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Uni Watch DIY Project: A Cross-Stitch in Time Looks Mighty Fine

[Editor’s Note: Today we have an awesome DIY project from Kevin Tiessen. Enjoy. ”” PL]

By Kevin Tiessen

In 1993, everyone in my eighth grade home economics class was supposed to pick a sewing project to work on for the semester. But I convinced my teacher to let me work on a cross-stitching project instead. I had been to crafts stores with my mom, an avid cross-stitcher, and had noticed there were sports-related cross-stitch pattern books available — including an NFL book, which I bought. I figured I’d use the book to cross-stitch an NFL helmet design.

For those who aren’t familiar with cross-stitch, think of it as a fabric grid with squares, and there are holes in the fabric at the corners of the squares. The thread is brought from the back side through a hole with a needle, and is then placed through opposite holes to form Xes on the front side of the fabric, like this:

If you look at that picture, you can see that the thread is started from the bottom left to top right, then completed with the bottom right to top left. So the resulting images are actually tiny Xes with various colors of thread.

Although my goal for the home ec project was to complete one helmet, by the end of the semester I had finished four of them, so I decided to keep going to complete the entire AFC [click to enlarge; you can also click the Raiders helmet at the top of the entry to see a really high level of detail]:

The pattern book I’d bought had the Pat Patriot design for New England, but Flying Elvis had just been introduced, so I improvised my own pattern for the Patriots, instead of following the old one in the book.

Just to give you a sense of scale, each helmet is approx 5″ x 4″ and the frame is 28″ x 22″. I don’t have the pattern book anymore, but I’m guessing that there are about 2,000 to 3,000 squares per helmet.

I don’t recall what grade I received, but I remember that the teacher was impressed.

After doing the helmets, I worked on a few smaller logo projects for my favorite teams:

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Great stuff. Big thanks to Kevin for sharing it with us.

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Giant mess: The New York Post is reporting this morning that a sports memorabilia collector named Eric Inselberg has filed a lawsuit alleging that Giants personnel — including team brass, quarterback Eli Manning, equipment director Joe Skiba, and others — conspired to create bogus “game-used” jerseys and helmets. According to the suit, Giants personnel took non-game-used gear and essentially beat it up to make it look like it had seen game action, and then passed it off on the memorabilia market — and, in at least one case, to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. You can read the full story here.

I have no idea if any of this is true (and since Joe Skiba is a longtime friend of Uni Watch, I hope it isn’t), but it wouldn’t be all that surprising. As you may recall, two years ago former Mets equipment manager Charlie Samuels pleaded guilty to stealing millions of dollars’ worth of memorabilia, which he was funneling to the collector’s market. Seems like there’s a lot of fraud on that scene. Too bad.

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Sox sleuthing, continued: Earlier this week I showed a photo of 1966 White Sox manager Eddie Stanky wearing a light blue cap and explained the story behind it.

Now Keith Olbermann, who provided that photo, has come up with another one (click to enlarge):

stanky2.jpg

This photo, like the previous one, was clearly taken at Tiger Stadium (and was therefore presumably taken in May of 1966, just like the other photo). And as you can see, this one shows the true light blue color that the Sox were wearing on the road that season, instead of the more gray-ish tone seen in the other photo. I’m pretty sure that other photo was mistakenly color-corrected to make it appear less blue.

We know that the Sox played a three-game series in Detroit on May 13, 14, and 15 of 1966. Did Stanky wear the blue hat for all three of these games? Only one? Two out of three? Reader Paul Kosman has helped answer that question by finding the following note, which appeared in the May 15 editon of The Chicago Tribune:

That note was referring to the May 14 game, so now we know Stanky wore the cap on that date. And I think we can assume that he wasn’t wearing it on the 13th, or the note would have mentioned that. We don’t yet know if he wore it again on the 15th. Also, just as importantly, this note suggests that Stanky was the only one to wear the blue cap, at least on the 14th.

(As an aside: As you can see, the Tribune reporter referred to the Sox’s 1966 road uni as “sickly looking.” Two months earlier, during spring training, that same reporter had written an article in which he referred to the Sox’s “light blue denim uniforms, which some unkind critics say look like something in which a prison team might be garbed.” Odd that he’d refer to them as denim, which they clearly weren’t. In any case, he obviously wasn’t a fan of that uni.)

Meanwhile, reader Marc Viquez was looking through the White Sox’s 1970 yearbook and spotted two scouts wearing similar but distinct light-colored caps (click to enlarge):

sox.png

Anyone know more about those caps?

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PermaRec update: Class rings that are lost and then found are the subject of the latest entry on the Permanent Record blog.

ESPN reminder: In case you missed it yesterday, my latest ESPN column is about how the weather may affect Super Bowl uniforms and equipment.

Meanwhile, I have another ESPN column today, on 10 uni-related things to watch for in the Super Bowl.

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Norwegian pants not included: As longtime readers may recall, four years ago I got into curling and participated in a bonspiel (that’s curlingspeak for “tournament”) in Minnesota. My team’s skip for that event was Craig Brown, a two-time national champion and a super-nice guy. We’ve stayed in touch over the years, and I’m happy to report that he’s an alternate on the U.S. Olympic curling team that will be going to Sochi next week. I’m super-happy for him.

Craig is trying to make back some of his expenses and spread the gospel of curling with this nice line of curling T-shirts. If you’re a fan of the sport, or if you just want to help out someone who I can totally vouch for as a swell guy, please consider purchasing one of them. Thanks.

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Tick-Tock: Today’s Ticker was compiled and written by Mike Chamernik.

Baseball News: How about this exquisite Padres cap cake with a period-appropriate green underbill? Bradley Ridenour says his wife made it for a friend who loves hats and has the initials S.D. ”¦ The Florida Gators have updated their home uniforms. “They have switched from an orange drop shadow to an orange outline,” says Dan Wunderlich, “and the number font matches the change the football team made from traditional block to a more angular font.”

NFL News: If they NFL is so lucrative, why can’t they pay their Super Bowl volunteers? ”¦ Paul is quoted several times in this article on Nike and the Super Bowl. ”¦ A few readers sent in this gallery of photos from Super Bowl I. Gretchen Mittelstaedt saw that a player (or ref?) wore a wedding band during the game, and Joel Mathwig noticed Bill Curry (No. 50) carrying Jerry Kramer’s (No. 64) helmet. “According to the boxscore, both were in the starting lineup,” he says. “Not sure what’s going on.” ”¦ Fans will decide which Super Bowl team’s colors will light up the top of the Empire State Building (from Aaron McHargue). ”¦ An ad for the Super Bowl in a London newspaper depicts Peyton Manning in a Colts jersey (from Chris Taylor). ”¦ Former Lions RB Jahvid Best, who retired from the league because of multiple concussions, is suing the NFL, Riddell, and Easton-Bell Sports. ”¦ The New York Times has a piece on Madden “stunt players,” the guys who mimic football motions for animations in the video game. ”¦ Really cool, really old and really expensive football memorabilia is up for auction during Super Bowl weekend (from Tommy Turner). ”¦ The Raiders cheerleaders’ etiquette handbook has been leaked. It includes tips on handshakes, napkin placement and attending parties hosted by players (from Brinke). ”¦ Barry Manilow wore a Terry Bradshaw jersey for a concert in Pittsburgh in 1981 (from Willard Kovacs). ”¦ Jeez, what an oddball name for a newborn Seahawks fan. Can you believe it? Cydnee?

College Football News: Notre Dame released its plan for renovations to Notre Dame Stadium (from Warren Junium). ”¦ Hey, joke’s on you, ignorant Badgers fan (from Don Schauf). ”¦ Florida A&M is reportedly toying with some chrome prototype helmets (from Jeremy Avery).

Hockey News: The Rangers and Islanders played their Stadium Series game last night. There are literally hundreds of photos here, but the higlight was definitely Isles goalie Evgeni Nabakov going toque-on-mask, a visual cliché that never gets old. ”¦ The AHL Hartford Wolfpack will be wearing these jerseys Saturday for “Pink the Rink” (from Jordan Lazinsk). ”¦ The WHL’s Tri-City Americans will wear Nuclear Night jerseys Friday (from Greg, who didn’t give his last name). ”¦ Many readers submitted this: The Phoenix Coyotes will officially become the Arizona Coyotes next season. The team will also have a new shoulder patch for its home and road jerseys. ”¦ This striking Dr. Pepper hockey sweater listing is too urgent for the next Collector’s Corner. Try to ignore the price tag. (thanks Brinke).

NBA News: LeBron, Kobe and Kevin Durant will have some flashy shoes for the All-Star Game. Not sure how Kobe will wear his since he said he’s not playing in the game (from Joseph Andersen). ”¦ The Kings released plans for their new arena. ”¦ Paul Deaver found a Thunder soda display at a Walmart. ”¦ A Jordan Brand fan made a snow angel of the Jumpman logo.

Grab Bag: New overused word to avoid: iconic. ”¦ Nevada’s Marqueze Coleman wore sunglasses (or some sort of tinted goggles) on the court last night (from Brian Catlett). ”¦ Comedian Lewis Black had some thoughts on the USA’s opening ceremony outfits and the Sochi Games (from Ed Westfield Jr.). ”¦ ESPN made a 30 for 30 short film on the “Great Imposter” Barry Bremen, who from 1979 to 1986 finagled on-field access and impersonated, among other things, a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader and an NBA All-Star (from Paul Deaver). ”¦ “Yes, this is the exact headline from Wired.com,” Tom Mulgrew says. “Badass Dive Suit Will Make Even Astronauts Jealous.” ”¦ Very minor tweak to Morton Salt’s Umbrella Girl.

 
  
 
Comments (94)

    The Skibas should look on the bright side…they will still be able to ply their trade managing prison uniforms in the clothes house at the federal pen.

    By any standard, that is a foolish, reckless statement.

    It is also misguided, since no criminal charges have been brought in this case. Just a civil lawsuit.

    By any standard it’s an ironically (not iconically) funny statement.

    As for “no criminal charges have been brought in this case” I will say…All in good time, Mr. Hipster, all in good time. US Attorneys and FBI agents have this thing about being lied to. They don’t like it.

    If the complaint’s allegations are true, then he may have committed perjury, which is not good news.

    HOWEVER… I have a deep, unabiding hatred of news articles that pass off allegations made in a civil or criminal complaint as fact, at least without presenting the defendant’s response to those allegations. While this article is pretty clear in stating that the allegations are just that, I would caution anyone against jumping to conclusions based on a mere complaint. Give it time.

    Sorry to get all lawyer-ly.

    “The Skibas should look on the bright side…they will still be able to ply their trade managing prison uniforms in the clothes house at the federal pen.”

    #HYSTERICAL!

    “If the complaint’s allegations are true, then he may have committed perjury, which is not good news.”

    The complaint is on Deadspin. The perjury is more a statement of fact than an allegation. I would have loved to have been in the courtroom when the US Attorney had to explain to the presiding judge why the prosecution withdrew charges against the memorabilia dealer.

    Skiba and the Giants are a customer of the company I work for. Specifically, Skiba is our contact, so hearing this news is sad and worrisome. Hopefully Skiba was coerced by management and will be able to retain his job, but I fear that wont be the case…

    Re: Uniform cakes Yesterday a Czech fan of the German soccer team Bayern Munich, @SergiiVolkov, tweeted this picture of a birthday cake his wife had made for him.

    link

    Never seen Barry Manilow in concert (though I am a faily big fan). I have heard that he sometimes starts his concerts by saying, “This will be best 2 hours of your life…..or the worst!”

    Very nice cross-stitch stuff. My Mom did tons of cross-stitching so I am quite familiar with it and the time and technique required. I even have done a tiny bit myself!

    Nice job!!

    The Stadium Series gallery has a bunch of pictures of Islanders players kicking around a Cosmos soccer ball before the game.

    I sure love the Stadium Series. Hoping for the Sharks vs, say, the Kings @ AT&T Park. Wouldn’t that be great, hockey right by the SF Bay.

    How do the goalies keep their toques on their masks? Are they hooked in somehow? Otherwise I imagine they’d slide around/off.

    Cosmos fans are pretty tickled about it.

    The Islanders did that once before as a warm-up, but in their locker room. Much cooler on the snow under the open sky.

    For those who don’t know, the Cosmos currently play at Hofstra University, across the street from the Islanders’ Coliseum.

    I had to double-take for a moment because I initially read that as “ticked”, but yeah, “tickled” makes a lot more sense.

    The more I look at the pictures of the actual game between the Rangers and Islanders, the more I’m convinced that the angled sleeve number treatment is a completely pointless gimmick.

    That’s unquestionably a referee wearing the wedding ring in that Super Bowl I picture, not a player. But howzabout the fact that players needing a drink still used a shared ladle?!
    link

    The referee (or official) seems to also be wearing a rubber band on his right wrist. What on earth is the purpose of that?

    That’s how they tell what down it is, I believe. Since you have 4 fingers and all. Yeah, I know its on the scoreboard and there’s a orange down marker. But I guess some refs want to count downs themselves.

    Yep. The sportswriter thought it was “sickly”? I think it’s “sick”, as the kids might say these days to describe something that looks good. Light blue and navy blue are two shades of the same color that, I think, work really well together. (Assuming that’s navy and not black.)

    The disparaging things contemporary players and coaches had to say about the then-innovative uniform prove the old saw; “It never pays to be ahead of the curve.” The throwbacks we find appealing and eye-catching all did time in the doghouse when they were new.

    They should bring it back as a regular uniform, not as a throwback. Or the Cubs could use it; just replace the “Sox” on the cap with a C, and you’ve got an almost perfect hybrid of their early-’40s powder blue roads and their ’50s gray roads.

    There’s nothing at all “sickly” about this awesomeness.

    I did like the ice cream man references, though, and also remember hearing them when the Mets tried white caps in 1997. Some things never change.

    Agreed!! That Sox uni looked fantastic! I really like the powder blue hat (although the Navy hat still looks good on top of that uni). I really think it would improve their look if they got rid of the damn black and went back to those colors. Heck, I even think the old red unis (with the powder roads, of course) look better than the junk they wear now.

    Are the “TH” and the “ER” in that soda display actually hanging from the ceiling somehow???!!

    I don’t know if I’m brave enough (like the guy in the pic) to walk under 400 lbs of Sprite suspended by fishing line!

    The whole thing is hanging from the ceiling – note that the UND bit’s sides extend beyond the bottom layer that’s touching the palettes below. That’s not possible if it’s simply stacked on top of the palettes without being suspended from above.

    I’d love to see a diagram of how the whole thing is constructed and suspended. Theory: The hanging cases are empty.

    “From the players to the networks to the hotels, everybody involved with it makes a killing,” he said of the Super Bowl. “Why would anybody volunteer to work for free for the Super Bowl? Would you volunteer to work free for Netflix or Disney World?”

    People volunteer for Disney Events all the time, My wife is a nurse and she does medical volunteering for their big marathon in January in exchange she gets a free ticket to the park. They have a whole volunteering program that gains points to free park admission for regular volunteers

    But in that instance your wife is getting something of value, namely free admission to the park. The only thing of value a Super Bowl volunteer get is apparel (which your wife probably gets as well). She’s also working what sounds like a principally charitable event. The Super Bowl hardly qualifies as such.

    Moreover, by utilizing a staff of volunteers, the NFL not only avoids having to pay them wages, but avoids workers compensation liability if a volunteer sustains an injury (or in the instant situation, frostbite even) while working an event. All of which an organization which compensates its paid shill to the tune of something like $25 million annually can well afford. Which is really kinda shameful when you think about it, though not surprising given the actor.

    She gets a jacket out of the deal.

    do we know for sure that Super Bowl volunteers don’t get something of value or we just hypothesizing here?

    Here’s what we know: They’re not getting minimum wage (or any of the other protections that come with lawful employment). And that, in and of itself, has a devaluing effect on the labor market.

    Tony:

    For what its worth I volunteer for races as well – I see it that I’m volunteering for the runners, its part of the culture of the running community that we volunteer for one another. I don’t see it that I’m volunteering for the for-profit race organizer (Disney or Ironman or Competitor Group or whoever).

    we’re not a part of that community and do it because it saves use a ton of money on Disney tickets and helps her meet her work’s community service quota

    I mean no criticism, but if your wife is receiving benefits for her service, it’s not pure volunteerism.

    Something is “iconic” when it can stand for many things. A good example is the Eiffel Tower, which can stand for “Paris”, “France”, “Europe”, “Tourism”, “Vacations”, and “Architecture” as well as itself.

    I agree with the overall point of the article. It clearly shows how “iconic” has become overused in the last nearly decade and a half. However, I don’t like how the article started.

    I believe the author took the sentence and quoted it rather incorrectly: “We… infused our sense of minimalism and lightness–which is part of our DNA–and simplified them into these iconic styles.” That make it sound like “these iconic styles” refers to the different styles of eyewear that are iconic. After all, look at the picture in the header.

    The whole sentence is this: “We took some of those but then infused our sense of minimalism and lightness–which is part of our DNA–and simplified them into these iconic styles.””

    Removing “took some of those but then” in this quote is like removing a constant in a math problem. So instead of 1+2=3, removing that pharse turned the quote into 2=2. That’s bad form.

    Big ups to Kevin for an excellent project! The thing that knocks my eyes out about stitchcraft is the vibrance of color in thread and yarn. It’s what makes the uniforms so visceral.

    Indeed. The very definition of volunteering, is that you do it for free.

    Trust me, if the NFL ever said “Any volunteers?” and got no responses, they’d srat paying. But there will always be LOTS of volunteers for big events like that. people just want to be part of it.

    Yep. I mean, I don’t completely agree with it, a big firm like the NFL not paying the folks who work the SB, but the bottom line is that people will do the work for free.

    Professional golf events have hundreds of volunteers. I volunteer every year for a tournament. I love those four days and don’t need to be paid. In fact, we volunteers pay for our own apparel. Ten bucks an hour wouldn’t make me enjoy the event any more than I already do. I’d hate to be replaced by temporary workers who view the task as nothing more than a job.

    I’d hate to be replaced by temporary workers who view the task as nothing more than a job.

    Um, maybe that person really needs the job.

    Um, are you f!@#ing kidding me? To you, I guess I’m just a scab. My son and I volunteer at the DB Championship in Norton, Massachusetts every year. He started 14 year old standard bearer – and does it to VOLUNTEER for the tournament. Did he steal a job from someone who NEEDS one? Although the PGA enriches many beyond belief, it provides millions for charity. The charities are real and are listed on the website and ranges from Tiger Woods Learning Center to the local foodbank. I volunteer, it’s rewarding, and my fellow volunteers, this may surprise you, are wonderful people from all corners and walks of life. And we do a great job.

    Um, I am an employer who highly compensates employees, who have a union and I pay 100% of their health benefits. We pay into a pension plan for them. My employees want their job and are great at it, and my life is better for it. It’s never about just needing a job. I really don’t need a stayathomecatdad tell me that I’ve taken employment away from someone who NEEDS a job, merely because I volunteer at a golf tournament for a few days. I am also a union member (since 1979), and know what it is like to lose a job (or three) because of foreign competitors and American workers who are willing to work for far less than I was making. I’ve lived it pal.

    Your extremely condescending “um,” speaks volumes. Pretty high on yourself today, I guess. Curious about your interns’ salaries, health plans, and benefits package. Care to enlighten us, Paul?

    One thing at a time, Richard:

    1) My “um” was a response to your notion that you’d hate to be replaced by someone for whom the work was “nothing more than a job,” as if there’d be something wrong with that. There’s nothing wrong with a job being “only a job.” In other words, you established a hierarchy of labor, suggesting that your volunteer labor is somehow better than someone else’s non-volunteer labor. I was simply pointing out that not everyone can afford to volunteer, because they actually need the money, and that their labor may be every bit as good as a volunteer’s.

    2) I wasn’t accusing you of taking a job from someone. I was simply making the point that someone for whom the gig might be “only a job” could be just as capable — and perhaps in a more needy position — than you.

    3) I’m not sure what relevance my work-at-home status has on this discussion, nor my cat ownership. If I worked in an office and had children, would that make my opinion any more or less valid? No. (Similarly, if *you* worked at home and had cats, would that make *your* viewpoint any more or less valid? Also no.)

    4) Uni Watch interns are badly undercompensated. However, (a) Uni Watch is not a wildly lucrative enterprise like the Super Bowl or a pro golf tournament; (b) related to the above, I myself am badly undercompansated for my work on this site (although not as badly as the interns); and (c) if need be, I can do Uni Watch on my own, without the interns. The Super Bowl would be totally fucked without these volunteers. They should be paid.

    I realize it’s fun to make an issue personal (i.e., taking offense at a perceived slight, giving back a personal slight of your own), but the larger issues are not personal. They’re just issues.

    1) O.K., I hope we can play nice again. “Um” is no way, and you ought to know better, to respond in civil discourse. It was intentionally meant to diminish my observation or opinion. It is one step below “duh.” I only tried in just a few sentences to show how much my son and I love to volunteer. That’s all. I didn’t write anything to deserve to be disrespected or spoken to rudely. My “um” wasn’t even the first “um” of the day! It’s disrespectful, insulting and condescending. Period. The tournament does hire people and contract with companies (security, catering, buses), and witness that the overwhelming majority lack a whit of enthusiasm for the work, and it hurts the customer experience. You are right there is nothing wrong with a job being just a job. I only expressed that I would hate to be replaced by someone who just had to be there and doesn’t get the enjoyment out of it that I get. I don’t get that you can’t understand that.

    2) “I wasn’t accusing you of taking a job from someone. I was simply making the point that someone for whom the gig might be “only a job” could be just as capable – and perhaps in a more needy position – than you.”

    Of course you were. Your response is revisionist. I’m taking your comments in their entirety. Let’s see, someone else *needed* the “job” I volunteered for and, that our volunteering somehow contributed to a “devaluing effect on the labor market.” Shame on me. Someone who would be paid so little before taxes for my time, yes, could be just as capable. My advice is: don’t bet on it.

    3) “I’m not sure what relevance my work-at-home status has on this discussion, nor my cat ownership. If I worked in an office and had children, would that make my opinion any more or less valid? No. (Similarly, if *you* worked at home and had cats, would that make *your* viewpoint any more or less valid? Also no.)”

    Of course it would. Absolutely, positively relevant. And, although I don’t work in an office, sharing my career experience (or anyone else’s) would absolutely make your opinion on this subject more valid. One’s life and career experience changes everything about what you *think* you know in life. Paul, you’ve said as much. Something about living an engaged life. If I blogged from home for a living, while very worthy (that’s why I come here), it is quite possible that I would agree with you that volunteerism is a problem. Naturally, I would have a literally different perspective of the labor market, than the perspective I have, by seeing labor from a few sides for the last 35 years. I don’t see how I’ve hurt anyone.

    4) How much Uni Watch earns, and in turns pays (or doesn’t pay), compared or contrasted to the NFL — is inconsequential, at least in terms of “devaluing effect on the labor market.” That is a fact. What is good for the goose . . . It’s wrong to complain about volunteers – and by extension interns – and then pay anyone less than what you think market conditions should dictate.

    I realize it’s fun to make an issue personal (i.e., taking offense at a perceived slight, giving back a personal slight of your own), but the larger issues are not personal. They’re just issues.

    No, what is fun is to contribute to the conversation, and add to the debate (particularly about uniforms)- not to be slighted.

    Thank you for the opportunity Paul.

    The whole reason the state of labour in America is so much better than in parts of Southeast Asia, for instance, is because of the history of saying that just because you can find people who’ll do the work for less (or nothing) doesn’t mean it’s right. You can do it for the enjoyment rather than the money, but remember that you have an obligation not to devalue other people’s work by yourself doing it for nothing.

    “but remember that you have an obligation not to devalue other people’s work by yourself doing it for nothing.”

    There is no such obligation, not even an implied one. Some people even consider it a civic duty to help out around their town during a huge event such as the Super Bowl. When it comes to volunteering you do it with no expectation of compensation. Demanding money for the simple reason that others could do that same job for pay flies in the face of spirit of volunteering, and would make the world a lot less efficient.

    I’d much rather go to an event featuring trained volunteers than one featuring trained paid workers. Not because I think the NFL shouldn’t pay these kind of people, or that it would hurt their bottom-line (because it clearly wouldn’t), but because those volunteers want to be there, you can’t guarantee the same with paid workers. There are definitely paid workers who would thoroughly enjoy their roles during such an event but there will also be people who are only there because it means a paycheck at the end of the day.

    Volunteering at a place of business often devalues the work of others (with a few exceptions: I “interned” at a comic shop one summer when I had trouble finding a summer job, I was able to boost my resume with more retail experience and the owner got someone to do the oddjobs around the store that wouldn’t have been done for months because she didn’t have the personnel (or the money in the budget to hire personnel) to do them. It was a perfect exchange and no one lost out on opportunities at the workplace), but volunteering in a situation that requires that people be hired no matter what is not a situation when work is devalued by volunteers.

    I’m not entirely familiar with the situation but it is my understanding that an event like the SB is more than just having stadium workers doing their normal NFL Sunday jobs, there need to be more people in the stadium, outside the stadium, dealing with transportation, and at various events around the city (or in this case cities). Training is required because this event is abnormal, even for those who usually work Giants and/or Jets games at Metlife.

    You can spout on about “civic duty” and “the spirit of volunteering”, but I can assure you with the utmost confidence that these are simply bloody-minded myths promulgated by cynical entities looking to save a buck off of people’s unfocused altruism. Or at least they would be if they weren’t already the go-to excuses of glory seeking fanboys eager to pad their fanboy C.V.s with proximity awards.

    As for internships, don’t get me started. For all the legitimate internships out there and all the good these internships may provide in educational value they are increasingly being overshadowed by a rampant practice of taking advantage of young people desperate to get their careers started. It’s ever becoming the norm for firms and businesses to pass off all sorts of formerly paid jobs as “internships”, knowing full well that a sea of people duped into believing that that’s the best they can hope for will be lining up at the door and ready to debase themselves for the hyper-inflated commodities of “experience” and “references”.

    But back on topic, you say that because the Super Bowl requires that people are hired no matter what means that voluntary free labour won’t devalue jobs? I don’t follow the math I’m afraid. There are 9,000 jobs for which fair remuneration would be expected in most cases but which are being done for free here. The implicit valuation of these jobs therefore is that paying anything for that kind of labour is too much. Do you see that? In contrast, the workers for the All-Star Game demanding they get paid INCREASED the value of that work somewhat as the Super Bowl organisers were forced to hire paid workers for otherwise unpaid positions. That’s literally the economic principle I’m trying to put forward in action. There’s proof!

    I seem to recall (first year psych was a LONG time ago) that there was a series of studies into cognitive dissonance that showed that if people volunteered for things, they tended to be committed to the task and enjoyed it a great deal. Perhaps they made up satisfaction in their minds to make up for the fact that they weren’t being paid. If you paid them even a little bit of money to do a task, they were much less happy and committed.

    It led to one of those paradoxes that managers encounter – giving people a little more money sometimes makes them less happy, not more. And you get worse performance, not better.

    link

    “…How about this exquisite Padres cap cake with a period-appropriate green underbill? Bradley Ridenour says his wife made it for a friend who loves hats and has the initials S.D. …”

    There’s still hope for this country.

    Excerpt from the Raiderette Guide that Brinke was good enough to share:

    “There are some young men on the Raider staff who are married and yet some of the Raiderettes like to call them ‘just to chat.’ No matter how innocent the friendship may be, the fact that you may pop in to visit them when you are in the Raider facility does not look good to others — particularly their wives!”

    Sage advice.

    RE: The SB I photos – Upon further review of image #18, I’m inclined to believe the wedding band wearer is a ref, per Paul’s speculation. The rubber-band-thing on his right hand should be a clue – it’s probably a down count instrument? Anyway, a ref wearing a wedding band during a game is not as out of place as a player wearing one.

    Icons were not originally symbols of anything. It was believed that the eyes of icons were the actual eyes of the saints depicted – not symbolic at all. I’ll be so glad when that word is removed from our language.

    On the contrary, the word comes from the Greek εἰκών (eikon) and means “image.” The earliest uses of the term (and its Latin equivalent, also from the Greek) in Christian literature describe such things as painted portraits of Apostles and engraved symbols like the figure of a shepherd or the sign of the fish. Even the later use to describe a remnant of a body or object rests on symbolism: The finger of the saint represents the sent in his entirety, not just his finger; the shard of the true cross represents the whole cross, not simply the shard itself.

    But when people use “iconic” to mean, “recognizable” or “of landmark status,” that needs to stop. An icon is a symbol of something, not simply a thing unto itself.

    “represents the SAINT in his entirety.” Not “sent.” A whopper of a typo, that. Guess I should go venerate an icon of St. Typo of Croatia: link

    Why doesn’t the NFL pay its volunteers? Because they don’t have to. As long as there are marks who will line up they won’t need to pay anyone. Like in Atlanta during the ’96 Olympics [TM]… you couldn’t swing a dead cat without braining three mouthbreathers in green “Volunteer” windbreakers.

    The discussion about the Cubs unis raises a question that I’m sure veteran Uni-Watchers will be able to answer: Are there obvious examples of teams scrapping “new” uni designs in favor of older designs for a season or longer? Seems to me the Browns had an issue or two about going back to older styles? (Excluding the double knit MLB phase of course.)

    I’m not quite sure what you’re getting at… do you mean a team announcing a uniform change and then changing their mind? Or just a team wearing something “new” for a relatively short period before reverting back? The Browns had their one year uniform in 1984, but the uniform they reverted back to in ’85 was actually 1974, not the previous year’s. The Detroit Pistons switched from royal blue to teal and then to a new styled royal blue uniform, but they wore the teal for 4 or 5 years, does that count? The LA Rams wore red in 1948 for some reason. The Lions played around with red & black from 1948-50 before going back to the classic blue & silver in ’51. I think that sort of short-term switch and reversion was more common the further back in time you go. Nowadays the leagues are all concerned with branding and merchandise and those sorts of uniform experiments aren’t really allowed. The Jaguars front office could absolutely hate their stupid two-tone helmets, but they’re stuck with them for another 4 seasons by league rule.

    Thank you…I wasn’t aware of the four year rule. I guess I was thinking of a “whoops” factor…such as oh oh we changed our jersey color, or helmet logo, etc. but it was a mistake and now we’re going back to the original. (To me an example would be the needless change to the Dolphins helmet logo, … I’d love to see a change back to the original.)

    That’s the first one that sprung to mind.

    Seldom happens today, because the teams are locked into several-year cycles by their leagues. And, not coincidentally, because when teams unveil new logos these days they already have stacks of merchandise ready for sale (and much more in the pipeline).

    A similar situation happened with Everton FC over in Liverpool. They unveiled a new logo last year, and link and they hastily arranged a fan vote to link. They’re still locked into the unpopular one for the rest of this season, though.

    Watched this 12-second clip and noticed all the entire San Antonio Spurs coaching staff wore the exact same tie in last night’s game. Anyone know why?
    link

    those count crosstitch NFL helmets are AWESOME!

    and kudos for the padres cake with the green underbill. that is a GENIUS touch. I had to race to the comments section on both those items. usually i wait til ive read the whole site but MY GOD what a couple of GREAT entries!!

    KUDOS!

    This was originally in the Ticker but I accidentally left it out and didn’t realize until now:

    For the All-Star Game, it said Barry Bremen stole Ollie Johnson’s warmups from the locker room before/after a Kings-Pistons game and two days later he was in the layup line with the 1979 Western Conference All-Stars. Johnson, though, last played with the Kings in link. This means that Bremen, a Detroit native, flew out to Kansas City for a Pistons-Kings game on link, found and obtained a two-year-old set of Ollie Johnson’s warmups, flew back to Detroit for the All-Star game on link, got on the court, hoisted some jumpers and high-fived Kareem and Artis Gilmore. Impressive.

    If you’re gonna have a gray “Dodgers” top to play second-fiddle to the “Los Angeles” top, might as well have a white outline around the word mark and the back numbers to have some sort of differentiation. As a rule, I prefer the city name on the road jerseys, but in this one case, I substantially plead indifference.

    Big step in the right direction, it’s essentially what they used in the 70’s thru the 90’s, the sleeve patch is different and somewhat redundant but sleeve patches tend to change often anyway. And outlining is an eyesore.

    Assuming that there are names on the backs like the regular road jerseys, and that they’re using the same semiblock number font, that’s pretty meh. Why not do something a little different, like varsity block numbers, NNOB, and piping, like in the Brooklyn days?

    Volunteers for large events (Sporting ones in particular) have people teeming to be part of them and will take advantage of them wherever possible. Major pro sports are still greedy, despite their “charitable” image. My father used to volunteer as a marshal for the AT&T Pebble Beach golf tournament, and the volunteers had to pay for the rental of their required uniforms! The only thing they got out of it was that they were on the tournament grounds for free (not to be spectators), and got a dinner banquet. I’m still dismayed that they had to pay for anything out of their own pockets.

    We must save these volunteers from themselves! Don’t they know they’re being taken advantage of by profit and non-profit corporations?! Volunteers of the world unite!

    I remember a kid named Eric Inselberg who I went to camp with one summer, in 1984. Wonder if it’s the same guy.

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