Sports

On Skates

Having grown up in Sweden, I would have loved a skate safety reflector instead of a boring hard circular reflector. Even in the very south, skating and skiing was an obvious part of most winters.  No classes or fancy outfits, just hanging out at the neighborhood soccer field which had been turned into an good-enough ice to skate on. We skated, we cross-country skied on the fields and had snowball fights – and watched winter sports, especially the Olympics.
After 4 days of the Sochi games, the Canadian and the US hockey women are looking good! We have also already been blessed with some spectacular figure skating performances. 15 year old Yulia Lipnitskaya stunned us all with a perfect performance. Equally amazing and mezmerizing was Meryl Davis and Charlie White’s ice dance!
Do you know we now have both a black hockey skate reflector and a white figure skate reflector? Order yours here>

Figure skate and hockey skate safety reflector
Figure skate and hockey skate safety reflector


Elisabeth
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Go Bulls!

Tonight we’ll park ourselves in the TV couch for another thrilling basketball playoff game between the Chicago Bulls and the Atlanta Hawks. It’s a joy to watch Derrick Rose put the ball in the hoop (No wonder, he just got the NBA MVP award as the youngest in the history of the NBA) but most of all we are fascinated with the work within the teams. We hope the Bulls will be on fire tonight—we know they can do better than their last game!

Go Bulls! onesie

If we had any small bulls fans in our families, they would certainly get this funny onesie from Bad Baby Inc., one of their newest designs.
Whether you cheer for your favorite NBA team or the local high school basketball team, you can show your love for the sport with a basketball safety reflector. Hang the super bright safety reflector on your jacket, bag or backpack and it will also make you more visible in the dark!

funflector safety reflectors basketball
Basketball safety reflectors for sports bags, backpacks and jackets

Enjoy the rest of the NBA playoff and finals season!

The funflector team

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Cheerleaders, School Mascots and Spirit Wear

To a non-American, the culture around the school mascot, the school colors, the spirit wear, sports teams and cheerleaders is fascinating.

Libertyville High School spirit wear banner with paw print
LHS Go Cats banner

Here, kids grow up with it from kindergarten and it follows all the way through college and, more often than not, they never let go of “their” team. In Europe, for example, all of that is non-existent (believe it or not) and sports are rarely connected with schools or colleges.

Paw print and football spirit wear safety reflectors
Paw print and football safety reflectors

Living very close to a high school football field gives my whole family large doses of all of this fine American culture. The week of band practice in August can be tough on our nerves, but other than that, we truly enjoy it. We know when “our” team scores—who in the neighborhood can miss the Wildcat roar? My kids adjusted to all of this in no time after our transatlantic move. The first season we lived here, they would stop their outdoor play at the beginning of every high school match and stand with their hands on their hearts for the entire national anthem. Luckily, that has worn off after a couple of years.

Libertyville High School homecoming parade 2010.
Libertyville High School homecoming parade, October 2010.

Homecoming is another phenomenon that’s part of all of this and that takes some time to grasp for a foreigner. According to Wikipedia, “Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back former residents and alumni of an institution.” A parade through town, a football game at home and a dinner ball are often the main events during homecoming weekend. In Libertyville, the highschoolers also help with painting most store windows downtown with scenes from their sports, theater group, etc, in orange and black before this special autumn weekend.

Together with all of this goes the “spirit wear,” that is T-shirts, sweatshirts, jackets, pants, caps, hats, scarves and sport bags in the school colors and with logo or mascot to pinpoint a specific school. Wristbands, key chains, earrings, hair bows, tea mugs and much more are also standard stuff and don’t forget fleece blankets, seat cushions, earmuffs and more that are needed to enjoy the late fall football games. Often parent’s organizations run the school store as a means to bring in money to support the team.

All the Wildcat’s roars and the paw prints on my kids school papers from their buddy the Bulldog has inspired the funflector® paw print design. With so many Bulldogs, Lions, Tigers, Bears, Wildcats, Cougars, Huskies. Wolverines, Badgers, Jaguars, Wolves and Panthers (did we miss anyone?) out and about this time of year with all sorts of team colors we decided we should have paws in all sorts of colors as well. We have launched a good handful of color combinations and there will be more. If you don’t find your team colors, just let us know!

Why not be safer leaving school, leaving the game or anytime you are out after dark and show your school spiritat the same time? And don’t forget to be proud of your North American school spirit culture!

Elisabeth

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Fotball Season Kickoff

NFL Kickoff Weekend is coming up and again the previous season’s Super Bowl winner will open the NFL season at home on the Thursday before. So, already tonight, the New Orleans Saints will host the Minnesota Vikings in the Superdome in a rematch or the NFC title game. College Football kicked off last week and most High School teams are also busy with games and practice sessions. Since the days are getting shorter it’s a great idea to have some football safety reflectors on jackets and backpacks for better visibility in dark parking lots and s

Boy with football safety reflector on fleece jacket
Football safety reflector for when their mind is on the ball and not on traffic.

Who will you be cheering for this weekend and how? Have you stocked up on chips and soda or do you prefer less traditional but healthier snacks? Do you like to get outside and throw a football around or do you let it become a couch potato day?

Here are some ideas for tasty snacks whether you are hosting a football get-together in front of your television or hanging out with friends and teammates at a tailgate picnic.

Have a great weekend!

Elisabeth

psst. Don’t tell my European friends, but I find football much more entertaining to watch than soccer…

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