Sunday, April 8, 2018

VILLANOVA X NIKE

     Nova Nation is alive and strong in 2017, as the confidence from the 2016 Championship hasn't worn off.  Along with their great play, they're overall look, including their throwbacks this season, have been at the top of the NCAA for a while now.  One may wonder where can they get the sneakers, warm ups, jerseys of their favorite teams, but sometimes you just can't.  Believe me, I've tried.  (Release the throwbacks!)
     I've always admired the relationships that teams have with the manufacturers of their equipment. From the obvious functionality side and making sure each athlete has the right gear so they can perform their best, but also from the fashion side as well.  I'm a true believer that if you look good, you play good and part of that is feeling confident in the colors and scheme that they put on their backs and on their feet.
     This video provides a behind the scenes look at the current National Champion Villanova WildCats Men's Basketball team and their great relationship with Nike.  Villanova's colors, success, and infamously led by GQ Jay, it's no question that the Cat's have to look as good as anybody out there.  Some of their exclusive NikeID's are as nice as they get and leaves one wondering how to get them or when they'll be released, but unfortunately, these are players only!    Enjoy the video, great job by Coiski Media and George Kiel @georgekiel3. Shout out to Villanova's Equipment Manager, Lionel Brodie, who might arguably have one of the best jobs in the country plus he's a local who grew up a fan and is an alumnus, great story!!  Go Cats! #NovaNation




Sunday, April 1, 2018

EAGLES VS GIANTS 10/19/2003 "WESTBROOK'S RETURN"

October 19, 2003 - Meadowlands, New Jersey 
     When it's the end of the winter and spring is around the corner,  you realize it's a long time before legitimate football is back, you start to look in the past.  When your team hasn't been to the playoffs in a few years, you look even farther.  I happen to stumble on this little gem against our bitter rival the Giants.  I was fortunate enough to be at this game live and I sat in the first row on the second level on the near end zone.  I was with the wonderful Ernst family, wearing our Eagles jerseys, that game was probably one of the worst games I've seen ever, as the 10-7 score before the return noted.  Might have almost dozed off a couple times, but then a little bit of Westbrook magic happened.  Brian was known to be very quick and had skills to make players miss.  We sat in the end zone that the Giants were kicking to so we got to see a great angle of Brian taking the punt.  He stopped, started, stopped and then boom...turbo!  Even that last shoulder tap where we thought his momentum would carry him out of bounds made for super high drama, but yes, our beloved Westbrook took it to the house and essentially won us the game on which would have otherwise been an effort in futility.  Of course, the home crowd was absolutely shocked and disgusted, didn't know what else to do except tell us to get the bleep out of there and we caught countless middle fingers.  We didn't care, our smiles and shock on the other side of the victory carried us to the parking lot for more chili and beer.  The one thing we did know was that we just witnessed a historic play and one that we could talk about forever.  So here's a little love for the Birds as we look to move to a new chapter later on this year........................E-A-G-L-E-S

This is great, I wrote everything above about a year ago, March of 2017.  What a difference a year makes, Super Bowl Champs!  I also enjoy how Cris Collingsworth and Troy Aikman are beside themselves that they kicked the ball to Westbrook.  HOF Play by Play announcer Dick Stockton is amazing on the call as well, it's fantastic!