<p>Teri, I was reading about that game this morning. Abominable behavior by some of the WVU fans. They graduated from the issue in recent games of shouting obscenities to actually throwing objects at the opposing team and onto the court. I admire the WVU coach for grabbing a microphone and telling his own fans that what they were doing was stupid. That mob mentality can be a dangerous thing.</p>
<p>My daughter used to know some students at WVU and, while visiting them, has attended sporting events and sat in their student section. She said she will never do that again. And this is coming from a Syracuse alum, where their students aren’t known to be the friendliest, either. She must have been watching the game last night because her twitter updates were reflective of what was going on. I hope they find out who the student was who threw the coin and gave the Pitt asst. coach the black eye. However, as one Pitt player said, “We get to play them on OUR home court next week.”</p>
<p>I hope there’s a strong police presence for that game!</p>
<p>I don’t watch the Super Bowl game but my DH kindly yells “commercial” every time there is a break worth watching. :)</p>
<p>I just saw an article about some commercial from GoDaddy.com that was rejected…a retired football player who became a fashion designer…not sure if it was rejected because it poked gentle fun at an imaginary football player, or because there was a scantily dressed female in it. (Naw, THAT couldn’t be the reason.)</p>
<p>It was sorta cute.</p>
<p>I had an unintended pregnancy when I was a young woman. An ad like this one wouldn’t have helped me make a decision whether to keep or terminate or adopt my child.</p>
<p>I chose to keep my child. Glad I did. He is an amazing young man.</p>
<p>I consider myself pro-choice, but don’t understand why so many who see things the same way as me are threatened by a commercial like this. Choosing to have the baby is a choice, isn’t it? </p>
<p>Also, in context what is being played on TV - having a football player who is quite talented (I hear), isn’t that a human-interest story, to boot? Kind of like the Olympics. There are loads of commercials and human interest stories about athletes to get you into the sentimental mode of watching sports and rooting for your athletes and teams?</p>
<p>I would much rather see an ad like this than an ad filled with skanky, half naked models. (We know there will many like it. Maybe we can compare on Monday, after the game!)</p>
<p>Wait. I think that is why almost half the population watches the Super Bowl…the half naked women. ;)</p>
<p>“don’t understand why so many who see things the same way as me are threatened by a commercial like this.”
As the Planned Parenthood spokesperson explained, it’s because the people paying for the ad want to deny women the choice. So presenting the woman as the decision-maker is disingenuous…if they had their way, she wouldn’t have any say.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>LOL, no. I like “crazy” stuff like the following: after the trick play, team A is running towards the goal. He sees a sure tackle ahead, so he laterals the ball to a teammate. That guy heads towards the goal and right before he reaches the goal line, someone hits him and the ball pops up in the air. Team B player (big and slow as a slug) catches it and heads the other way towards his own goal. He also laterals the ball to a teammate who takes off for a touchdown. Only he gets hit and fumbles the ball. Team A falls on the ball, recovering the fumble. On their original line of scrimmage! Crowds are going crazy, the bands are playing their fight song for the 30th time, etc. THAT’s the kind of crazy I love about college football!</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I think this is the issue that I brought up earlier. After the Tiger Woods (and Michael Phelps) fiasco, I really struggle with seeing any famous athlete as a role model. I can certainly appreciate them for the talent they have as an athlete, but I’m beginning to suspect (yea, I’m naive; I’m sure many others have thought this longer than I) that, like politicians and many stars, I think there’s an arrogance implicit with those in these positions. I think when you’re elevated so high, in such a public way, humility is a hard thing to hold onto, and inevitably they fail. </p>
<p>So best to recognize their talent and rise to power, but don’t extrapolate it to their personal life as being so pure. </p>
<p>When I was in high school, I was a huge fan of a WHA team (when the WHA was still around), and got fairly close to people who knew many of the team members very well (I was also very good friends with the coach’s daughter). I had older friends who were sleeping with some of the players, home team and visiting team. And many of them were married, or had girlfriends. Yea, there were a handful who were faithful, and the groupies knew not to even bother. </p>
<p>But I guess I’m just skeptical of putting anyone who’s risen to fame on such a pedestal anymore that I wouldn’t be suspect of some sort of hypocrisy on some level. I did ask in an earlier post if anyone here could name a professional athlete who they could, without fail, be assured there wasn’t/isn’t some sort of scandal in their lives. And no one has.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Teri, I think the reason is that it is impossible to be assured of such a thing, about anyone. The son of very good friends of ours is an NHL superstar. I’ve known him forever. He’s a sweet, kind, generous and inordinately talented young man who I know is a good human being and who lives as normal a life as is possible for someone in his position. If there is any athlete I could choose to exemplify what you’re looking for, he’d be the one! However, I can’t be sure that he has absolutely nothing to hide. Do we even know that about those who are the closest to us? :)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>No, but we’re not asking those who are closest to us to star in this commercial, presumbaly to give more credence to the message because of his celebrity status. I might be more willing to give credentials to someone who isn’t elevated to stardom, than someone who is.</p>
<p>Sid the Kid? Alex? Iggy? Jumbo Joe? Inquiring minds want to know.</p>
<p>Couldn’t possibly be Pronger. No one would say those things about Pronger.</p>
<p>Celebrities and athletes seem to get more visibility. They are obviously just as fallible as the rest of us.</p>
<p>I can safely say that my lovely D has it together. She is a pretty good athlete and has poise and grace in victory or defeat. Put her in front of the camera and in high pressure situations, and I still put my bet on her. ;)</p>
<p>This ad sickens me. I signed the peitition to help stop it and I really hope CBS reconsiders. I find this so-called PSA to be very anti-choice and skewed. I know the pro-life side would have their panties in a bunchie if Planned Parenthood got an ad on during the super bowl…</p>
<p>You can’t really call it a PSA (that would imply that CBS supports the message). It is a paid ad. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, I don’t think they will pull it, but I do bet it inspires those who have supported Planned Parenthood in the past to up the ante. My renewal is up this month, and I plan on renewing online - will probably up my donation. Their services are critical for many young women.</p>
<p>^^great idea. I will be sure to up my donation</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Anti-choice? Choice is a decision between two or more things. How is it that one can advocate for choice (re: abortion,) yet despair if the choice is not to have an abortion? </p>
<p>Lesson: Beware of abortion zealots, on both sides.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I think the mistake is giving more credence to ANY message (or product) simply because it is endorsed by someone who is famous. Since I was a child, I’ve known a lot of ‘famous’ individuals. My family has been involved in the theatre community back to the days of my grandparents so maybe I became accustomed to it at an early age and, as a result, celebrity is not something that, in and of itself, impresses me. I think that there are a lot of people in this world who place far too much importance on fame. I acknowledge that it can be intoxicating but putting these people on a pedestal or considering them as role models is likely to be a mistake. They are fallible human beings who are no more inherently good, or worthy of respect, than anyone else.</p>
<p>Cardinal, bingo to your first guess.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Toblin, as has been mentioned already, a few times, is the point that, yes, Mrs. Tebow made her choice, and that should be respected, even if we don’t agree with her decision. The fact remains that this group, Focus on the Family, who I agree are using her and her son, is not respectful of a woman’s right to choose. The only choice they favor is the one made by Mrs. Tebow.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>If in your opinion “choice” is really “choice” you would neither agree nor disagree with her decision, only support it. Thank you for supporting my point.</p>
<p>Again; Beware all zealots.</p>
<p>Nonsense, Toblin. One can fully support a person’s right to make the choice that is right for them while personally disagreeing with that choice.</p>
<p>That is so cool, alwaysamom.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I think that’s the point I was trying to make, something I’ve been guilty of myself… but something I will no longer make the mistake of doing anymore. And I guess it’s more acceptable for some famous athlete to draw attention to himself trying to sell cereal, than it is for someone to espouse certain moral values when the reputation of professional athletes lately has taken such a hit. I’m not even convinced this is anything new (meaning I don’t buy into the belief that our morals are so much more worse than they were back in the good 'ole days); I just think with the advent of new technologies that make catching these people easier, we hear about it more. My own family was ready to canonize Brett Favre until he got too big for his britches. </p>
<p>I promise you, I’ve made my share of mistakes in the past that rank right up there with the best of them, but it’s been many decades ago. So I understand that people are human. But children have a hard time facing the reality that their own parents are not perfect; and when they are forced to see that, it sort of temporarily upends their world. I think they have an even harder time accepting that these mega stars have their limitations, too, and therefore give more credence to their message than if it came from an ordinary citizen (which is what Focus on the Family is banking on, because if they weren’t, they wouldn’t have needed to use star power to get their message across).</p>