"we must protect this house"

[waltwal]

in light of what went on the the miami-FIU game i think this type of commercial and expression should be canned. i have played and coached the game for 35 years and i never lived in a football stadium. on the other hand i did play and coach to win each and every game. this type of expression plays into the mentality of the lowest elements in sports. miami protected their house last saturday. i am sure at this point just about everyone connected with that game wishes it was just about scoring more points than their opponent.

[JonInMiddleGA]

in light of what went on the the miami-FIU game i think this type of commercial and expression should be canned.

Won't happen (not unless it was already set to be replaced by other creative).

If anything, you'll probably see/hear it more than ever. Not because of the Miami/FIU incident but because the campaign has been successful & Under Armor may be upping their profile soon.

[panerd]

in light of what went on the the miami-FIU game i think this type of commercial and expression should be canned. i have played and coached the game for 35 years and i never lived in a football stadium. on the other hand i did play and coach to win each and every game. this type of expression plays into the mentality of the lowest elements in sports. miami protected their house last saturday. i am sure at this point just about everyone connected with that game wishes it was just about scoring more points than their opponent.

I hope this is some sort of parody or joke I don't get, otherwise it is pure nonsense.

[CraigSca]

So...football players can't understand that the goal of "protecting this house" is to win your home games and not "extra-curricular" activities? This has nothing to do with Under Armour's advertisement and has everything to do with the mentality of the football players, fans and on-air analyst of the game in question.

[cougarfreak]

How about "We must grow up"?

[waltwal]

panerd you are right - you just don't get it. but unfortunately the point is that somewhere along the way for some players there is a misconception about what the playing of the game is meant to prove. you have a different point of view about it and that's fine but something triggers players to plant a flag on some mid-field emblem and that something has not always been around. somehow protecting my home and family doesn't equate to winning a football game and when there are elements within a culture that equate the two i say that is not a good thing.

[MrBigglesworth]

You could replace every commercial with care bear videos and Miami would still be a team of thugs.

[LionsFan10]

While we're here, I'd like to place my vote for the removal of the phrase "winning isn't everything, it's the only thing!" This, to me preaches lack of good sportsmanship to little kids, and these kids might one day grow up to be a high school football coach that runs the score up 60-0. Or the little league baseball coach that pitches around the teams best hitter to get to the handicapped child to strike him out and win the game. Or worse yet, Michael Jordan.

Okay I'm kidding. The slogan has nothing to do with Miami being a lousy program, MrBigglesworth has it right.

[Subby]

I think this is an awesome overreaction!

[waltwal]

i think that protecting their house was an awesome overreaction. larry coker in a couple of months will agree when he is looking for a new job. my point is that when you have kids that are special admits (over the past 30 years or so) you have to really be careful what you feed them in terms of winning and losing. when you start equating it to protecting your house it starts to bring up episodes of how they are growing up in very difficult lifestyles. when you and i hear about protecting our house we can equate it to a game but as you can see by the events in the game last saturday not everyone can do that. i don't expect commercials to cease and desist but i will tell you this - every responsible college and high school program in america will be telling their kids about this episode and pointing out that winning with good sportmanship is what the game is about- not protecting your house.

[Anthony]

You could replace every commercial with care bear videos and Miami would still be a team of thugs.

the Care Bear Stare was no joke.

[Anthony]

i can appreciate what walt is trying to bring up here, but i think he's being a little too narrow. this win at all costs culture is not due to an Under Armor commercial. it's a lifestyle. you would need to go all the way to the streets to get to the root of the problem (the mindset of some of these players). it starts and ends with the coaches - they're the ones who have the ability to give and take away playing time as reward/punishment for certain types of actions.

it's more than about one commercial.

[kurtism]

Please file this thread under "Ozzy caused my son's suicide"; "Judas Priest caused my son to kill himself"; and "Dungeons & Dragons caused my kid to hang himself". Perhaps we can get a young Tom Hanks to star in a terrible made-for-tv-movie about the dangers of UnderArmor...

[Raiders Army]

It's the American way...blame it on something else. It couldn't possibly be the players' fault!

[Ksyrup]

I thought the point of those commercials was to get me to buy underwear which would fundamentally change the manner in which I protected my penis. :confused:

[Pumpy Tudors]

I have to drive by a school bus stop every morning, and I get tired of hearing the football players screaming, "CLICK! CLACK!" all the time. These damned commercials are killing me. :mad:

[sachmo71]

in light of what went on the the miami-FIU game i think this type of commercial and expression should be canned. i have played and coached the game for 35 years and i never lived in a football stadium. on the other hand i did play and coach to win each and every game. this type of expression plays into the mentality of the lowest elements in sports. miami protected their house last saturday. i am sure at this point just about everyone connected with that game wishes it was just about scoring more points than their opponent.

or people need to understand that you can do anything within the rules of the game, because in the end, you are playing a game. you aren't protecting your children, or your possessions, but a strip of turf. play hard, knock the snot out of your rival, but don't forget that it's a game.

[waltwal]

of course the commercial is not the root of the problem but my point is that outside influences like that do not help and basically add fuel to an already potentially dangerous fire.

here is what will happen. every thinking college coach in america has already mentioned the brawl to their players. i am sure they are pointing out that getting involved in an incident like this could mean the complete loss of college eligibility. they also realize that larry coker has sealed his coffin and lost a job that pays 1-2 mil. they will also have heard the tape of the announcer who lost his job and will immediately recognize in his words similarities with the "we must protect this house" commercial. hopefully it will be pointed out in the strongest possible terms that

1. pre game taunting will not be tolerated

2. planting flags or stomping on field emblems will not be tolerated

3. they are not protecting a house but simply trying to win a game and displaying classy sportmanship in the process.

this will not be that difficult a lesson to teach because fortunately most programs already teach these lessons.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Using "protect this house" as motivation is fine. Just don't go getting into fights over it. To me, this seems really simple.

What's wrong with a team leader urging his teammates to "protect this house"? The idea is just to play your hardest and try not to let someone else come to your place and win in front of your fans. The commercial and the phrase probably aren't based around getting into actual brawls over it.

Not everybody hears "protect this house" and thinks that the only way to do it is to swing a helmet and stomp on somebody.

[waltwal]

pumpy tudors you said it perfectly

"not everybody hears"protect this house" and thinks that the only way to do it is to swing a helmet and stomp on somebody". only a few do!

[Ksyrup]

It all boils down to the warped manner in which some people believe they earn respect or are disrespected. That's all this kind of crap is about.

[sachmo71]

It all boils down to the warped manner in which some people believe they earn respect or are disrespected. That's all this kind of crap is about.

funny, i was just thinking about that this morning. i don't understand where people got the notion that you need to be respected for just being alive. respect is earned.