SPEND YOUR STRAIGHT CASH HOMEY!!!!

This week I tossed around several possible blog topics in my head and with friends. The world of sports did not do me any favors, because nothing of note really took place. I’m sorry, I meant nothing of note that I really care to write about took place. There was the Home Run Derby and the All-Star game. In short, 8 players hit a lot of batting practice home runs Monday night, and the American League won again (they have a 12 game unbeaten streak) on Tuesday night. See, that wasn’t enough to constitute an entry. I also thought about doing a recap of the continuing saga that is Brett Favre. That could have possibly been a good idea except for the fact that the DIVA himself has been a ONE MAN MEDIA CIRCUS for the past week. He has done nothing more than confirm (what was first written on STRAIGHT CASH HOMEY!!!!) that he is by far the biggest Diva in the NFL and possibly in all of sports. After his interview with Gretta Van Susteren, even die-hard Brett Favre supporters are telling me that they are sick of him and that he is in danger of having his man-card revoked. I also thought, ‘I can write about the NBA Summer League.’ Then I remembered that NO ONE CARES ABOUT THE NBA SUMMER LEAGUE, NOT EVEN THE PLAYERS PLAYING!!!! I also decided against writing another NFL related entry, because there will be plenty of that to come in the upcoming months. Then I got a brilliant idea. I remembered a conversation that I had with one of my readers, “Northside Marty” (representing the Northside of the ATL to the fullest) about great sports commercials.

Companies spend millions upon millions of dollars each year on advertising. They make this investment hoping that someone will see their commercial or their print or online advertisements and immediately want to buy their product. In order for their advertising dollars to give them the desired return on their investment, these advertisements must be memorable.

I now present to you some of my favorite and most memorable sports commercials. Sit back and enjoy….

THE CLASSICS:



This is arguably the best McDonalds commercial ever. I vividly remember it from its premier at during a SUPERBOWL. This commercial pitted two rival Hall of Famers in the most outrageous game of H-O-R-S-E ever played. I can’t believe the shots that they came up with and made (I’m sure that there were no camera tricks involved, YEAH RIGHT). Simply a great commercial, that set a new standard for SUPERBOWL commercials.




Every person who has touched a basketball since the debut of this commercial has wanted to be like Mike. Current NBA players are still trying to be like Mike. What makes this a classic commercial is the fact that anyone old enough to remember it when it premiered, still remembers the song.




Michael Jordan and Mars Blackmon, CLASSIC!!!! It might not be the shoes that made Jordan so great, but millions upon millions people believe that it is based on the sales of Air Jordan’s over the years.




Don’t get me wrong Penny Hardaway had mad game before injuries derailed his career, but Lil’ Penny was even better. This character is classic Chris Rock and was really hilarious. The shoes that they were selling were pretty cool too.


OTHER FAVORITES:



INSTANT CLASSIC!!!! One of the best and most creative commercials ever made. What more can I say?




This is by far one of the most creative commercials that I have ever seen. This had to take everyone by surprise. It is even funnier now, because it shows Mark McGwire at the height of his popularity and now he is has become one of the faces of what is perceived to be the biggest problem in baseball. Aside from that, Maddox and Glavine are hilarious.




This is by far one of my favorites. It is funny because every sports fan knows the fake sports fan. He is the guy that doesn’t know very much about sports but pretends to, just to fit in. I’ll admit that TJ Houshmandzadeh’s name is hard to pronounce to the average person. But it shouldn’t be to a football fan because you hear it all the time from commentators and during highlight packages. So, obviously this guy isn’t a real football fan.




This commercial proved that the only competition for Michael Jordan is Michael Jordan.




This commercial really captures the effect the Michael Jordan’s game has had on the new generation of basketball players, although many of them are too young to have vivid memories. It is awesome how they mimicked so many of Jordan’s trademarked moments. My favorite moment is the “Jumping Fist Pump after the Jumpshot over Craig Ehlo (he has to be the “other guy” in more Jordan posters than anyone else).




This commercial shows off Tiger’s sick golf club handling skills. Imagine if the Harlem Globetrotter could not only do the amazing tricks that they do, but also be the best team in the NBA. That is what Tiger is. He is the best showman on tour and is the BEST GOLFER EVER!!!!




This commercial is not only funny because they called out Warren Sapp and the pathetic Oakland Raiders, but it is also funny because neither of their teams made the playoffs the season after this commercial aired.




WHAT SELF RESPECTING MAN GETS MARRIED ON THE DAY OF THE FANTASY FOOTBALL DRAFT? MAN-CARD REVOKED!!!!


THE FUTURE:



THE FUTURE OF SPORTS COMMERCIALS. This is by far one of the most innovative sports commercials ever made. The main character in the commercial is YOU (the viewer). It shows your rise up the ranks of elite Soccer, culminating in you representing your country in an international match. Hopefully more commercials like this are coming.


You may not feel as though these are the best sports commercials ever made, but they are definitely some of my favorites. You may have noticed that most of them were made by Nike, feature Michael Jordan, or are for the NFL. It makes me wonder if it’s a coincidence that Nike is the most popular brand of athletic shoe, that Michael Jordan is one of the most recognizable faces on the planet, and that the NFL is by far the most popular of the American sports leagues. Or is advertising simply that important? YOU DECIDE!!!!

If you have any other sports commercials that you feel are great. Please let me know. This may be a topic that I revisit again at a later date.


****ON A TOTALLY DIFFERENT NOTE****
Mike Hampton the oft-injured Atlanta Braves starting pictured (discussed in the entry titled WANTED: FOR UN-ARMED ROBBERY) was injured again during a Double A rehab start. I don’t know what kind of bad vibes that he has put out into the world or who he has wronged, but Karma is really getting to him. I think that it’s time to hang it up.