it's easy to see how he used his physicality and his cunning to get those around him to drink the Lance Kool-Aid. And they did, and now that the jig is up, they are all coming clean. Lance had that invincible "athlete" mentality that Tiger Woods and Roger Clemens so famously choked on too. He then got greedy and says that none of this would have happened if he had not decided on the come back. An intriguing interview at best and the greatest infomercial ever invented for the OWN Network.

Which brings me to football.

I'm not feeling any swagger, making any predictions or talking any trash. I'm grateful to the man above, (My Tommy) for the luxury of  being able to keep watching Patriots football in mid January. I have faith in my team and I have enjoyed every second of this pro football in the NFL at Foxboro's Gillette Stadium ride. I pray that Tommy never has to sit down with Oprah for anything other than to discuss his Hall of Fame NFL career.

Let's just take it one game at a time.  Good Luck. Go Pats!

Olympic Haute Coture

So everybody knows by now that the US Olympic team's brand new Olympic uniforms were unveiled recently to a whole lot of criticism. Seems the Ralph Lauren designs were not very popular for a few reasons. Some people felt that the French beret was decidedly "un-American", but the real flap came over the fact that the 1000 plus team uniforms were made in China. US Soccer player Heather Mitts and US Fencing Champion Tim Morehouse modeled the uniforms on the Today show, and judging by the public's reaction, you'd have thought that these two were committing some kind of evil crime.

Here's my take:

• since the uniforms were unveiled, every would-bee politician has a public opinion on this matter and of course, it's a great way to gain political credence to be on the right side of an unpopular issue. 
•  Ralph Lauren donated the uniforms, so isn't there some Olympic Uniform Committee that has final say over his designs? And for that matter, didn't they ask about manufacturing? Seems the checks and balancing system is neither checking or balancing anything.
• What I have learned is this: Practically nothing is made in this country when it comes to garments. Many industry insiders side with Lauren when it comes to this issue, but agree that he should have understood the sensitivity people feel about "Made In The USA".
• Since only about 1000 uniforms were created, it's surprising that the job was outsourced to begin with. "The globalization of manufacturing" in this country is nothing new, and certainly not new when it comes to Olympic Uniforms. Until 2008,  the Canadian apparel company Roots designed their unis and I'm not remembering a controversy of this magnitude. Ralph Lauren has already publicly announced that he's committed to making the 2014 Team uniforms in America. 
• The Olympic team is privately funded. A statement  from the Olympic Committee released recently has said, "Unlike most Olympic teams around the world, the U.S. Olympic Team is privately funded and we're grateful for the support of our sponsors," the committee said. "We're proud of our partnership with Ralph Lauren, an iconic American company."

OK, so Ralph Lauren made a huge blunder when he had the Olympic duds made in China. I think he's well aware of the "sensitivity" at this point and the bad PR it has caused his brand. Many fashion insiders confirm that garments just aren't created in this country a fact that is sad, but true. 

I say let this be the first step in changing the industry and the world.

And tell all those media grabbing politicians to "lighten up, Francis".